Japanese Illumination Event in Yokoze, Saitama Prefecture, Lights up Garden of Ice

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:50 JST, January 11, 2026

Illuminated icicles glow with an otherworldly light at night in Yokoze, Saitama Prefecture. The town’s tourism association has held the nighttime illumination event at the Ashigakubo Icicles every winter since 2014 to attract visitors during the cold season. Residents create the icy artwork, which reaches about 30 meters high and roughly 200 meters wide, by sprinkling stream water over mountain slopes. Organizers have said the formation this year turned out better than usual thanks to a particularly sharp cold spell from late December. The event is scheduled to run through Feb. 23.