Sakura in January
Winter in Tokyo means illuminations, and we still had a few on our list when we got back from up north. From Shimokitazawa we went via Shibuya down to the Meguro River, the stretch between Gotanda and Osaki.
Everyone knows the Meguro River for its cherry blossoms in spring. In winter, the same cherry trees get wrapped in pink LEDs for the Meguro River Minna no Illumination, so it looks like sakura season, just colder. The lights run for about 2 km along both banks, and they’re powered by biodiesel made from used cooking oil collected in the neighbourhood. Very eco.
The best views are from the bridges, where the pink trees reflect in the water.
It was a Sunday evening in early January, so it was quiet, nothing like the spring crowds.
Yebisu Garden Place
Next, we hopped on the Yamanote Line to Ebisu and walked over to Yebisu Garden Place. Every winter, they light up the trees along the main walkway and under the big glass dome, and it was still on after the New Year.
The château-looking building at the end is the Joël Robuchon restaurant, which we did not eat at, lol. Dinner was going to be a lot cheaper than that.
Hot take: Japan is better at basically everything, except this. The lights were nice but meh, and honestly nowhere close to our Orchard Road Christmas light-up back home.
Back in Shinjuku: Taiyaki and Gyudon
Back in Shinjuku, we grabbed taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes with filling) from Tai no Hachi to snack on while walking.
Then dinner, which was at Matsuya, the gyudon chain. You buy a ticket from the machine at the door, hand it over, and your food comes in about a minute. We got the premium oroshi gyumeshi (beef bowl topped with grated radish and ponzu, ¥480) and a grilled beef set with rice, salad and miso soup (¥750). Two dinners for ¥1,230. Tokyo can be cheap if you want it to be.
Kabukicho at Night
Then a walk back to the hotel through Kabukicho, which at night is a whole different place: every building covered in signs, all lit up at once.
And because a gyudon is never enough, we stopped at FamilyMart for fried chicken on the way back, one regular and one hot, still in the Christmas packaging. Then bed, because tomorrow was Disneyland, and we wanted to be at the gates early!
Information About the Meguro River Winter Illumination
About 2 km of riverside cherry trees lit up pink, so you get sakura season in winter. Free, and far less crowded than the real thing.