Tokyo’s Christmas light displays are so romantic — the night view from the 52nd floor of Tokyo City View is amazing

▲ Tokyo Tower is truly gorgeous, and the night view from the 52nd floor is absolutely stunning — definitely worth it.

Photos & Text /MIKA’s Foodie Adventure Log

In Tokyo, starting mid-November, many places gradually begin their Christmas light displays, so visiting between mid-November and the end of the month allows you to see autumn leaves, ginkgo trees, and Christmas lights all at once. This time, we picked the perfect timing and got to enjoy all three. Though there were still some regrets — some spots had to be skipped due to time constraints — we’ll just have to save them for next time!

I originally thought Tokyo was too urbanized and probably not that fun, but after visiting, I really felt that beyond its urban vibrancy and artistic vibe, Tokyo also has a unique cultural charm that’s distinctly Japanese. The scenery in the Tokyo suburbs is also beautiful, making it a place you’d want to revisit — such a captivating city.


After “Japan Tokyo” 2013 Day 2 of Tokyo Autumn Leaves — Enjoying Fresh Seafood and Leaving Satisfied, we wanted to stroll around Shiodome ^^.


We started checking out the vending machines for coffee in the subway station — so many flavors!! I really wanted to buy one～～ If only drinking weren’t not allowed on the train, I would’ve tried one for sure.

Tokyo Shiodome


Once we exited the station, we saw the Pedi-Shiodome building, packed with shops and restaurants.


It was raining outside, so we decided to wander around inside the building. It was around 1–2 PM, and the place was full of office workers in suits and ties, all buying bento boxes for lunch. Right next to the bento section, there were self-service microwave ovens — so convenient!


If we hadn’t already eaten, I would’ve totally bought one to try. Japanese bento boxes are so beautifully made and super photogenic.

Most of the places here are restaurants or cafeterias, and almost every one of them sells bento boxes for office workers outside. That’s pretty nice — if you don’t have time to dine in, you can grab a bento to go and still enjoy affordable restaurant-quality meals. But because nearly every restaurant offers bento boxes, the varieties are all so unique and look so delicious, it tempts us even though we’re already full. This place is way too tempting!!

But honestly, I really recommend coming here during meal times — not just for the superficial reason of eating bento boxes, but for an even more superficial one: because this is when you’ll see lots of handsome Japanese office workers out for lunch, all dressed in sharp suits with perfectly styled hair.

Although Japanese guys are generally not very tall, they all look refined and handsome, especially when wearing well-fitted suits. Zzz, they just look so different. We totally feasted our eyes in Shiodome — don’t ask me for proof, who’d dare take photos of strangers in that situation? (shrugs)


After walking around the Pedi-Shiodome building, seeing that it was still raining outside, we figured we might as well head to Roppongi to check out some art museums～


There were signs along the way, so just following them worked fine.

Roppongi is also such an urbanized place!!


We arrived at the National Art Center, Tokyo, located in Roppongi. The building was designed by Kisho Kurokawa, covers a site area of 30,000 square meters, and has a floor space of 47,960 square meters, making it the largest museum in Japan by floor area.

The museum is an all-glass structure surrounded by a garden planted with many plants, and the garden is wave-shaped — super cool.


The master architect — Kisho Kurokawa — used a lot of glass curtain walls to allow natural sunlight to filter through into the interior, helping to reduce electricity usage for lighting.

I thought we had to buy tickets to get in, so I went ahead and purchased them, only to find out that you only need to pay if you want to see the exhibitions — everything else is free to visit XDD. And the tickets aren’t cheap either～ But since I’d already bought them, I figured I might as well check it out — after all, even if you don’t understand Impressionist art, soaking up a bit of artistic atmosphere is still nice.


Zzz, this one ticket costs 1,500 yen — not cheap at all!! If you’re not planning to see the exhibitions, just walk into the museum to admire the architecture and grab a coffee instead — no ticket needed ^^


Opening hours.

The cone-shaped entrance. The inside of the museum doesn’t use much color — it’s mostly exposed concrete, simple and natural.


You can rent a translation device to help with the exhibitions — not expensive, but I didn’t rent one.


The Impressionist art exhibition is actually quite worthwhile. The exhibit space is huge, divided into several sections, and you could easily walk until your feet hurt. There are also rest areas and restrooms inside.


The high-ceilinged space design makes great use of the glass curtain walls to let in lots of natural light. When the sun shines through, having coffee here feels especially poetic.


Buying souvenirs at the museum is really thoughtful — they even wrapped them in an extra bag to protect them from the rain, knowing it was raining outside.


The wavy building exterior looks even more beautiful when lit up at night.

After leaving the art museum, we strolled around Roppongi streets.


As we walked, we suddenly saw a sea of Christmas lights—so exciting, we found it without even asking for directions.

It must be nice and warm under the tree lights!


The trees adorned with lights look dazzlingly beautiful.


Christmas goblet-shaped decorations are quite common.

The street trees look even prettier when shot from the bridge!!


The main light display is right here—absolutely stunning, constantly changing with the music, I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Watching the video can give you a sense of the atmosphere there!!

The department stores near the light sea also have a strong Christmas vibe.


There’s something special about this Christmas tree!!


It’s actually made up of thousands or even tens of thousands of little Christmas Santas.


After seeing the Christmas light sea, we headed to the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower to see the night view. Along the way, we spotted this beautiful white Christmas tree.


Roppongi Hills Mori Tower also has a Christmas tree, which looks more extravagant and has a completely different style.


Our destination was the 52nd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower—it already looked spectacular just from looking up from below.


Found it!! Roppongi’s landmark, the giant black spider, but it looks even better when photographed against a blue sky with white clouds.


We saw a bear shooting an ad, haha.


Enter here for the 52nd floor Tokyo City View observation deck night scenery.

It’s open until late.


The observation deck + Mori Art Museum costs 1,500 yen per person. Not cheap... but after seeing it, I think it’s really worth it!!


The ticket looks like this. But the service from the ticket staff here isn’t that great—in Japan, this kind of attitude is pretty uncommon.


We went straight to the 52nd floor to check out the exhibitions first. The Mori Art Museum displays include decorative art, quirky videos, and creative photography exhibits—very diverse, with lots of unique little things. Especially this whole wall, which shocked us as soon as we walked in, haha, so creative.

How on earth did they stack all these things up!! So impressive...


It looks spectacular whether you shoot it close-up or from afar.


Some exhibitions inside the Mori Art Museum allow photos, some don’t—pay attention to that.


There are also artist lectures.

Exhibition posters from previous years.


Still on the 52nd floor observation deck, just a few steps away after the Mori Art Museum visit. There’s at least a 180-degree wide-angle night view here. Seats are arranged for two people, and you often see couples snuggled up watching the night view.


This is the best I could do with the photo!! Coming here and seeing it with your own eyes is the most beautiful and breathtaking experience~
We tried several modes, each with a different style.


After all, there’s reflection through the window, but I should be satisfied with how it turned out—XDD
It's just a pity there weren't any close-up shots of Tokyo Tower because it's really hard to photograph!!!

I hope next time I come to Roppongi there will be blue skies and white clouds, and it would be best to stay from dusk till night. Since the ticket isn't time-restricted anyway, it's more worthwhile to make the most of it and see it all~



【Roppongi National Art Center, Tokyo】

Opening hours:10:00–18:00 (last entry at 17:30)
Closed:Tuesdays

By train:
Nogizaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line?
Exit 6 at Aoyama/Itchome (direct access to the museum)
About a 4-minute walk from Exit 7 at Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Oedo Line
About a 5-minute walk from Exit 4a at Roppongi Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line


Traveling far is to return to where you started with deeper understanding

MIKA's Foodie Travel Log