Tokyo Square Garden Winter Illumination from November 5; HERALBONY Prize-Winning Work Becomes the Christmas Tree

At Tokyo Square Garden, a mixed-use building in Kyobashi, Tokyo, the “2026 Tokyo Square Garden Winter Illumination” will be held from Thursday, November 5, 2026 to Sunday, January 31, 2027. Tokyo Tatemono announced it on October 19. About 170,000 LED bulbs are lit with electricity from 100% renewable sources. The Christmas tree, on display until Friday, December 25, was designed based on “20210425” (2021), a work by Sousei Tokinaga, an artist under contract with HERALBONY. Lighting hours are 16:00–24:00.

Highlights: about 170,000 LEDs and the green space “Kyobashi no Oka”

According to Tokyo Tatemono, this illumination, using about 170,000 LED bulbs, is one of the largest in the Kyobashi area of Tokyo. It decorates “Kyobashi no Oka” (Kyobashi Hill), a green space built up in layers from the first basement floor to the fifth floor of the building, and the surrounding street trees with warm light. “Kyobashi no Oka” is about 31 meters high and covers about 3,000 square meters.

The lighting is powered by 100% renewable electricity. The LED bulbs, decorations and Christmas tree are reused year after year, with the design changing each time. The aim is an event with a reduced environmental impact.

The fifth artist collaboration tree: Sousei Tokinaga’s “20210425”

The tree stands in the underground station plaza directly connected to Exit 3 of Kyobashi Station. Since 2022, the illumination has featured an “Artist Collaboration Tree” created with an artist, and this year’s is the fifth. This year HERALBONY Co., Ltd. cooperated in its production, and the tree expresses the world of Tokinaga’s “20210425.” Linked with “Kyobashi no Oka,” it is designed to create the experience of stepping into a deep forest. The tree’s colors and height have not been announced.

According to the press materials, Tokinaga first encountered canvas and acrylic paint at a painting class at around age seven. Tokinaga paints by stroking paint mixed directly by hand, wiping it away and scratching into it with the fingertips. The materials explain that the dynamic sense of materiality in the works comes from these bodily movements.

An international art award winner becomes the station plaza tree

HERALBONY organizes the international art award “HERALBONY Art Prize 2026 Presented by Tokyo Tatemono | Brillia.” “20210425” received the award’s corporate prize, the “Tokyo Tatemono | Brillia Prize.” According to HERALBONY’s announcement on May 28, 2026, this year’s award drew 2,943 entries from 1,342 artists in 77 countries and regions. The Grand Prize went to “Zonder titel (Untitled)” by Kar Hang Mui, who lives in the Netherlands. Tokyo Tatemono is a platinum partner of the award.

HERALBONY is a company founded in July 2018 and headquartered in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. Under its mission “Isai wo, hanate” (“Let your uniqueness shine”), it runs a system that manages artworks by artists with disabilities as IP licenses and pays royalties. Tokyo Tatemono’s press materials describe it as a creative company that aims to change perceptions of disability and to create a new culture with welfare as its starting point.

Lighting ceremony and access

On the opening day, Thursday, November 5, a lighting ceremony will be held from 17:45, and a Christmas concert by a local choir is also planned. The program may change in case of rain. The venue, Tokyo Square Garden, is directly connected to Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line, a 2-minute walk from Ginza-itchome Station on the Yurakucho Line and Takaracho Station on the Toei Asakusa Line, and a 6-minute walk from JR Tokyo and Yurakucho Stations.

Editor’s perspective

Tokyo Tatemono is presenting a winning work from an international award it sponsors as the winter tree of a building it owns and manages. The tree is placed in the underground station plaza directly connected to Kyobashi Station. Together with the use of renewable electricity and the reuse of bulbs and decorations with a new design each year, it can be seen as a way of building art and environmental consideration into the seasonal decorations of a mixed-use building.

Around Tokyo Station, Marunouchi Illumination 2026 also begins on Marunouchi Naka-dori on November 12. Other events are introduced in [2026–2027] Winter Illuminations in Tokyo and the Kanto Region.

Overview

Name: 2026 Tokyo Square Garden Winter Illumination
Dates: Thursday, November 5, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027. The Christmas tree is on display until Friday, December 25, 2026
Lighting hours: 16:00–24:00
Venue: Tokyo Square Garden (3-1-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo). The tree is in the underground station plaza directly connected to Exit 3 of Kyobashi Station
Lighting ceremony: Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 17:45 (the program may change in case of rain)
Access: Directly connected to Kyobashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. 2-minute walk from Ginza-itchome Station on the Yurakucho Line and Takaracho Station on the Toei Asakusa Line. 6-minute walk from JR Tokyo and Yurakucho Stations
Installation: Hanakado Flower Gate Co., Ltd.
Production cooperation: HERALBONY Co., Ltd., Nomura Co., Ltd.
Official website: https://tokyo-sg.com/news/3963
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: HERALBONY collaboration tree (rendering) (from a press release by Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on press materials from Tokyo Tatemono Co., Ltd. (October 19, 2026) and HERALBONY Co., Ltd. (May 28, 2026) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team