光と森 Starlight Illuminations

 Last week we went to Shinrinkoen. For those that do not know, Shinrinkoen is rather big park and a popular spot for events. While you can theoretically walk there from Shinrinkoen station in 45 minutes, it's easier to take the bus which stops at one of the many entrances. While there is a small fee to get in, I do also understand that it contributes towards the upkeep of the park. To give you an idea of how big the park is, there is a shuttle bus that can take you around inside the park. While you do you have to pay to take the bus, it isn't a must, as you can just as easily take a leisurely stroll and admire the views, or even stop by a kiosk along the way. 

While we went there to get a last glimpse of the autumn leaves before the official start of the winter season (which started yesterday), there is also a special illumination event in the park, which is still going on this month. We originally planned to find somewhere to just play a bit of badminton, but we ended up spending our time seeing the illuminations. 

While most of the kiosks closed at 4:00 pm, there were some pop-up stalls and other kiosks where the illuminations were that were open. We ended up having some snacks and something and coffee before we slowly made our way back while admiring more of the illuminations.

Before we left we watched the light show that was by the one of the entrances. It was about of the story of Captain Bubble. From what I could understand, he was fighting a witch by means of... smokey bubbles. And, true to his word, on top of all the lights, bubbles filled with smoke belched out form his castle. I am guessing there was some kind of machine set up inside the castle, given the volume of bubbles that were coming out of the castle at any one time. In any case, it was an amusing light show.

We took the bus back to Shinrinkoen station, where we took the Tobu Tojo line home.