六義園イルミネーションRikugien IlluminationI went last weekend, but was a little disappointed. It was beautiful

六義園イルミネーション

Rikugien Illumination

I went last weekend, but was a little disappointed. It was beautiful, but there weren’t as many trees with red leaves as I had hoped for. The park was also extremely crowded. At certain parts they had staff with light-batons guiding people through the walkways and yelling at people to keep walking and not stop to take pictures. It honestly kind of ruined the atmosphere. But I at least got a few nice shots. I used my iPhone because I’m still not confident using my Nikon at night (also there was not a lot of space to stop and fiddle with camera settings so for a beginner like me it was probably for the best). 

Crowds are something that continue to drive me crazy living in Tokyo, but I am trying to live peacefully in cohabitation with them. Something positive I will say about the crowds here is that they signify that many Japanese people seem to have an incredible appreciation for nature (even if it does sometimes involve unnatural illumination). I don’t think there would consistently be crowds literally lining up to take pictures of some trees in the United States (where I’m from). 

That being said, I’m not sure I’ll be going to anymore illuminations this year. Let me know what you think or if you have any favorite illuminations in Tokyo or in Japan in general!