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COVER STORY: Sustainable Cities

The Flower Fantasia display opposite Tokyo Station, in which flowers were interwoven with LED lights
Credit: MASATOSHI SAKAMOTO

Kouto Tokyo • LIGHTOPIA

The Kouto Tokyo • LIGHTOPIA light festival was staged in the vicinity of Tokyo Station from December 21 to 29, 2010. It was the fifth anniversary of the event, which draws approximately 2 million visitors every year. The organizers set up an Ambient Candle Park at Wadakura Fountain Park near Tokyo Station, displaying 600 cylindrical lanterns with illustrated messages drawn by prominent persons and children on the themes of Earth, the Environment and Peace. Emerging into view in the candlelight, the hundreds of illustrations created a magical atmosphere.

In addition, using white LEDs linked together in the shape of a beautiful white necklace, the Koryu light installation adorned the stone walls of the Imperial Palace moat nearby. Here and there could be found glittering tapestries of light in the shape of elephants, birds or fish, bringing to mind biodiversity, the theme of the tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP10), which was held in Japan just two months earlier.

In a square in the business district in front of Tokyo Station, carnations, pansies and other colorful flowers were interwoven with light in the Flower Fantasia display. Green, red and blue LED lights twinkling in the beds of flowers brought exclamations of delight from visitors.

Kouto Tokyo • LIGHTOPIA uses green energy generated from natural sources of energy. The organizers purchased a Certificate of Green Power for 2,000 kWh of green energy generated by hydraulic power to supply all the power used for the event. Electricity consumption was also kept in check by choosing LEDs for most of the light sources.

"The conservation of power progresses every year. The scale of the event hardly changes from one year to another, but compared to the year before last, we have reduced power consumption for the event to one third," comments the PR manager for Kouto Tokyo • LIGHTOPIA. "We want to enjoy this signature winter light show in a way that is ecologically sound."

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