Summer Illuminations at Nabana no Sato A Midsummer Night's Dream

Written by Ren Wong

Rising from this mist is the Millennium Tree, the 1,000-year-old olive tree from Spain. Gazing down as the mist drifts over these shimmering pinpoints is like seeing sakura cherry blossoms from the sky.

Across this “ocean” stand the "Twin Trees," a pair of 20-meter-tall Himalayan Cedars, one lit crystal white, the other an icy blue, standing as glittering guardians at the road to the Chapel. Each light has been painstakingly placed to illuminate every branch to its tip for a clear-cut contour.

Heading under their branches, we approach the piece de resistance, "Amanogawa" – meaning the Milky Way. The centerpiece, after which the summer event is named, lies at the heart of the garden, at the Central Pond. There, a 130-meter-long river of light rises just above the pond surface, Japan’s largest water illumination.

The latest technology enables 64 billion colors in LED that twinkle in time to music in a roughly 10-minute performance. All around, the surrounding trees turn into a sparkling vibrant fringe, lit with a "dimming light-up" for framing effect.

Nearby, be sure to take a seaton the Island Fuji platform, then sit back as it rises 45 meters above ground,offering a 360-degree panorama through its 7-minute rotation. From this vantagepoint the earthly galaxy of Nabana no Sato's Milky Way can be fully appreciated. As the sparkling starry skyarches over the myriad lights reflected on the gently flowing surface of thewater, the border between land and sky vanishes.

And just when you thought you’d reached the pinnacle of beauty, the iconic 200-meter-long Tunnel of Light appears, stretching forth glowing golden in the night. Take your time here and appreciate the numerous flower-shaped light bulbs emitting their warm radiance. Although the Tunnel of Light draws admirers every year during the Winter Illumination, only in the summer can we enjoy the cool mystical mist refreshing all who pass through, transforming the space into a floating world. State-of-the-art technology emits evenly produced 10-micron drops of water, the same size found in clouds! Perhaps this is the closest anyone can get to reaching heaven on earth.

Of course, any visit to Nabana no Sato would not be complete without a walk among lots of flowers. Emerging from the Tunnel of Light leads us into the Flower Field of Light. The illuminated flower garden, a bed of tulips made of red, white and yellow-colored lights gives a feeling of spring.

Also, a wisteria trellis with a motif of wisteria flowers in full bloom surrounding the flower bed is also a highlight. The wisteria dangle like jewels from above in picture perfect watercolor hues.

Yet this Summer Illumination, as they say, is just "the icing on the cake" of what is already an astonishingly large-scale, approximately 300,000 square-meter, botanical paradise offering a wide array of restaurants, cafes, shopping, hot springs and the Begonia Garden consisting of four huge greenhouses.

The Impressionist painter Claude Monet famously said, "I must have flowers, always, and always." We can safely bet that were he alive today, he might simply stay at this flower lover's haven always and always.

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Nabana no Sato - A one-of-a-kind feast for the senses!

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