中津川イルミネーション、室根町、一関市
Christmas lights decorate a quiet country town in Ichinoseki.
A secret pocket of Ichinoseki, a quiet street of Murone is lit up in festive glow.
The townsfolk come together to decorate local businesses and houses during late November to early January.
As you drive along the dark, mountainous roads of Murone, take a bit of a detour and you may encounter an enchanted strip of road brilliantly lit up in Christmas lights.
It’s not an area where people often commute through; the population of the town being less than 800 people, but some years ago, the townsfolk started decorating their houses with Christmas lights. What started off with two houses in 2009 has now expanded to a ~600m long strip. Now every year during late Nov to early Jan, people gather here to enjoy this special sight.
This event was featured on a popular nationwide television show 「ナニコレ珍百景」, a show in which rare or special things happening in Japan are introduced.
You may be thinking, hang on, what is so rare about houses being decorated during the Christmas/New year period? Many large cities have extravagant illumination events and some people do decorate their houses during this time of year, but what makes this special is the resolve of the Tsuyagawa locals who are working together to invigorate their town which is experiencing what many country towns in Japan are; a severely aging, dwindling population where only few businesses remain.
Details 2024:
Date: Nov 23 ~ Jan 7
Time: 4:30pm~9pm
Details: head towards here, the main strip of road will be lit up!