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Botanical Garden Hosts Nighttime Immersive Event in Kyoto

Botanical Garden Hosts Nighttime Immersive Event in Kyoto

Yomiuri Shimbun2 days ago
Old & New video KYOTO — The Kyoto Botanical Gardens in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, is holding an event called 'Light Cycles Kyoto,' in which its Conservatory greenhouse is filled with sound and dynamic lights at night. The immersive event allows visitors to experience the fascination of plants at night.
This is the second time the facility has held such an event. When it held a similar event from October to December last year to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the number of annual visitors in the fiscal year exceeded 900,000 for the first time in 30 years. The current event will continue for a much longer period, from May to the end of March next year.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe lighting in the greenhouse makes it look like people are either standing in the light of the rising sun or the setting sun.The facility is the oldest public botanical gardens in Japan. The greenhouse has existed since its opening, but the current one, which opened in 1992, is the third generation. The greenhouse has a distinctive shape that evokes the silhouette of Kinkakuji temple reflected on a pond and the Kitayama mountain range. About 25,000 plants of about 4,500 species are displayed indoors. As the pathway is a circuit with no steps, the scenery changes in succession, allowing visitors to appreciate various forms of vegetation as they make their rounds.
With biodiversity as the keyword for the event, the greenhouse is divided into four zones and suffused with light and sound. Visitors can enjoy the fantastic sights and smells of a wide variety of plants at night.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Orchids & Bromeliads Garden room creates a mysterious atmosphere with sound and light.The event is cosponsored by Kyoto Prefecture, the organizing committee and Mitsui Fudosan Co. The gardens opened a century ago thanks to donations from the Mitsui family, a wealthy merchant family. The company still has links with the family and strongly supports the significance of the current event, which aims to pass on the attraction of the botanical gardens to future generations.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Dry Tropics Garden room is illuminated at night.According to organizers, the event is an attempt to show respect for nature and to examine the relationship between people and nature. Moment Factory, a company headquartered in Canada, took charge of the event's planning and production. The organizers say it intends to 'visualize the voices' of plants at night, which are different from during the daytime, and create an opportunity for the next generation to develop a deeper connection with nature.By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Conservatory greenhouse of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens is illuminated at night.'I came here for the first time in about 10 years, and it felt like a fresh experience. The combination of light, sound and plants was impressive,' said a female university student in her 20s from Kita Ward, Kyoto, who attended the event with her boyfriend.
Advance tickets, which can be purchased until the day before admission, cost ¥2,300 for high school students and older, and ¥1,100 for elementary and junior high school students. Same-day tickets are available at the venue but may be sold out.
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Botanical Garden Hosts Nighttime Immersive Event in Kyoto
Botanical Garden Hosts Nighttime Immersive Event in Kyoto

Yomiuri Shimbun

time2 days ago

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

Botanical Garden Hosts Nighttime Immersive Event in Kyoto

Old & New video KYOTO — The Kyoto Botanical Gardens in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, is holding an event called 'Light Cycles Kyoto,' in which its Conservatory greenhouse is filled with sound and dynamic lights at night. The immersive event allows visitors to experience the fascination of plants at night. This is the second time the facility has held such an event. When it held a similar event from October to December last year to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the number of annual visitors in the fiscal year exceeded 900,000 for the first time in 30 years. The current event will continue for a much longer period, from May to the end of March next Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe lighting in the greenhouse makes it look like people are either standing in the light of the rising sun or the setting facility is the oldest public botanical gardens in Japan. The greenhouse has existed since its opening, but the current one, which opened in 1992, is the third generation. The greenhouse has a distinctive shape that evokes the silhouette of Kinkakuji temple reflected on a pond and the Kitayama mountain range. About 25,000 plants of about 4,500 species are displayed indoors. As the pathway is a circuit with no steps, the scenery changes in succession, allowing visitors to appreciate various forms of vegetation as they make their rounds. With biodiversity as the keyword for the event, the greenhouse is divided into four zones and suffused with light and sound. Visitors can enjoy the fantastic sights and smells of a wide variety of plants at Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Orchids & Bromeliads Garden room creates a mysterious atmosphere with sound and event is cosponsored by Kyoto Prefecture, the organizing committee and Mitsui Fudosan Co. The gardens opened a century ago thanks to donations from the Mitsui family, a wealthy merchant family. The company still has links with the family and strongly supports the significance of the current event, which aims to pass on the attraction of the botanical gardens to future Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Dry Tropics Garden room is illuminated at to organizers, the event is an attempt to show respect for nature and to examine the relationship between people and nature. Moment Factory, a company headquartered in Canada, took charge of the event's planning and production. The organizers say it intends to 'visualize the voices' of plants at night, which are different from during the daytime, and create an opportunity for the next generation to develop a deeper connection with Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior PhotographerThe Conservatory greenhouse of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens is illuminated at night.'I came here for the first time in about 10 years, and it felt like a fresh experience. The combination of light, sound and plants was impressive,' said a female university student in her 20s from Kita Ward, Kyoto, who attended the event with her boyfriend. Advance tickets, which can be purchased until the day before admission, cost ¥2,300 for high school students and older, and ¥1,100 for elementary and junior high school students. Same-day tickets are available at the venue but may be sold out.

300-Year-Old Hot Spring Inn Conjures Spirit of Anime; Traditional Onsen Culture Endures in Mountains of Gunma Pref.
300-Year-Old Hot Spring Inn Conjures Spirit of Anime; Traditional Onsen Culture Endures in Mountains of Gunma Pref.

Yomiuri Shimbun

time19-06-2025

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

300-Year-Old Hot Spring Inn Conjures Spirit of Anime; Traditional Onsen Culture Endures in Mountains of Gunma Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun The exterior of Sekizenkan is reminiscent of the bathhouse in the movie 'Spirited Away.' NAKANOJO, Gunma — Sekizenkan is an old ryokan inn in Nakanojo, Gunma Prefecture, that is believed to have inspired the bathhouse in the acclaimed anime film 'Spirited Away,' and it is still visited by many fans. About 330 years have passed since Sekizenkan was founded in 1694. The ryokan, located in a historical hot spring area called Shima Onsen hot spa, allows guests to experience a journey back in time. Guests cross a red bridge, the symbol of the ryokan, before reaching the entrance while listening to the gentle babbling of a river. The inn's Honkan main building, Japan's oldest existing wooden bathhouse, was built in the Edo period (1603-1867). It was a two-story building at first, but another story was added in the Meiji era (1868-1912). 'We can observe the architectural changes since the Edo period,' Yurie Kurosawa, 44, the ryokan's 21st president, said proudly. Until about 60 years ago, most of the guests visited the ryokan to cure an illness or heal wounds, and they stayed for more than two weeks. They brought futons for themselves and hung their laundry along the outer corridor. In the main building, guests still prepare their futons in modestly furnished Japanese-style rooms like in the old days. The 'Roman no Tunnel' at the end of the main building is reminiscent of the tunnel in the anime through which the heroine Chihiro and other characters pass. I went up in a nearby elevator to a wooden ryokan building called Sansou, which was built in 1936 because the number of guests increased mainly due to advances in transportation. The techniques of traditional craftsmen can be seen in the rooms, such as the intricate craftwork of kumiko shoji sliding doors and tokonoma alcoves. Then Prime Minister Hideki Tojo stayed in Sansou in 1942. Going further up the elevator, I reached Kashoutei, a ryokan building that has modern guest rooms. The bath is named 'Genroku no Yu' and is located beside the main building. There are five bathtubs in the tiled floor, and the windows are arch-shaped in the Taisho Romanesque style. The changing room and the baths are combined in an unusual style, and that structure remains as it was when it was constructed in 1930. The ryokan offers guests a tour of the buildings three times a week. On a busy day, the tour has as many as about 30 guests. 'I felt the long history of the ryokan during the tour. I was also impressed by the low ceilings and old glass,' said a man, 60, who participated in a tour in late April. 'I want to maintain the therapeutic style of the inn,' Kurosawa said. Sekizenkan will continue to convey traditional Japanese hot spring culture. Sekizenkan The Yomiuri Shimbun Address: 4236 Shima-Kabuto, Nakanojo, Gunma Prefecture Access: Take a bus from JR Nakanojo Station to Shima Onsen. It is about a 50-minute drive from the Shibukawa-Ikaho Interchange of the Kanetsu Expressway by car. Memo: Visitors can use the bath without staying overnight from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for ¥1,500 for adults.

2025 Osaka Expo: Akita Pref.'s Omagari Fireworks to be on Display on June 28
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Yomiuri Shimbun

time19-06-2025

  • Yomiuri Shimbun

2025 Osaka Expo: Akita Pref.'s Omagari Fireworks to be on Display on June 28

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo Pyrotechnic artwork launched during last year's Omagari Fireworks Festival in Daisen, Akita Prefecture. AKITA — Pyrotechnic artworks from the famous Omagari Fireworks Festival in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, will illuminate the night sky over the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo venue on June 28. This will mark the first time that the pyrotechnicians behind one of Japan's three major fireworks festivals will travel to the Kansai region to set off fireworks. 'We want to show people from Japan and abroad the beauty of fireworks,' fireworks specialist Tadanobu Komatsu, 61, said. They will display fireworks as part of the Japan Fireworks Expo, where pyrotechnicians from all over the country will gather to showcase their work at the Kansai Expo. The Omagari Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the organizer of the local fireworks festival, was approached last October about participating in the Expo event. Komatsu and his colleagues readily agreed, calling it 'an honor to shoot off fireworks at the Expo.' Held every August, the Omagari Fireworks Festival attracts 100,000 spectators and involves 28 fireworks companies from Daisen and other regions in Japan. Each display is scored, and the participating companies rotate every five years based on their rankings. Last year, Komatsu Fireworks Co., headed by Komatsu, won the Prime Minister's Prize, the highest honor. 'It's a competition where the best pyrotechnics are brought together, and that's why fireworks at Omagari festival are considered the pinnacle of the art,' Komatsu said. On June 28, the Omagari Hanabi Design Team, comprising of Komatsu Fireworks and three other fireworks companies from Daisen, will shoot off fireworks from the southern embankment of Yumeshima Island in Osaka's Konohana Ward. The team will showcase about 800 fireworks, including the most difficult 'goeshin' firework which consists of six layers of concentric circles spread evenly; 'happosaki,' which shoots light rays in various colors in a circular pattern from the center; and 'senringiku,' which explodes with a countless number of small bursts. Komatsu went to Yumeshima in advance to confirm the launch positions. 'The fireworks of Omagari are still not well known in western Japan. We want to put on a show that will make people want to visit Omagari,' he said. Fireworks at Expo The Japan Fireworks Expo will feature eight fireworks displays during the 2025 Expo. Two displays have been held so far: the Ise Shrine Dedication National Fireworks Display from Mie Prefecture on April 26 and the Futaba Fireworks from Fukushima Prefecture on May 31. The Ise display attracted 104,803 people, and the Futaba display brought a record 169,923, leading the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition to limit the number of spectators allowed to ascend the venue's Grand Roof (Ring) for viewing. The Omagari fireworks display on June 28 is also expected to draw large crowds, so the association will dispatch more security personnel than usual to control the crowds during the event. The June 28 display will be followed by the other famous displays on July 21, Aug. 23, Sep. 27 and Oct. 8, though details have not yet been announced. Fireworks from various regions will be launched jointly on July 23.

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