So there are certain things that we do every winter season in Japan.

1. Trip to Naeba over Christmas for the snow (which was a bust this year, for the first time)
2. See the holiday lights
3. Lots of movies!!

For the second year we went to Lake Sagamihara for the Pleasure Forest Illuminations

Unlike last year, Mr. FarEastFurqan was off from work and got to join us. But I timed it wrong so we didn’t get to go as early as I would’ve liked.

Sagamihara is a resort as well as one of the top illumination spots in the Kanto region. About 90 minutes from Yokosuka you can get there by car or train. We chose to drive since I didn’t want to deal with the train and bus and waiting in the cold and the tolls were about ¥2000 total one way, not bad.

You pay for parking (¥1000) and then you have to pay to enter the park. If you’re there with small kids I recommend getting the ride included ticket (¥1600) vice the basic entrance (¥1000) since you’ll spend MUCH more paying to do the rides. There is a Paddington Town for the kids with a maze, mirror house and roller coaster.

A plethora of light displays and photo points that you can walk through as well as a Ferris wheel, gondola ride and other entertainment.

It gets cold at night so I recommend you dress WARM!! There’s also a food court where you can go inside and get warm and an outdoor food truck area with a fire pit.

If you get there early enough, there’s an onsen on the site as well. All in all it’s a day well spent for the whole family. The lights are up until February at least so get out there!!