Kyoto Sightseeing: A Winter Night
Heading to Heian Shrine’s “Yorumode”
After going back to the hotel for a short rest, we headed out sightseeing again that night.
Our destination was “NAKED Yorumode 2022 Heian Jingu,” a nighttime illumination event being held at Heian Shrine. This is beside the point, but I do wonder whether overseas visitors are startled by the name “NAKED.”
When we arrived, there was a huge line in front of the gate. Nighttime used to be a dead zone for sightseeing, so this kind of event clearly draws people in—but its pulling power was even greater than I expected…
Even the purification pavilion was lit up.
The Otenmon Gate shifted through all kinds of colors, turning red, pink, and more. From there, we waited about 30 minutes before finally making it into the shrine grounds..
Once inside, you could borrow glowing lantern-shaped lights called “NAKED Distance Lantern®.” Each group could get one free basic version that didn’t change color, while a premium version that lit up in sync with the illuminations was available to rent for 300 yen. A very well-designed system…
The illuminations around the grounds were extremely flashy, and the Daigokuden looked like this. There was also an interactive feature where you could enter your name and have it projected.
After that, we made a full loop around the garden and called it a night. It was nothing like the photos on the official website—the crowds were so heavy that it didn’t feel like the kind of place where you could really go for pretty, photogenic shots lol
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