Top 10 Night Activities in Japan

When it comes to nightlife in Japan, most people might think of the unique neon lights on Japanese streets, or might think of that entertainment such as karaoke, bars, and nightclubs that can be easily found in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka. As a successful tourism country, Japan has already developed a tourism system that caters to all needs, including the most diverse nightlife in Japan. When you travel to Japan, you can easily find some of the best clubs or bars in the central districts, as well as multiple activities that combine nature and traditional or modern Japanese customs that you can enjoy.

Night Cruise in Tokyo Bay

Metropolitan Tokyo is always full of surprises to explore. Especially at night, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Tokyo Bay from the boat. No matter how many times you have experienced cruising at sea, cruising on Tokyo Bay, where you can see several bridges from below, including the most famous Rainbow Bridge.

Several companies provide cruising experiences in Tokyo Bay, each with different services. Some offer dishes that match the tropical style of the ship. Some serve their guest free drinks.

And surprisingly, some companies even provide tuna-cutting shows on the boat. The tuna cutting show is not just about the chef cutting tuna, it is also about visitors taking part. Some people may be chosen to help cut off the head of the tuna. A rock-paper-scissors tournament will be held among the participants to win rare parts of the tuna. However, all the guests eventually can enjoy part of the freshly caught tuna.

Visit Shrines and Temples in Tokyo that Light Up at Night

You can find shrines and temples that light up at night in all parts of Japan at any season. And in Tokyo, most of them charge no entrance fees to visitors and you can walk inside freely.

Senso-Ji Temple, one of the oldest temples in Tokyo, keeps attracting tourists worldwide, but its beauty at night is rarely known to foreigners. There are fewer crowds at night and the temperature is pleasantly cool, especially during the hot period. the Kaminarimon gate at the Senso-Ji Temple entrance and the main street Nakamise-Dori leading to Senso-Ji Temple will be lit up with lanterns. The lights projected onto the statues and towers add to their spectacular effect.

In the Kagurazaka area, you can find Akagi Shrine, which is easily accessible from the main shopping street, so you can drop in as you stroll around the area. When it gets dark, the lanterns light up, making the atmosphere in the shrine even more divine and beautiful.

There are plenty more shrines and temples that light up at night, so try to find and encounter them on the street as a surprise on the street!

Senso-ji at Night

Watch the Firework Show and Parade Show in Tokyo Disneyland

Watching a firework display can be the perfect way to end a dreamy day in Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo Disney Sea, with a moving show of beautiful fireworks are launched into the sky to the accompaniment of Disney songs.

Disneyland and Disney Sea have hosted firework shows that light up the night sky almost every night since the park opened in 1983. There are several different themes in the past. Nowadays, the new theme of Disney Light the Night, which started in 2019, is performed almost every day, where you can fully enjoy beautiful fireworks and Disney songs with Cinderella Castle in the background.

It is a daily performance of five minutes from 8 in the night. If it only rains a little, the shows often go on as planned, but the fireworks are canceled every summer when the south wind tends to blow. If you are planning to watch the fireworks, it is recommended to check the weather and schedule in advance.

Watch a Futuristic Show at a Robot Restaurant in Tokyo

There is a popular spot in Shinjuku that has attracted many foreign tourists to visit. It is called Robot Restaurant, and you have probably already seen it on TV or social media.

Robot Restaurant hosts various events throughout the year, including large robot dance shows. Since Shinjuku, where the shows take place, is a street of night, people usually come here at night after work to enjoy their nightlife. The interior of the restaurant is gorgeous and futuristic, and the light and sound make you feel the climax. It is a recommended place to enjoy shows and events while drinking beer and cocktails. After all, it is a restaurant of robots, so a giant robot will also appear during the show. It can also be considered mildly mature entertainment, since occasionally there may be pole dancing performances.

Enjoy a Night View of Tokyo from the 52nd Floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower

Tokyo City View (Observatory) is located on the 52nd floor of the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, with a 250-meter indoor and 270-meter outdoor observatory sky deck. From the observatory of Roppongi Hills located in the center of Tokyo, you can see Tokyo landmarks such as Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Sky Tree.

In addition to enjoying the superb view from the indoor observatory, events and exhibitions are also being held under the theme of urban entertainment are held in the gallery space called Sky Gallery, which allows you to learn and experience new things with the night view of Tokyo as a backdrop.

When the weather is good, you can also walk on the open-air rooftop sky deck. It is a special place where you can experience the sky and the wind while realizing that you are in the center of the city and enjoying stargazing.

Night View of Tokyo

Gourmet Hunting and Shopping in the Dotonbori Area of Osaka

Dotonbori Shopping Street is a tourist spot that represents Osaka. Here you can enjoy a full Osaka gourmet with countless takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers) shops. The Dotonbori River, which runs along the Dotonbori Shopping Street, is a tourist spot that represents Osaka. You've probably seen the news about people jumping into the river after winning the World Cup.

Along the Dotonbori River, there are many shops of famous global brands, local Osaka brands and restaurants with unique flashing signs, as well as the famous and iconic Glico sign can be found here in the Dotonbori shopping district. At night, the multicolored illuminated signboards and their reflections in the river decorate Dotonbori into another fantastic world. Shopping here at night with shining signboards as the backdrop is a unique shopping experience in Osaka.

Dotonbori Area

Night Jungle Trekking in Okinawa

30 minutes by car from Naha is the Uwaga Jungle, an undeveloped area in the southern part of the main island of Okinawa. Since ancient times, this area has been covered with abundant spring water and limestone derived from coral reefs. There are many caves, including Japan's largest tourist limestone cave of Gyokusendo.

The Uwaga Jungle is a wild jungle with unique natural landscapes such as limestone hills, valleys enclosed by rock walls, caves, springs, and small rivers, inhabited by various creatures. Most importantly, part of the Uwaga Jungle is only open at night for limited guided tours.

It is an exciting night walking experience. Participants will have to walk in the dark, holding on to uneven paths, climbing hills, and descending valleys. Gradually, you can start to feel that you are surrounded by the glow of the night sky and the voices of the forest, the falling of the water drops, the energetic movement of the insects, or even the rapid growth of plants, making you unite with the natural world. If you come on a surprisingly hot summer night, you can see drops of water vapor, where you can always discover something new and experience something different from the usual.

Night SUP Experience in Okinawa

Experience tours in Okinawa are mainly SUP (Stand Up Paddle Board), which is the most common way to enjoy the sea without the time limit. Apart from the normal daytime SUP, you can also enjoy the night tour of SUP, which has become a big boom at one time and is becoming a standard activity. There is also the River SUP, which uses rivers with lush mangrove forests as a field. Most of these are tourist leisure courses that are easy for beginners to participate in, and you can enjoy cruising while taking in the diverse natural scenery of tropical Okinawa.

During the night SUP tours, you can ride on a board equipped with LED lights in the dark sea after the sun goes down. Not only can you enjoy SUP cruising in a special condition, but you can also lie down on the board and look up at the starry sky of Okinawa.

Enjoy Onsen at the Night

The onsen（Japanese hot spring）is always a hot spot to relax, especially after a day of walking. But some people may not want to try a night onsen because the consideration that there is less scenery to enjoy at night. Exactly, there are plenty of places where you can enjoy different types of views while being inside the onsen. For example, in the paradise of onsen Kyushu, there is a hotel called Suginoi, where you can watch the sky full of twinkling stars, and enjoy the fountain show that lit up colorfully while warming your body in the hot spring. And in many places all around Japan, you can find large open-air hot springs with romantic views of a traditional Japanese garden and architecture. For example, Arima Onsen, Shirahama Onsen, and Dogo Onsen, are the three oldest hot springs in the country, with thousands of years of history behing them. For those who would like to enjoy some special winter vibes, Ginzan Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture has already attracted many foreign tourists to visit the winter scenery. And for people who want to enjoy an Mt.Fuji view Hakone Onsen and Fuji Kawaguchiko Onsen are highly recommended.

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Astronomical Observation in Hokkaido

Famous for its clear air and rich nature, Hokkaido has many spots where you can observe the stars at night. The combination of a large panorama of the starry sky and the majestic land is truly a magnificent sight worth seeing with your own eyes once in a lifetime.

Shinsen Marsh in Kyowa Town of Hokkaido is a mysterious swamp that is said to be one of the most beautiful in the Niseko Mountain area as well as a star-gazing spot with a superb view where you can see the sky full of stars at night! The combination of the starry sky and Shinsen Marsh seems to have an even more mysterious charm.

Ashibetsu City, another city of Hokkaido, was certified as a Starry City by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. Surrounded by forest, the clear air nourished by the rich forest, and the surrounding mountains block light pollution, creating a lightless environment that can be called a natural planetarium, a recommended astronomical observation spot where you can enjoy the bright starry sky. Ashibetsu has many spots perfect for stargazing and photography and a place where it is easy to view the stars and the Milky Way. Even without a telescope, you can enjoy the starry sky just by lying on the grass and looking up at the sky, and there is no doubt that you will be healed by the superb view of the starry sky that is unique to nature that cannot be seen in the city!

In big cities such as Tokyo or Osaka, night activities tend to be take place inside the city and will fulfill most people’s fantasies of Japan. But it is no denying that Japan is also valuable for its nature diversity. In one country you can find snow-capped mountains in Hokkaido and the tropical island of Okinawa. Exploring also these areas will make your Japan night tour more colorful, which will become memories of a lifetime. If you want to plan a Japan tour, but don't know where to start, don't hesitate to contact us, just simply tell us your interests and needs, and one of our travel experts will create a tailor-made itinerary within 24hrs.