The world's largest light garden: a dreamy fluorescent sea you must visit in your lifetime

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Department (compiled and reported)

In addition to leaf-peeping and skiing, Japan in autumn and winter offers the chance to witness the world’s most magnificent light sea. At the resort hotel “APA HOTELS＆RESORTS 上越妙高” located in Niigata Prefecture, the fantastical large-scale light show “Myoko Happiness Illumination” takes center stage every year from July to mid-November. Spanning across 4 hectares of land surrounding the hotel, the event uses 1.5 million LED lights to create the world’s largest “light garden.” The breathtaking beauty is beyond words, making it a seasonal event not to be missed in Japan.

The light garden employs countless LED lights to craft four major illuminated zones under the theme “Dragons Calling for Happiness,” featuring a light dragon and various dreamlike, ornate light displays. These transform summer through autumn nights into an incomparably romantic atmosphere. The display once set a Guinness World Record as the “world’s largest LED light show.”

The most popular zones in the park include the 300-meter-long Light Tunnel and the main attraction “Light Dragons.” Utilizing the sloped mountain terrain, they create a sea of blue lights, where golden twin dragons shift and morph to music, presenting an extraordinarily beautiful spectacle. Travelers planning a trip to Japan soon might want to schedule a romantic journey through this light sea.