Tokyo Christmas Market: Dates, Tickets, Lights and New Year's Eve

The two venues open on different days and close at different times. Dates, opening hours, last entry and stations below come from each venue's own page on the organiser's site.

What a Ticket Costs

Entry is the same price at both venues and depends on the day, not the venue. The organiser's ticket announcement sets three day bands, and the top band falls on December 24 and 25, which are ordinary working days in Japan. Adults means junior high school age and up.

Advance Tickets, the Mug and Same-Day Entry

Advance tickets have been on sale since October 1 through KKday and FamilyMart, and an adult advance ticket comes with the venue's own mug at no extra cost. Shin-Toyosu's mug is ultramarine and Shiba Park's is red, and the two together form a pyramid design. An advance ticket costs exactly what the gate charges, so there is no reason to wait.

Each ticket names a 30-minute entry slot. The slot works as a guide rather than a hard cut-off: a late arrival is still let in, but holders of the current slot go through the gate first. Same-day tickets are sold at a separate entrance until the day's quota runs out, and they do not include the mug.

On busy evenings the organiser may restrict walk-in entry, and late December evenings sell out first. If your evening is fixed, book the slot.

Deposit Cups, Re-entry, Dogs and Cards

Drinks bought without your own mug carry a cup deposit, paid at the stall. You receive a coin with the stall number, and you drop it in the coin box inside the venue to get the deposit back. Keep the cup and the deposit stays with the stall, so bring the advance-ticket mug if you have one.

Re-entry is allowed, though the organiser asks visitors to keep a visit to about three hours. Dogs are welcome on a leash everywhere except the tent in front of the stage. Cards and other cashless payments work at every food and goods stall, and cash is fine too.

Children are welcome but need to stay close, because the lanes get crowded.

Shin-Toyosu, on Tokyo Bay

Shin-Toyosu is the longer run, 36 days from November 20, and the first year the market has used this waterfront site in Koto-ku. The gate is 2 minutes on foot from Shin-Toyosu Station and 3 minutes from Shijo-mae, both on the Yurikamome. Toyosu Station on the Yurakucho Line is a 15-minute walk.

There is no car or bicycle parking. The Yurikamome is the line to Odaiba, so the natural day is the Toyosu fish market in the morning, Odaiba in the afternoon and the market after dark, all without changing lines.

Shiba Park, Under Tokyo Tower

Shiba Park opens later, on December 4, and stays open an hour longer each night, to 22:00 with last entry at 21:00. The site is the Shiba Park No. 4 lot, one minute from exit A6 of Onarimon Station on the Toei Mita Line. Kamiyacho and Daimon stations are about 10 minutes on foot, and JR Hamamatsucho about 12.

Again, no parking. Tokyo Tower stands right behind the huts, so an evening here pairs with a Tokyo Tower ticket before or after. Zojoji temple is next door, which matters on New Year's Eve.

The Pyramid, the Choir and the Programme

The centrepiece is a Christmas pyramid about 14 m tall, built in the Dresden tradition, with tiers of carved figures and turning blades on top. The programme adds live performances by a choir that travels from Germany, workshops, meal plans in VIP domes and an afternoon tea. Those extras are booked and paid separately from entry.

If you only want the huts, the pyramid and a mug of hot wine, the basic ticket covers it.

Five markets compared by place, dates and entry. Figures come from each organiser's own announcement: Mori Building for the two Hills markets, Skytree Town's event listing and the Red Brick Warehouse release.

Roppongi Hills and Azabudai Hills

The Roppongi Hills market is in its 20th edition on Ohya Plaza, with about 10 German-style stalls selling gluhwein, sausages, stollen and Kathe Wohlfahrt ornaments, 11:00-21:00. Azabudai Hills sets 19 shops, four for goods and 15 for food, on its central plaza behind a lit arch gate, also 11:00-21:00. Both are free to enter.

Mori Building runs a stamp rally across its five Hills until December 25: spend $6.32 (¥1,000) or more on one receipt for a stamp, and stamps from three different Hills earn a $6.32 (¥1,000) coupon. You need the free Hills app to collect them.

Tokyo Skytree Town

Skytree Town's market sits on Sky Arena on the 4th floor, 11:00-22:00 with last orders at 21:00, under an 8 m tree. Entry and the lights are free. The illumination runs 16:00-23:00, and a lighting show on the tower changes theme about every 15 minutes from 17:30 to 22:00, until 24:00 on December 24 and 25.

Concerts on the observation deck need a deck ticket, covered on Tokyo Skytree.

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse

Yokohama's market runs November 20 to December 25 between two old customs warehouses on the harbour, with about 60 booths around an 11 m live fir lit with about 20,000 LEDs. A five-minute light show plays every 15 minutes. Entry starts at $3.16 (¥500) and varies by day, and tickets went on sale on November 6.

Hours are 11:00-21:00 until December 4 and 11:00-22:00 from December 5. The Christmas Village in the park next door is free. For an evening without train planning, the Yokohama Christmas market evening tour at $99 includes the entry ticket and hotel pickup.

The rest of the city is on Yokohama.

Six central illuminations compared by dates, hours and cost, from each operator's own announcement. Marunouchi has not published this season's dates, so its row shows last season's run as a guide.

Roppongi Keyakizaka

Keyakizaka is the avenue that runs down from Roppongi Hills, and this season's theme is SNOW & BLUE: about 970,000 LEDs over roughly 400 m of zelkova trees, 17:00-22:00 until December 25. Stand at the top of the slope and Tokyo Tower closes the view at the bottom. Roppongi Hills also lights 66 Plaza until December 27 and Mori Garden until December 25, and the Christmas market on Ohya Plaza is a few minutes away, so one evening covers all of it.

Tokyo Midtown

Tokyo Midtown has renamed its show. This season it is Midtown Christmas, November 26 to December 25, and the lawn of Midtown Garden plays MIDWINTER LIGHTS, a free four-minute light and sound show with bubbles, 17:00-23:00. The bubbles stop after December 20.

The Path of Light, about 340,000 bulbs, stays on until February 23. The ice rink opens December 5 at $12.64 (¥2,000) for adults, $14.54 (¥2,300) from December 12 to January 3, children $8.85 (¥1,400) or $10.74 (¥1,700), shoe rental $3.16 (¥500), and it closes on January 1. The whole complex is shut November 21 to 23 and closes at 14:00 on November 20.

Marunouchi and Hibiya

Marunouchi has not announced this season yet. Last season about 775,000 champagne-gold LEDs lit roughly 250 trees along the 1.2 km of Naka-dori from November to February 15, 16:00-23:00 and until 24:00 in December, and Gyoko-dori added 36,000 bulbs on the axis from Tokyo Station toward the Imperial Palace. A few blocks south, HIBIYA Magic Time at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya runs November 12 to February 28, 16:00-23:00, with an 8 m tree on the Step Plaza until December 25 and a winter garden on the 6th floor. The Marunouchi lights night walk at $38 covers the palace moat, the lit station and the KITTE rooftop in 90 minutes.

The Baccarat Chandelier at Yebisu Garden Place

Yebisu Garden Place hangs a Baccarat crystal chandelier in Center Plaza every winter. Last season it was about 5 m tall and 3 m wide, with 8,500 crystal pieces and 250 lights, lit 11:00-23:00 from early November to mid January. Its official dates for this season are not out yet.

It is free and the plaza is small, so after dark expect to queue for a clear photo.

Ao no Dokutsu, the Shibuya Blue Cave

The Blue Cave turns about 900 m of trees from Shibuya Park Street to the zelkova avenue of Yoyogi Park entirely blue. Last season it ran December 4 to 25, 17:00-22:00, free, and drew over 350,000 visitors. This season's dates have not been announced.

It is the most crowded light-up in the city, so go on a weekday. The Blue Cave evening drive at $76 runs only on the Blue Cave dates and adds Omotesando and Yebisu. The district itself is on Shibuya.

Seeing Several in One Evening

The displays are spread across four districts, and the evening trains between them are full. The Roppongi and Marunouchi Christmas lights van tour at $90 picks you up from your hotel and stops for about 45 minutes each at Keyakizaka, Tokyo Midtown, Yebisu Garden Place and Marunouchi before Tokyo Station. For a slower evening on foot with someone who lives here, the private winter illuminations walk with a local at $81 is planned around your interests and includes a hot drink. Year-round options are on Tokyo tours.

Five light shows within reach of Tokyo, compared by run, adult entry and how you get there. Dates and prices come from each park's announcement for this season.

Ashikaga, Sagamiko and the Racecourse

Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi is the best known, with a new 21 m Christmas tree for its 25th year and lights on from about 16:30. Children pay $5.06 (¥800). Sagamiko Illumillion, with about 6 million bulbs, is the largest in the Kanto region and opens daily until January 3.

Tokyo Mega Illumi at Oi Racecourse is the easiest by train, but this is its final season, and it closes on racing days, December 26 and 27 and January 1. Yomiuriland stays lit until April and charges $19.59 (¥3,100) for an after-15:00 pass with rides.

Booking One as a Day Trip

The trains back from Ashikaga are slow after dark, so the Ashikaga Flower Park illumination tour at $311 for a private car for up to six people is the simple version, with about three hours in the park. The Enoshima winter lights trip at $112 pairs a Kamakura afternoon with the lit Samuel Cocking Garden and the Sea Candle tower, both tickets included. For a different kind of Christmas, the Karuizawa Christmas day trip at $76 visits the candle-lit churches of a mountain resort town. More ideas are on day trips from Tokyo, and the island itself on Enoshima.

December 24 and 25 Are Working Days

Neither Christmas Eve nor Christmas Day is a national holiday in Japan. Shops, restaurants, museums and sights keep normal hours, and offices work. That cuts both ways.

Everything is open, but the markets charge their top price on both days and the light-ups draw their biggest crowds. Skytree Town keeps its tower lighting show running until 24:00 on December 24 and 25. Most markets and most of the light-ups end on the 25th, so treat December 26 as the start of the New Year season.

KFC, Christmas Cake and Who Celebrates

Fried chicken from KFC has been a Christmas meal in Japan since a 1974 advertising campaign, and December 24 is the chain's busiest day of the year. Orders open around November 1 through the app, often with a Japanese phone number, and walk-in queues on the 24th and 25th can run for hours. Dessert is the Christmas cake, a strawberry shortcake sold by every bakery and department store.

Christmas Eve is often described as a night for couples, but in surveys most people spend Christmas with family, and many simply stay home. Restaurants and hotel dinners still book up about a month ahead. More on food is on where to eat in Tokyo.

Weather and Daylight

December in Tokyo is cold and dry. The long-term average high is 12.0 C and the low 3.8 C, with 57.9 mm of rain over the month. The sun sets between 16:27 and 16:37, which is why the light-ups start so early.

A warm coat, gloves and comfortable shoes are enough. Month by month figures are on best time to visit Tokyo, and a room near a station on the Yamanote line keeps the evenings short: see where to stay in Tokyo.

Ring the Bell at Zojoji

Zojoji, the temple beside Tokyo Tower, has moved its New Year bell because of crowding on the grounds. The ceremony starts at 21:30 on December 31, the first of the 108 strikes rings at 21:45, and it ends at about 23:00. The bell no longer rings at midnight.

Visitors can ring it themselves with a ticket, sold from 9:00 on December 1 at the temple office on the second floor of the hall. Last season it cost a $12.64 (¥2,000) donation including a keepsake, one person per ticket, with groups of four sharing each strike, and numbers are limited. Onarimon Station is about 3 minutes away, the same station as the Shiba Park market.

A purification fire ceremony starts at 20:00, and a New Year service runs in the main hall from midnight. Ring at Zojoji and you still have an hour to reach a shrine before the year turns.

Shibuya, Senso-ji and the Countdowns That Are Not

Shibuya has cancelled its official countdown six times in a row. Drinking in the street around the station is banned from 18:00 to 05:00, the Hachiko statue is fenced off from 06:00 on December 31 to 01:00 on January 1, and convenience stores stop selling alcohol. The square around Shibuya Crossing has no stage and no official event.

At Senso-ji the midnight bell on Bentenyama is rung by local parishioner groups only, and the public cannot join. The temple's busiest hours are 00:00 to 03:00 on January 1. Last season the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a free countdown in the Citizens' Plaza of its Shinjuku building, 21:30 to 00:10.

This season's plan has not been announced.

Hatsumode at Meiji Jingu

Hatsumode is the first shrine visit of the year, and Meiji Jingu draws about 3 million people in the first three days. It is the one big shrine that stays open through the night of December 31, while its normal December hours are 06:40 to 16:00. The peak runs from 22:00 on December 31 to 03:00 on January 1, and police close the roads around Harajuku Station from 21:00.

Expect a slow walk in a guided crowd to the main hall. The shrine and its approach are on Meiji Jingu. If you would rather go by day, the New Year hatsumode and lucky bags tour at $76 runs January 1 to 7 and pairs a shrine visit with the lucky-bag sales.

Which trains run through the night of December 31, by operator. The pattern below is last season's, from the operators' announcements, so check the new timetables before you plan around one.

In practice the Yamanote line is the one that matters. Harajuku for Meiji Jingu is on it, and so is Hamamatsucho, about 12 minutes on foot from the Shiba Park market beside Zojoji. Onarimon is on the Toei Mita Line, which does not run all night, so walk to Hamamatsucho after the bell.

Tokyu, Odakyu, Tobu, Seibu, Keikyu, the monorail and the Yurikamome do not run overnight. How the network fits together is on getting around Tokyo.

What Closes and What Opens

January 1 is the only national holiday in the New Year week, but most offices close from January 1 to 3. Most department stores close on January 1 and reopen on January 2 with fukubukuro, sealed lucky bags of goods worth more than the price, and some now start the sales on January 3. The bags sell out early, so go to the Ginza stores at opening time.

The Toyosu fish market closes on national holidays and for its year-end break, so check its calendar. Museums usually close around December 28 to January 1, and the museums page has each one's hours. Temples, shrines and the free light-ups stay open.

First Sunrise and the Palace Greeting

The first sunrise of the year comes at about 06:50 in Tokyo. Skytree and Tokyo Tower have opened their decks early for it in past years for a limited number of visitors, and neither has announced this season's plan. On January 2 the Emperor greets the public from the balcony of the Chowa-den in the Imperial Palace.

Last season entry ran 09:30 to 14:10 through the Main Gate only, with five appearances at about 10:10, 11:00, 11:50, 13:30 and 14:20, and about 60,000 people attended. Bags are inspected at the gate, so leave large luggage in a station locker. Flagpoles, animals other than guide dogs and drones are not allowed, the courtyard is gravel, and visitors are asked to stay for one appearance only.

The East Gardens are closed to ordinary visits that day.