As the sun goes down, the lights go on for an amazing illumination of Kyoto’s 345-year-old castle and its fall-color gardens.

Given its historical significance and location in the eminently classy town of Kyoto, it might be a little startling to hear that there’s a Naked event going on at Nijo Castle. However, that’s Naked with a capital N, referring not to nudity but to Naked, Inc., one of Japan’s leading digital art studios.

Following their event hosted at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen park last year, Naked is once again putting on a beautiful after-dark installation as the autumn leaves begin to show their colors. So while admission to Nijo Castle, conveniently located near the Kyoto city center, usually ends at dusk, from now until December 8 the Naked Meets Nijojo Autumn Harvest Festival program will take place nightly between 6 and 10 p.m.

A number of locations around the castle grounds, such as the Higashi Otemon Gate and the walls of the inner moat, will serve as backdrops for dazzling projection mapping displays.

Nijo Castle is unique in that it was built largely after the end of Japan’s lengthy Sengoku period civil war, and so the focus was more on stately luxury than siege resistance. In keeping with those pleasurable underpinnings, sections of the gardens will be illuminated for strolling and admiring the maples and other fall colors.

Food and drink will also be on offer, with visitors asked to join in for a celebratory toast at the Karamon Gate and food stalls serving food and beverages, including sake, made with local ingredients and Kyoto flair.

▼ Onigiri rice ball set with rice selected by Kyoto rice merchant company Hachidaime Gihey

▼ Hojicha zenzai dessert made with Kyoto roasted green tea, mochi dumplings, and an edible maple leaf

▼ Matcha latte with maple leaf

With many of Kyoto’s major sightseeing attractions being temples and shrines that close down at night, it can be hard to fit everything you want to see into an itinerary that has to wrap up at sundown. So not only does the Naked Meets Nijojo Autumn Harvest Festival event give you a chance to see Nijo Castle in a way that most people never have the opportunity to, it can also help you see more of Kyoto’s other daytime-only sights.

Adult admission is priced at 2,000 yen (US$13.35) for Monday-Thursday visits, and 2,400 yen for Fridays, weekends, and holidays. Tickets can be purchased via the event’s official website here.

Source: PR Times, Naked Meets Nijojo Autumn Harvest Festival
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Naked Meets Nijojo Autumn Harvest Festival
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