Osaka Light Festival 2025: Event Details, Schedule, Venues and Transportation

Latest modified date: 2025-10-31 | Categories: Japan Travel

Osaka Hikari no Kyoen (Japanese: 大阪・光の饗宴, also known as the Osaka Lights Festival) is a major winter tourism event held annually in Osaka City, Japan, since 2013. The event transforms Osaka into a beautiful city of light and shadow through large-scale illuminations, aiming to attract more tourists during the winter season. This year’s “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025” will be held from November 3, 2025 to January 31, 2026, lasting for 90 days.

Note: In preparation for the “Expo 2025 Osaka“, some illuminations for the 2025 “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen” have already started early, from April 9, 2025.

2025 Osaka Hikari no Kyoen

The “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen” is typically held from November to December for about two months. However, to coincide with “Expo 2025 Osaka,” which takes place from April 13 to October 13, 2025, the event’s schedule has been brought forward by seven months. Some illuminations started as early as April 9, 2025.

However, the official period for “2025 Osaka Hikari no Kyoen” begins on November 3, 2025, and ends on January 31, 2026, spanning 90 days. The main part of the event concludes at the end of the year (i.e., December 31, 2025), and the key highlight, the “mapping projection” show, is only scheduled for about two weeks in mid-December.

The “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen” primarily consists of two core programs: 【Midosuji Illumination】 and 【OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance】 (Osaka Light Renaissance).

This year’s early “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025 Expo Special Lighting” mainly features the “Midosuji Illumination.” For the “Osaka Light Renaissance,” only the Nakanoshima Illumination Street and the Osaka City Hall building facade illuminations are held early. The main attraction of “Osaka Light Renaissance,” the mapping projection show, will not occur until after mid-December.

The opening ceremony for “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025” will be held on November 3, 2025, from 17:00 to 19:00 on Midosuji Boulevard. A section of the road from the Yodoyabashi intersection to the Semba Chuo 3 intersection will be designated as a pedestrian zone for visitors to enjoy the lights.

Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025 Opening Ceremony

Reference：

1. Midosuji Illumination

Midosuji Illumination is one of the core programs of Hikari no Kyoen and the main feature of the 2025 Expo Special Lighting. As the name suggests, it involves decorating the trees along Midosuji, one of Osaka’s main streets, with lights. The illumination spans 4 kilometers, from the Hanshin-mae intersection in front of JR Osaka Station in Umeda south to the Namba Nishiguchi intersection north of Namba Station. The Midosuji Illumination runs from April 9, 2025 to December 31, 2025, with lighting hours from sunset each day until 1:00 AM.

Osaka Lights Festival Midosuji Illumination

In addition to the tree lights, from April to October 2025, there will also be light projections and illumination installations promoting Expo 2025 at locations such as the Umeda Underground Street ventilation towers, the Keihanshin Midosuji Building, and the Midosuji Kaikan.

Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025 Expo Special Lighting

Below are photos taken on Midosuji in Shinsaibashi during a trip to Osaka at Christmas 2015:

Hikari no Kyoen lights on Midosuji, Shinsaibashi

Hikari no Kyoen lights outside Daimaru Shinsaibashi

Below is the location map for the venues of 【Osaka Light Renaissance】 and 【Midosuji Illumination】:

2. OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance (Osaka Light Renaissance)

OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance, held around Osaka City Hall on Nakanoshima island in central Osaka to Nakanoshima Park, is the other main event of the “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen“. The main content is a mapping projection show on the wall of the Osaka City Central Public Hall, accompanied by other activities such as the Nakanoshima Illumination Street, illuminations on the facade of Osaka City Hall, food stalls, and more.

The mapping projection show (Osaka City Central Public Hall Wall Projection Mapping) for “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025” will be held from December 14 to December 25, 2025, lasting 12 days. The show runs daily from 17:00 to 21:00, with one show every 12 minutes, each lasting about 10 minutes.

Besides the mapping show, there are also the Osaka City Hall Facade Illumination on the front of the City Hall and the Nakanoshima Illumination Street. These run from April 9, 2025 to December 31, 2025, with lighting hours from sunset each day until 1:00 AM.

To get to Nakanoshima, take the Osaka Metro Midosuji Line or the Keihan Main Line and get off at Yodoyabashi Station, which is the closest station to the Osaka City Central Public Hall. Additionally, Naniwabashi Station and Oebashi Station on the Keihan Nakanoshima Line are also near the venue.

Below is a map of the Nakanoshima venue. Numbers 2 and 3 indicate the locations of the City Hall facade illumination and the Nakanoshima Illumination Street, respectively.

Below are photos taken in Nakanoshima Park during a trip to Osaka at Christmas 2015:

Nakanoshima Park Light Show Venue Entrance

Crowds at Osaka Nakanoshima during Hikari no Kyoen

Osaka Nakanoshima Park Hikari no Kyoen Light Show

3. Touring the Osaka Lights Festival by Open-Top Sightseeing Bus

To offer another way to view the Osaka Lights Festival illuminations, Kintetsu Bus started an open-top bus tour route called Osaka Sky Vista during the festival period in 2017. The bus departs from JR Osaka Station in Umeda, passes by the main highlights of the light shows, and returns to JR Osaka Station. The entire journey takes about 45 minutes, with fares at 2,000 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children.

The Osaka Sky Vista special sightseeing bus for “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen 2025” will operate from November 1 to December 31, 2025. There are two departures daily, at 18:00 and 19:40, with a journey time of approximately 45 minutes.

Klook.com

4. Regional Light Displays

In addition to the two main programs, 【Midosuji Illumination】 and 【OSAKA Hikari no Renaissance】, located on Midosuji and Nakanoshima, there are also some smaller regional light displays in various districts of Osaka during the “Osaka Hikari no Kyoen” event period. If you happen to be visiting these areas, you might want to stop by for photos.

Osaka Hikari no Kyoen Regional Light Displays

Among these regional displays, the teamLab light art installation at Nagai Botanical Garden is quite attractive, although this is a paid attraction.

Klook.com

Kobe Luminarie & Kyoto Hanatouro

Besides the “Hikari no Kyoen” held in Osaka, nearby Kobe and Kyoto also host light festivals every winter. The event in Kobe is the “Kobe Luminarie“, held at the Former Foreign Settlement and Higashi Yuenchi Park. This winter’s Kobe Luminarie is scheduled for January 30 to February 8, 2026. The event in Kyoto is the “Kyoto Arashiyama Hanatouro“, held in Arashiyama. It is usually held in mid-December, but has been suspended since the pandemic, and it is unknown when it will resume.