Sankeien’s “Yaso” from November 20 Stages a Scenic Garden at Night with Color, Light and Sound; Co-organized by Yokohama City and Selected for a Japan Tourism Agency Program

Kaze no Heritage Co., Ltd. will hold “Yokohama Sankeien Yaso – A Stroll Garden by Night –,” a special program touring the garden at night, at Sankeien, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty in Naka-ku, Yokohama. It runs on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays between Friday, November 20 and Sunday, December 20, 2026, for a total of 16 days, from 17:15 to 21:00. Staging with color, light and sound is added to the garden and its historic buildings in the autumn-leaf season. It is co-organized by the City of Yokohama, with special cooperation from the Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation. Value Management Group announced the event on October 15.

“Sankei’s Seven Eyes”: layering light with the Yamashina family’s kasane no irome

The staging concept is “Sankei’s Seven Eyes.” Visitors enter from the Main Gate or South Gate, proceed from the Large Pond to the Inner Garden, pass through the Inner Garden and return to the Large Pond. Seven staging points are placed along this circuit centered on the Inner Garden.

The colors of the light are based on kasane no irome, the layered color combinations handed down in the Yamashina family, known as a house of court costume. By layering colors without mixing them, the event aims to bring out the garden as layers of historic buildings and nature. The First Eye (the plaza in front of the teahouse) uses “yellow autumn leaves,” the Second Eye (the Gomon Gate) “kikujin woven color,” the Third Eye (the waterside of the Rinshunkaku) “tsukikusa (dayflower)” and the Fourth Eye (in front of the Choshukaku) “white chrysanthemum.” The Fifth Eye (the back of the valley, Rengein and the bamboo grove) uses “pine layers,” the Sixth Eye (the Kaigan Gate) “flowering pampas grass” and the Seventh Eye (the wisteria trellis) “withered color.” From the Seventh Eye, the Three-Story Pagoda can be seen across the Large Pond.

Planning, design and direction are by the staging unit IN-EI, formed by Tokichika Yamashina, the 30th head of the Yamashina family, which carries on the tradition of court costume, and Kazumasa Murayama of Kyoto Muramasa. The unit says its theme is to express the Japanese aesthetics of “shadow,” “color,” “season” and “empty space” through contemporary light and spatial staging.

The 120th anniversary, and the first project under an agreement with the Hoshokai and the City of Yokohama

Sankeien was opened on May 1, 1906 (Meiji 39) by Hara Sankei, a businessman who made his fortune in the raw silk trade. Of the 17 historic buildings in the roughly 17.5-hectare garden, 10 are nationally designated Important Cultural Properties and 3 are Tangible Cultural Properties designated by the City of Yokohama. It was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 2007, and the Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation was established in 1953.

In 2025, Value Management Group concluded a basic agreement with the Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation and the City of Yokohama. The agreement aims to create content through which visitors experience the essential value of the scenic site and to contribute to its sustainable operation. The group handles the planning, development and running of experience content, as well as promotion and sales. This event is the first since the agreement was concluded and is also a commemorative project for the garden’s 120th anniversary. Kaze no Heritage is the group company responsible for hotel operation and tourism-based community development.

As part of its 120th-anniversary program, the garden is also holding a special opening of the Important Cultural Property Former Tokeiji Buddha Hall from Sunday, November 8 to Sunday, December 13, 10:00–15:00 (free, with garden admission charged separately). It is the third in a series of special building openings.

Selected for the Japan Tourism Agency’s area-wide reception environment program: the background to opening a scenic garden at night

The initiative has been 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,” a program in the fiscal 2026 initial budget. Noting that problems such as excessive concentrations of tourists in certain areas and at certain times and breaches of etiquette have become apparent, the agency says it will provide area-wide, comprehensive support for initiatives undertaken by communities as a whole.

In their 2025 agreement, the Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation, the City of Yokohama and Value Management Group set out to contribute to the scenic site’s sustainable operation through experience content. Yaso opens only on weekend and holiday evenings during the autumn-leaf season. The background to the many events lighting cultural properties at night around the country is covered in our article on why illuminations and projection mapping at cultural properties are proliferating, and the national and Tokyo programs used for light events in our roundup of subsidies.

Tickets, admission and access

Admission is ¥1,000 for adults (high school students and older) and ¥500 for children (elementary and junior high school students); preschool children are free. An event-specific ticket is required at night, and Sankeien admission tickets, annual passes, invitations and other discount tickets cannot be used. Tickets can be bought at the Main Gate and South Gate ticket booths. Online tickets are scheduled to go on sale on the event’s official website in November, at ¥100 off the above prices.

On event days, a free shuttle bus runs about every 20 minutes between JR Negishi Station (stop 9) and the Sankeien South Gate entrance, departing Negishi Station from 16:50 to 20:10 and the South Gate entrance from 18:20 to 21:20. The event goes ahead in light rain and may be canceled in severe weather. A light event held in Yokohama in winter is introduced in our article on YORUNOYO 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When is “Yasou” at Sankeien held?

It is held on a total of 16 days, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, December 20, 2026, from 5:15 to 9:00 p.m., at Sankeien, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty in Naka Ward, Yokohama.

How much does it cost?

1,000 yen for adults (high school students and older) and 500 yen for children (elementary and junior high school students); preschool children are free. A dedicated event ticket is required at night, and Sankeien admission tickets and annual passes cannot be used. Online tickets, scheduled to go on sale in November on the official event website, are 100 yen cheaper.

How do I get there?

On event days, a free shuttle bus runs about every 20 minutes between JR Negishi Station (stop No. 9) and the Sankeien South Gate entrance, departing Negishi Station from 4:50 to 8:10 p.m. The event goes ahead in light rain but may be canceled in severe weather.

Overview

Name: Yokohama Sankeien Yaso – A Stroll Garden by Night –
Dates: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays from Friday, November 20 to Sunday, December 20, 2026 (16 days in total)
Hours: 17:15–21:00 (last entry 20:30)
Venue: Sankeien, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty
Address: 58-1 Honmoku-sannotani, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
Admission: Adults (high school students and older) ¥1,000, children (elementary and junior high school students) ¥500, preschool children free (online tickets ¥100 off)
Organizer: Kaze no Heritage Co., Ltd.
Co-organizer: City of Yokohama
Special cooperation: Sankeien Hoshokai Foundation
Planning, design and direction: IN-EI
Official website: https://www.kazenoheritage.jp/special/yokohama-sankeien-yasou
*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Key visual for “Yokohama Sankeien Yaso – A Stroll Garden by Night –” (from Value Management Group’s press release)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from Kaze no Heritage Co., Ltd. (Value Management Group) (October 15, 2026) and information on the official websites of Sankeien and the Japan Tourism Agency.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team