Road Trip to Enjoy Season’s Illuminations in Naha, Okinawa

In Japan, people go out to enjoy illuminations in winter. Though it is romantic to spend a night outside enjoying beautiful lighting-ups with your partner, you might hesitate to go out because of the cold weather in winter. In that case, Okinawa in the subtropics is the solution. Even in December, the minimum temperature in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, stays no lower than 15 degrees Celsius, so you can enjoy a beautiful night view unique to this season without worrying about freezing. In this issue, let’s take a look at some of the popular illumination spots in Okinawa that you can rent a car and visit.

The largest illumination spot in Okinawa -“Southeast Botanical Gardens” has been certified as a Japanese Night View Heritage.

At “Southeast Botanical Gardens” (東南植物楽園), where you can spend a relaxing time with the flora and fauna unique to the subtropics, the lighting-up decorations that make full use of the exoticness of subtropical botanical plants get really popular every year. In 2019, it was named as a Night View Heritage of Japan for the first time in Okinawa Prefecture, and it won the 3rd prize in the Illumination Award by YAKEI Convention & Visitors Bureau in 2021. This year, a new Pokémon area will appear as part of the ‘Pokémon Air Adventures’ project. In addition, you don’t want to miss the gardens’ highlights such as ‘Hikari no Hasu’ (ひかりの蓮, lotus of light) reproducing the lotus floating on the water in full bloom in summer and 10m high ‘Hikari no Castle’ (光のキャッスル, castle of light), which is on point as a photo spot for couples. By purchasing a one-day admission ticket, it’s a place where you can enjoy it all day long.

Event Dates	5:00PM – 10:00PM From 22nd October, 2021 to 29th May, 2022
Admission	1,800 yen (Illumination ticket) / 2,255 yen (one-day admission ticket)
Address	2146 Chibana, Okinawa City, Okinawa Prefecture
Access	A 37-minute drive from Hotel Gracery Naha
URL	https://www.southeast-botanical.jp/en/

A night walk by the pool listening to live performances of Okinawa artists at “Okinawa Kariyushi Beach Resort Ocean Spa”

Full of tropical atmosphere, “Okinawa Kariyushi Beach Resort Ocean Spa” (沖縄かりゆしビーチリゾート・オーシャンスパ) is famous as a resort allowing you to enjoy the beauty of the sunset. The winter-only ‘Kariyushi Dream Fantasy’ (かりゆしドリームファンタジー), where the garden pool area is lit up with chic yet beautiful illumination and is open to the public, is a must-visit. If your schedule allows, you should visit on weekends (incl. Fri) or holidays since you’ll get to enjoy local artists’ live music of Okinawa folk songs and jazz. The resort is full of Insta-worthy spots including the pink ‘Happy Heart’ placed on the terrace overlooking the East China Sea and the fountain show ‘Aqua Illusion’ producing the collaboration of sound, light and water. Why don’t you spend a romantic night at a resort full of charms even in winter?

Event Dates	Dust to 0:00AM From 1st November, 2021 to 28th February, 2022
Address	2591-1 Nakama Yashibara, Onna Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture
Access	An hour drive from Hotel Gracery Naha
URL	https://kariyushi-oceanspa.jp/topics/2021/09/556.php

Feel the American holiday season at “Mihama American Village”, a neighborhood full of Christmas illuminations

“Mihama American Village” (美浜アメリカンビレッジ), a neighborhood where Okinawa and the States are blended in together, is a hot destination with a variety of fun such as popular shops, eateries, and a movie theater. During the holiday season, the entire neighborhood is lit up with colorful decorative lights. It is one of the largest areas where you can enjoy illuminations for free in Okinawa. As there are many facilities for families, it is truly recommended in case you travel with kids. Your heart will definitely dance just by walking around in ‘Depot Island’, a fairytale world-ish area lined up with tiny shops, and in ‘Christmas Land’ where you cannot help wanting to take a photo together with a big snowman and gingerbread man. At the end of a night walk, why not overlook the beautiful night view of Mihama on a Ferris wheel shining in seven colors?

Event Dates	Mid of November 2021 to Mid of May 2022 *Refer to the official site for details
Address	9-1 Mihama, Chatan Town, Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture
Access	A 27-minute drive from Hotel Gracey Naha
URL	http://www.okinawa-americanvillage.com/?lang=en