Sunday 24 December 2017

"Jewellumination" on the Keio-Sagamihara Line

The EMU Keio 9000 series passes through Keio-Yomouriland Station

Autumn has gone and winter is here in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Once a cold wave comes, it always snows in the Tohoku District on the Japan Sea. In contrast, it is always clear in the regions here on the Pacific Ocean. The high mountain ranges, which run nearly the full length of the country, give the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean sides of Japan different climatic patterns.

Winter is known as a season of illumination. Urban streets and amusement parks are nicely decorated with millions of LED lights. It is not known exactly what the origin of this event was; but I think that it can be traced to the Christmas lights to attract customers to shopping malls. I recently visited Yomiuriland, which is a famous amusement park in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with my family. An annual winter event, "Jewellumination", was being held there. The park was ornamented with a total of 5.5 million LED lights. As its name suggests, Jewellumination brings to people's mind colorful jewels. Specifically, a beautifully illuminated pond took my fancy. 

To visit this fancy park, the nearest railway station is Keio-Yomiuriland on the Keio-Sagamihara Line. The Keio-Sagamihara Line is known as an access route to Tama Newtown. Connecting Chofu on the Keio Main Line and Hashimoto on the JR East Line, its route length is 22.6 km. To liven up Yomiuriland's illumination, Keio-Yomiuriland station is also illuminated by the railway company. The limited express trains make an extraordinary stop on weekends.

"Jewellumination" of Yomiuriland near Keio-Yomiuriland Sta. on the Keio-Sagamihara Line