Yomiuriland is Tokyo’s largest amusement park situated at hillsides of Inagi, just 35 minutes from Shinjuku station. This park not only features thrilling rides such as roller coasters and water flumes, but also family-friendly seasonal experiences. It offers cherry blossoms in the spring, pools in the summer and illuminations in the winter.
Every winter, Yomiuriland brings this spectacular large-scale Jewellumination (winter jewel like illumination) by a well known Motoko Ishii lightning design.
Truly justified by its literal meaning, this Jewellumination brings the park’s life by glittering gemstone colors of Diamond, Ruby, Amber, Topaz, Emerald, Sapphire and Amethyst.
This year, there are 12 fantastical areas based on the theme of “Jewel Olympus” and decorated with a record-breaking 6.5 million LED bulbs. Check out best winter illumination places in Tokyo, Japan.
Walk Through Our Day:
How to get there
Take a Keio Line from Shinjuku station to Chofu station by express or semi-express trains and then change to local line to arrive Keio Yomiuriland station.
There is a “Sky Shuttle” gandola located close to the station, which will get you to the amusement park via the sky in about 5-10 minutes.
Though you can buy one-way ticket in 300yen, getting a round-trip ticket of 500yen is recommended. While returning, the gandola ride gives a panoramic view of the park glistering with million of LEDs.
There is also bus line (“Yomi01”) connecting the Keio Yomiuriland station to the park’s entrance gate.
Time to Visit
Since we were interested in some thrilling rides before the illumination start in Yomiuriland, we reached the park around 10 am. It was Christmas on that day and park was very crowded. I advise you to avoid the Christmas and New-year holidays for watch this Jewellumination.
Admission Fee
Yomiuriland ticket price to the park is 1800 yen (only park admission) and 5800 yen (admission+all-you-can-ride). If you are foreigner, you can get discounts by answering a simple questionnaire.
The queue to hop on any ride in the park was too long, so we were able to take only 2 rides of bandit area before the lunch.
Food Options in Yomiuriland
As for food, there are multiple restaurants and stalls inside the Yomiuri land park. You can get variety of snacks and meals such as curry omelette, ramens, crispy chickens, popcorns, fried potatoes, burgers, udon, crepes, churros and ice-creams.
We chose to sit by the pool and enjoyed our lunch at La Piscine. There is also a famous yomiuriland starbucks near to the poolside where “Interactive Art” are installed on all counter tables.
Adventure and Rides in Yomiuriland
We wanted to take Giant Ferris Wheel during sunset to capture the beautiful scenery from the top.
Before heading for that, we checked the area of “Goodjoba!!” which is themed after Japanese craftsmanship. They have reflected 4 major factories or industries- Car, food, fashion and stationery.
It comes under the Family area where one can not only learn the processes behind the manufacturing, but can also enjoy attractions.
The queue to buy tickets for Giant Ferris Wheel was long, same as the queue to hop-on the ride. It took us around 1 hour to finally made it to the ride, but it was completely worth the wait.
Finally the park was illuminated and as the Ferris wheel reached the top, the complete jewellumination became spectacular. Taking this ride during illumination period is highly recommended.
Finally, its time to enjoy the magical experience of Yomiuriland’s Jewellumination.
10 Major spots in Yomiuriland Jewellumination
1. “Forever Green Sparkle” with Jewelry-Go-Round, Jewelry trees, Jewelry Box Restaurant Goodday and most popular Shooting Star Roller Coaster.
2. “Grand Figure of Hope” with yellow and green lighting on Giant Ferris Wheel and Jewelry Wine Tree.
3. “Beautiful Spring Promenade” decorating the 180m long stretch of cherry blossom trees.
4. “Crossing Diamond Passage” with interwoven illuminations shining in diamond-pattern latticed light and flower gate.
5. “Colorful Jewelry Town” with Sunshine Gate and Sunshine Arch.
6. “Deep Blue Sapphire” with glittering display of sapphire caves on water surfaces, Jewelry tower and Moonbow Wall.
7. “Future City Luminary” with building’s illuminations and Sky patrol.
8. “Tropical Jewelry Island” with Jewelry Palm Trees and tropical-themed paradise green-hued illumination.
9. “Welcome Jewelry Gate” to greet and welcome the guests.
10. “Jewelry Crystal” with pattern of 6-sided crystals dancing across the floor.
After roaming around these special spots, we decided to sit for fountain show, scheduled every 15 minutes starting at 5pm. The colorful bright illuminations with water dancing as waves from the pool was one of the most spectacular fountain show we ever witnessed. Even they played the Christmas carol to celebrate and bring out the festivity.
By 8 pm, it was very cold and windy, and we decided to take the Gandola back to the train station. The last few shots from the Gandola ride of the illuminated park was something which will stay on our minds for long.
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