The streets of Fukuoka come alive in December with the decorative lighting the city puts up for Christmas. It festoons local commercial facilities and tourist spots, starting with the department stores and popular speciality shops in the Tenjin district. This month’s column will describe sites that help you to fully embrace the Christmas spirit.
The primary sites for the city’s Christmas lighting are Kego Park, near the Mitsukoshi Department Store, and the tree-lined Watanabe-dori, the main street of Tenjin. The We Love Tenjin Association organizes the attractive lighting every year based on the theme, “Let’s go to Tenjin at Christmas”. The project was launched to improve the vitality and appeal of the city’s core. The association has many diverse members, including Tenjin department stores, companies, newspaper publishers, and Fukuoka City Hall, who have transcended their individual interests to create a unified organization. The Christmas lighting is the group’s main event. Kego Park becomes a kingdom of light based on the theme, “Tenjin Light Fantasy”. Visitors can see the lovely illumination at several places here, including Daimaru’s Passage Plaza, Iwataya, IMS, the Tenjin underground shopping mall, Mitsukoshi, and the Fukuoka Bank.
Other decorated sites include the amusement facilities next to the Naka River and the romantic Christmas displays along the canal at Canal City Hakata. The latter site offers enjoyable events and performances during the season. Outside of the urban core area, the Odo area in Nishi Ward is the location of Marinoa City Fukuoka, an outlet mall in the Odo area of Nishi Ward boasts some impressive Christmas lighting. The Ferris wheel at the mall, which offers a splendid view of the sea and the Fukuoka area, is festively illuminated at this time of year. Fukuoka Tower in Momochihama is also specially illuminated during the season.
There’s no finer way to appreciate the romantic mood that envelops the city in December than by enjoying the Christmas lighting.
Originally published in Fukuoka Now magazine (fn132, Dec. 2009)
