Even when my workplace is in Ebisu, it's my first time visiting the Yebisu Garden Place. Can't blame me, it's on the other side of the station, and it's not super near the station. If my friends and I didnβt hang out in Ebisu, which is by the way, not the usual place where we hang out, we wouldn't have come here.
From Ebisu station, a train station in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, we took the sky walk to go to the garden place. It's convenient to use the sky walk because there are walkalators so you didn't really have to exert too much effort in walking. On the way back to the station, we didn't use the sky walk so I had something to compare the struggle with.
After crossing the street, we arrived at Yebisu Garden Place!
A giant Christmas tree illuminating the place welcomed us. Christmas trees like this usually attracts a crowd so even if the garden place is only known to not a lot of people, there's still a big crowd surrounding the tree.
What's great is that they positioned the tree in a way that you can see the Tokyo Tower behind it. My camera couldn't do justice, it's better to see it with your own eyes.
Yebisu Garden Place is a big complex with many buildings around it. There are offices here now and shops and restaurants too, but before, this used to be where the Yebisu Beer was located. Hence, the name. There's even a museum dedicated to the beer here, but it's currently closed. When they reopen next year, I hope I could visit.
Aside from the bright and huge Christmas tree, winter illumination is all over the garden place.
It's fun looking around because there were many Japanese couples. There weren't as many big groups like me and my friends, and I've only seen 1 person who came here alone and he was taking photos with his big lens. I think we just discovered a dating spot! π
Actually, my Japanese coworker told me about the winter illumination in this place because she went with her partner last year and showed me some photos. At that time, I knew of this place but didn't of the illumination so this winter, I told myself I should go, even when I'm on my own. And it came true!
This year's highlight was surprisingly all about the chandelier in the middle of the garden place according to their official website.
It's called Eternal Lights but I'm guessing this is not just about the chandelier but also the whole illumination in this place. Or maybe I'm wrong..
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My friend got a call from her work so before we moved on to the other areas, we were just there enjoying the chandelier and looking around. Until we saw a couple on the 3rd floor, kissing! And not just a quick one but a deep, passionate kiss. They gave us a live show! π It was awkward to look at them, but my friends couldn't helped it. π Please don't blame me, we don't usually see this kind of shows around here. We see couples touching or holding butts on the streets but nothing like a deep and passionate kissing. π Back to the chandelier..
The chandelier in the middle really stood out. On the upper floors, they even had benches were people could sit and enjoy the view.
We were on the upper floor on the center of the 2 buildings on each side when I took this photo. Around this area, there's a big space, maybe reserved for events. But what made me drawn to this place was the architectural design of the building. It's like we're transported to another country.
There's also the garden hall and the cinema on the other side. I was surprised nobody took noticed of the statues on each side.
I've been wanting to visit the Sky Lounge on the 38th floor because I heard you could get great views of Tokyo here. And what's best is that it's free of charge! Who doesn't love free stuff, right?!
So now, we're on the hunt to look for the access to the Sky Lounge. We took the way to the building on the side, not the cinema building but the opposite of it.
Luckily, we found the signs to the Top Of Yebisu, which meant we're on the right path. The elevator is an express to the top floor, and we got a view of the city as we ascend. It was a bit scary for me but I was with my friends and I was secretly holding on for my dear life on a bar. π
Ding! We're now on the 38th floor where there are a lot of luxurious restaurants. Good for dating, if you ask me. We're occupied by the Christmas tree here though. And because we're so crazy, we put our Christmas gifts on the foot of the tree and we took a group photo - making this Christmas tree ours, for a few minutes. π
It seemed like we attracted a crowd because they were looking at us with puzzled faces. They were probably wondering what we're doing. π We left the place right after the photo because it was really a funny act.
Top Of Yebisu is not just on the 38th floor, it's extended to the 39th floor. Of course it's also restaurants and bars, and it would hurt our wallets to dine in here. Actually, we're also looking for a place to have a few drinks but this place is too expensive for us.
We found the Sky Lounge on the 38th floor. It's only a small section but it's not crowded so it's actually nice. This is actually like a secret location - only a few people know about this free observation deck in Shibuya-ku. So please keep this a secret too. π
Isn't Tokyo just so bright at night? From here, you can get a view of Shibuya and Shinjuku but you could also see the Tokyo Tower from here.
They should clean the windows here. But maybe there are many people who have been here before us. π
I wonder how this looks like during the day. I'm pretty sure the vibe is different. At night, looking it like this, it's kinda romantic. Just that I was with friends. π
We thought we could have a drink in the restaurants in Yebisu Garden Place but when we went down, we couldn't find a place. It's 10 PM already and it's understandable that the restaurants here were closed. We also think it's kinda costly here so we left the garden place and looked for a shop somewhere else.
This won't be the last time to visit Yebisu Garden Place, for sure. Maybe next time, I'll explore it during the day and see what else to find.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.