This post was originally published on December 31, 2010. We’re pulling it out of the archives for those of you who are looking for a fun evening activity that can help you keep the holiday spirit going for a little while longer. This display will be available until February 14th.
CONTRIBUTED BY MEGAN HOOSER
I love the Christmas season. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I dive right in. Being here on Okinawa, it can be a little harder to get into the season. After growing up in New England, it’s hard to remember Christmas is coming when my thermometer still reads 70 degrees outside. The one thing that always helps here is the Christmas lights. Okinawans seem to love the tradition of Christmas lights. From the random houses light up, to American Village and the Botanical Gardens, Christmas lights are plentiful. But I bet you haven’t even seen the best Christmas light display on island!
Hidden up North is the Kanucha Resort’s Stardust Fantasia. The resort boasts a display of over 1,000,000 lights every season. All of the lights are LED, making this a great environmentally friendly display as well. It is a gorgeous display of light-covered palm trees, buildings and pools. The majority of the lights are on the paths of the hotel, which can be viewed from a trolley ride around the resort or by walking. The trolley makes several stops, allowing you to get off and explore the various displays of lights.
This was a great way to get in the holiday spirit. My husband and I enjoyed it as a date night, but we saw several families with young children there. Be sure to dress warmly though, it was cold wandering around at night. And don’t forget your camera!
Cost: The ticket we bought and the online ads said 1000 yen per car. But we paid 1200 yen per car. (My thought was maybe it was the weekend cost?) So plan between 1000-1200 yen. But carpool is the trick here!
Hours: Lights are turned on each night with a ceremony at 5:55 pm. I did not see any closing hours, as I assume the lights are on all night long. They were still selling tickets when we left at 10:30 pm.
Dates: The lights run annually from November 1st to February 14th. So don’t worry if you can’t make it during the holidays, there is plenty time each season to enjoy the festivities.
Directions: From Kadena area: Follow 58 North. Turn right on to 329. Continue for 5 km, then turn left onto 331. Just keep going down this road, the road is long and windy. The Resort is located on the right about 10 km ahead. You cannot miss the resort, there are lighted palm trees along 331.
Alternate directions from Camp Hansen/Schwab, or using expressway: Take exit 8 off of the expressway and turn left to get on 329. Follow 329 North. Turn right onto 331. Just keep going down this road, the road is long and windy. The Resort is located on the right about 10 km ahead. You cannot miss the resort, there are lighted palm trees along 331.
For a map and more information visit the resort’s website.
Out of all the light displays in Okinawa this year, this made the bottom of my list. It would make an awesome date night for a couple, but I wouldn’t recommend bringing young children. It’s a pretty long drive (depending on where you live) and it was a bit awkward walking around the resort. We haven’t mastered much Japanese, so it was hard to find directions or signs for anything. I wish we’d been better prepared for this. It is very beautiful, but if you’re only going for the lights, and not staying for dinner or something, probably not a must. But a good out of the way date night, sure!
I wish that we could have seen the lights. We went on New Year’s Eve but, it was closed for a special event. We could have gone to it for 2,000 yen per person but, we hadn’t planned to stay until midnight since we have young children. Thank you though. I will remember this for next year.
My wife and I took the LOOONG trip to see the lights here. We left around 5:30pm and got there about 7:00pm although we did stop on Hansen for gas. We found that you dont have to take exit 8 because if you do you’ll eventually pass by exit 9. For those that like to know landmarks…if you follow the directions above, you should also pass by Camp Schwab on your right.
Once we got to the resort we were given the crazy look. MAKE SURE you purchase your ticket in advance on their website or wherever it is you’re supposed to by tickets cause if not then everyone will give you crazy looks and ask for your reservation.
For your enjoyment there are also golf carts that you can purchase by the hour. they are VERY slow lol so dont worry about knowing how to drive it. Some of the restaurants are for staying customers online so watch out for that. I dont mean to sound like a negative nancy but I’m just passing information so others wont have to experience what I did. All in all it was a very beautiful (and very cold) night.
whats the website to make reservations??
link to kanucha.jp
This will also lead you to their website since the “reservation” page seems so simple. You could try calling Them at 098-859-5500. Maybe ITT could help you better.
we went there this past weekend, it was nice but the rain wasnt.. so we had to run around, although they do provide umbrellas.
Hello,
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HI,
Never been to this place but i sure that your directions are wrong. First you cant turn on to 329 off of 58 because they never intersect, due to the fact that one is on the east side and the other is on the west. Second, if exit 8 and 331 is 5 Km away then why does it take almost 30 minutes (if you don’t get behind papa san taking his grand kid to school or just out for a weekend ride. Which by the way never get in an accident with this man; one he doesn’t have a license and two, no insurance) Any who if your gonna take the expressway anyway don’t get off at 8 pay the extra 100 yen and get off at 9. Plus it will shave about 30ish minutes off your trip. Worth it! as for 331 scary road but fun to play nascar on.
Jeremy,
58 and 329 do in fact intersect. It happens a little ways after the expressway ends.