What Is the Nighttime Economy? Definitions and Policies of the National Government, Tokyo and Kyoto, with Light and Art Examples in Japan

The “nighttime economy” harnesses experiences and spending during the evening and night for tourism and local economies. In a March 2019 knowledge compendium, the Japan Tourism Agency defined it as activities from 18:00 to 6:00 the next morning. The Basic Plan for the Promotion of a Tourism-Oriented Country, approved by the Cabinet on March 27, 2026, positions efforts to let people experience cultural properties and other sites in the early morning and at night as a measure for “dispersing demand.” This article sorts out the definitions and policies of the national government, Tokyo and Kyoto, and introduces light and art examples—projection mapping at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, evening temple visits in Kyoto, Sankeien Garden in Yokohama, the Osaka Festival of the Lights and more—based on public documents and organizers’ announcements.

What is the nighttime economy? Definitions by the Japan Tourism Agency and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

In March 2019, the Tourism Resources Division of the Japan Tourism Agency’s Tourism Regional Development Department compiled the “Knowledge Compendium for Promoting the Nighttime Economy.” Its definition section states, “The nighttime economy as used in this compendium refers to activities from 18:00 to 6:00 the following morning.” It goes on to set the goal of creating consumer activity and attractions unique to the night and boosting economic impact.

The compendium cited sluggish spending by international visitors as the background to the push. Drawing on the Japan Tourism Agency’s Consumption Trend Survey for Foreigners Visiting Japan, it described travel spending as having plateaued at around ¥4.5 trillion in total and around ¥150,000 per person. It said it was especially important to expand the content people can enjoy in the hours between dinner and bedtime.

Examples of content include evening opening and nighttime use of art museums and museums, citywide projection mapping events and night markets. The compendium listed seven issues—“expanding content,” “developing venues,” “transport access,” “ensuring safety and security,” “promotion,” “implementation structures” and “labor”—and added “developing nighttime statistics.” Developing nighttime statistics is described as necessary for estimating the economic impact that can be expected from the push.

Local government programs define the hours differently. The application guidelines for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Nighttime Tourism Promotion Area Creation Project define “nighttime” as from around sunset to around sunrise the next day. The Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Tourism Promotion Grant for Nighttime and Other Hours (Night and Early Morning) covers 18:00 to 8:00 the next day. Its stated purpose is to prevent tourism from concentrating in the daytime and to spread out tourism hours.

Why night, and why now? The national plan places nighttime cultural-property experiences under “dispersing demand”

The Basic Plan for the Promotion of a Tourism-Oriented Country covers fiscal 2026–2030. According to its summary, Japan received 42.68 million international visitors in 2025, who spent about ¥9.5 trillion, and the targets for 2030 are 60 million visitors and ¥15 trillion. The main text places “promoting early-morning and nighttime experiences of cultural properties and the like” under the item “dispersing and leveling demand” within “measures against excessive congestion.”

As its aims, the text cites “dispersing demand, adding high value to cultural properties and the like, and revitalizing the nighttime economy and the like.” It says it will promote efforts to let people experience local cultural resources such as World Heritage Sites and National Treasures in the early morning and at night. Whereas the 2019 compendium was framed against sluggish spending, the new plan describes nighttime experiences as one of the measures against congestion.

The Japan Tourism Agency’s fiscal 2027 budget request materials, published on August 28, 2026, also list the same item under “measures against excessive congestion” in the list of main policies. No amount is shown for this item. The budget as a whole is analyzed in our article on the fiscal 2027 budget requests of the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan Tourism Agency.

Under national subsidy programs, initiatives focused on the night have been selected in many areas. The Japan Tourism Agency’s fiscal 2026 initial-budget program, the “Project to Promote Area-Wide Development of Visitor Reception Environments at Tourist Destinations, Including Preventing and Curbing Overtourism,” supports region-wide efforts to address problems such as an excessive concentration of tourists in certain areas and at certain times. The serial numbers in the lists of selected projects run to 58 (region-wide type) and 178 (general type) in the first call, and 9 (region-wide type) and 81 (general type) in the second. Below are examples whose project names refer to nighttime.

• Nara Visitors Bureau (Nara Prefecture): a plan to develop environments for receiving visitors at night, dispersed across temples and other sites over a wide area of central and southern Nara, to ease the concentration of tourists around Nara Park (first call, region-wide type)

• Tsuruga-jo Night Walk Executive Committee (Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture) and the Senso-ji Nighttime Use Promotion Council (Taito-ku, Tokyo): projects to create models of tourism dispersed between day and night at a castle-ruins park or temple and the surrounding area (first call, general type)

• “Osu Nighttime Economy” by the Osu Shopping District Federation (Nagoya), a project centered on evening visits to Tofuku-ji Temple by VIE Inc. (Kyoto), and a project by JTB Corp. to encourage nighttime strolling in the Atami Ginza area of Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture (first call, general type)

• A project using the Otemon Gate and stone walls of Okazaki Castle by the Okazaki City Nighttime Economy Promotion Council (Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture), the introduction of a congestion-visualization system by the Gero Onsen Tourism Association (Gero, Gifu Prefecture), and the development of an environment for nighttime strolling around the Sunport Takamatsu area by the City of Takamatsu (second call, general type)

The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Program to Promote the Use of Attractive Cultural Properties Nationwide also selected projects in fiscal 2026 to create evening special viewings and night museums. They include “A Night Special Viewing to Experience Zen in Light at the National Treasure Manpuku-ji” by Nihon Shomei Co., Ltd. and “Nara Prison Museum Night Museum” by the Former Nara Prison Preservation and Utilization Co., Ltd. The eligibility and subsidy rates of the program are summarized in our article on subsidies for light events.

Tokyo’s “Promoting nighttime tourism”: projections on the government building and TOKYO LIGHTS

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government lists “Promoting nighttime tourism” under Strategy 14 (Tourism) of its 2050 Tokyo Strategy, formulated on March 28, 2025. The metropolitan government’s press releases position the projection mapping at its government building and its light festival as initiatives advancing this strategy.

TOKYO Night & Light, projected onto the wall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building, is a permanent screening that began in February 2024 and runs daily except in bad weather and similar conditions. According to an August 7, 2026 announcement by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs and the Tokyo Projection Mapping Executive Committee, cumulative viewers passed 1 million in October 2025 and reached 1.55 million. The announcement does not describe how viewers were counted. The screening is certified by Guinness World Records as the “Largest projection mapping display on a building (permanent).”

The light festival TOKYO LIGHTS 2026 was held from Saturday, May 23 to Sunday, May 31, 2026. It was organized by the Projection Mapping International Award TOKYO Executive Committee and co-organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The venue moved from the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery in the Meiji Jingu Gaien to the Nishi-Shinjuku area, including the Citizens’ Plaza and Shinjuku Central Park, and for the first time the international competition used the Tokyo Metropolitan Government No. 1 Building as its canvas.

According to the Projection Mapping Association of Japan, the international competition, the 1minute Projection Mapping Competition, received 412 entries from 65 countries and regions, which the association says is a record. Works by 18 finalists were screened. The metropolitan government’s April 28 announcement said that a total of 12 light artworks would be shown at “Light Art Park,” centered on Shinjuku Central Park, from 19:00 to 22:00 with no advance registration required.

Area-based initiatives have also begun. The metropolitan government’s Nighttime Tourism Promotion Area Creation Project invites action plans that include fostering local understanding and ensuring sustainability, and designates one area through screening. Support amounts to up to ¥90 million over two years (¥20 million in fiscal 2026 and ¥70 million in fiscal 2027), and applications were accepted from April 23 to June 1, 2026. The guidelines planned for the initiative to start in October, but the project page viewed on October 22 did not name a designated area.

Examples from Kyoto, Yokohama and Osaka: evening temple visits, a scenic garden and street lights

Kyoto: “Kyoto Night Tourism YOI-YOI” by the prefecture, the city and tourism organizations

In Kyoto, the Marutto Kyoto Promotion Council—made up of Kyoto Prefecture, the City of Kyoto, the Kyoto Prefecture Tourism Federation and the Kyoto City Tourism Association—runs “Kyoto Night Tourism YOI-YOI,” a guide to nighttime sightseeing. Mornings are covered by “Kyoto Morning Tourism REI-MEI,” which introduces early-morning temple visits that avoid the crowds, among other things.

YOI-YOI’s “Autumn 2026 Evening Special Viewings and Illuminations” (information as of October 19) lists 35 entries. Besides temples and shrines, they include “NAKED meets Nijo-jo 2026” at the Former Imperial Villa Nijo-jo Castle, the Sagano Romantic Train’s “Fantasy Train of Light” and the autumn evening extended opening of the Kyoto State Guest House. “Obaku Head Temple Manpuku-ji Evening Special Viewing & Light Art Installation” runs from October 23 to February 21, 2027, mainly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

In 2026, Kiyomizu-dera Temple holds evening special viewings three times, in spring, summer and autumn. The autumn 2026 viewing runs from November 21 to 30, with the gates open until 21:30 (entry until 21:00), and no reservation is required. The official website explains, “The single beam of blue light emitted from Kiyomizu-dera represents the compassion of Kannon.” Kyoto’s autumn evening events are introduced in our roundup of evening temple visits and illuminations in Kyoto.

Museums at night are also covered. YOI-YOI’s “List of Night Museums in Kyoto” (published September 16, 2026) lists eight venues. Alongside the Kyoto National Museum (open until 20:00 on Fridays) and The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (until 20:00 on Fridays during special exhibitions with evening hours), teamLab Biovortex Kyoto (9:00–21:00) is also included.

Yokohama: Sankeien Garden’s “Yaso,” selected for a Japan Tourism Agency program

At Sankeien Garden, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty in Naka-ku, Yokohama, “Yokohama Sankeien Yaso – A Stroll Garden by Night –” will be held on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, December 20, 2026, for a total of 16 days. Hours are 17:15–21:00 (last entry 20:30). It is organized by Kaze no Heritage Co., Ltd. and co-organized by the City of Yokohama, with special cooperation from the Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation.

According to the press materials, the project was selected for the Japan Tourism Agency’s “Project to Promote Area-Wide Development of Visitor Reception Environments at Tourist Destinations, Including Preventing and Curbing Overtourism.” Sankeien was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 2007, and of the 17 historic buildings in the garden, 10 are Important Cultural Properties and 3 are Tangible Cultural Properties designated by the City of Yokohama. The details of the show are reported in our article on Sankeien’s “Yaso”.

Osaka: the Osaka Festival of the Lights, funded by the accommodation tax

The Osaka Festival of the Lights Executive Committee, made up of Osaka Prefecture, the City of Osaka, the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau, business organizations and others, is holding the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2026 from Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (national holiday) to Sunday, January 31, 2027. Through Thursday, December 31, Midosuji Illumination 2026 lights Midosuji from the Hanshin-mae intersection to the Namba Nishiguchi intersection from around 17:00 until 1:00 the next morning. The projection mapping at the Osaka City Central Public Hall runs from Friday, December 11 to Friday, December 25, 17:30–21:30. The official website states, “This project is implemented using the accommodation tax.”

According to Osaka Prefecture’s announcement on March 27, 2026, attendance at the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2025, held from April 9, 2025 to January 31, 2026, was calculated at a cumulative total of about 45 million, based on pedestrian-traffic surveys and other data. Of this, 25 area programs by 24 organizations in the prefecture accounted for about 16.15 million. The economic ripple effect, calculated by a private think tank commissioned by the prefecture using the Osaka Prefecture input-output tables, came to about ¥803.2 billion.

Editor’s perspective

Putting the public documents side by side shows that each defines the nighttime hours differently: 18:00 to 6:00 the next morning in the Japan Tourism Agency’s compendium, around sunset to around sunrise in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s guidelines, and 18:00 to 8:00 the next morning for the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau’s grant. Counting methods differ too: Osaka Prefecture states that it used pedestrian-traffic surveys and other data, while the announcement of cumulative viewers at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building does not describe its method. More than seven years have passed since the compendium called for “developing nighttime statistics” to estimate economic impact, but within the documents we checked, comparisons based on consistent definitions and measurements remain difficult.

The policy context has shifted as well. The 2019 compendium was framed against sluggish spending, but the 2026 Basic Plan places nighttime cultural-property experiences among the measures against congestion and for dispersing demand. The project names in the Japan Tourism Agency’s selection lists that refer to “day-night dispersal” and “nighttime dispersal” can be seen as a sign of this. Can light shows and evening museum openings both draw people at night and ease daytime crowding? Reports from projects around the country will provide the material to test this. Overseas, Singapore’s arts festival Light to Night closed roads on weekends during its 2026 edition to create outdoor venues and kept National Gallery Singapore open until midnight.

Data sources and methodology

• Japan Tourism Agency, “Knowledge Compendium for Promoting the Nighttime Economy”: Tourism Resources Division, Tourism Regional Development Department, March 2019. The definition (18:00 to 6:00 the next morning), the seven issues and the development of nighttime statistics are as described in this document. Travel-spending figures are those the document cites from the Japan Tourism Agency’s Consumption Trend Survey for Foreigners Visiting Japan.

• Basic Plan for the Promotion of a Tourism-Oriented Country: approved by the Cabinet on March 27, 2026; covers fiscal 2026–2030. Quotations on nighttime experiences are from the “measures against excessive congestion” section of the main text; actual and target visitor numbers and spending are from the summary.

• Lists of projects selected in the first and second calls for the Japan Tourism Agency’s “Project to Promote Area-Wide Development of Visitor Reception Environments at Tourist Destinations, Including Preventing and Curbing Overtourism”: the PDFs carry no creation date; viewed October 22, 2026. Counts are the final serial numbers in the lists. The projects mentioned in the text are examples chosen by the editors from those whose names refer to nighttime, not a complete list.

• Cumulative viewers of TOKYO Night & Light: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs and the Tokyo Projection Mapping Executive Committee, announced August 7, 2026. Covers the period from the project’s start in February 2024 to the announcement. No measurement method stated.

• Entries to the 1minute Projection Mapping Competition: Projection Mapping Association of Japan, announced June 2, 2026. Neither that announcement nor the official website gives overall attendance for TOKYO LIGHTS 2026. The number of works and viewing hours for Light Art Park are from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s pre-event announcement (April 28, 2026).

• Number of listings on Kyoto Night Tourism YOI-YOI: the editors counted the rows in the list on the Marutto Kyoto Promotion Council’s page (information as of October 19, 2026). Separate events at the same venue are counted separately.

• Attendance and economic ripple effect of the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2025: Osaka Prefecture, announced March 27, 2026. Covers April 9, 2025 to January 31, 2026. Attendance is a cumulative headcount calculated from pedestrian-traffic surveys and other data. The economic ripple effect was calculated by a commissioned private think tank using the Osaka Prefecture input-output tables.

Frequently asked questions

What hours does the nighttime economy cover?

There is no unified definition; it varies by document. The Japan Tourism Agency’s compendium (March 2019) defines it as activities from 18:00 to 6:00 the next morning. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Nighttime Tourism Promotion Area Creation Project covers from around sunset to around sunrise the next day, and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau’s grant covers 18:00 to 8:00 the next day.

Why is the national government promoting nighttime experiences of cultural properties?

The Basic Plan for the Promotion of a Tourism-Oriented Country, approved by the Cabinet on March 27, 2026, says the aim is “dispersing demand, adding high value to cultural properties and the like, and revitalizing the nighttime economy and the like.” It promotes efforts to let people experience cultural resources such as World Heritage Sites and National Treasures in the early morning and at night.

What national and Tokyo programs can be used for nighttime events?

Those mentioned in this article include the Japan Tourism Agency’s area-wide visitor reception environment program, the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ Program to Promote the Use of Attractive Cultural Properties Nationwide, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Nighttime Tourism Promotion Area Creation Project and the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau’s nighttime grant. Eligibility and subsidy conditions differ by program. Check the specific procedures with the relevant office.

Articles organized by each stage of planning are gathered in our guide for those planning projection mapping and light events.

*Information as of October 22, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: “Isho no Tsuzuri” (A Compilation of Designs) in the inner moat at NAKED meets Nijo-jo 2026 (from NAKED, INC.’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on official announcements and public materials from each agency and organizer (as of October 22, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Among the items introduced in this article, for the projection mapping at the Osaka City Central Public Hall during the Osaka Festival of the Lights 2026, HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE, has been selected as the top-ranked proposer for the production and related work. The company also produces projection mapping at Tsuruga-jo Castle and Senso-ji, which this article mentions as recipients of Japan Tourism Agency support (About us).

HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE, plans, directs, produces and operates projection mapping at National Treasures, Important Cultural Properties, World Heritage Sites and urban landmarks, as well as immersive exhibitions. Planning for events intended to draw visitors and benefit the local area is also within the scope of its consultations. Inquiries, including those at the stage before a budget is set, are accepted through HITOHATA, INC.’s contact form (which has an option for local government and public projects). The company’s past work is introduced on HITOHATA, INC.’s project portfolio page.