Seasonal Night Events
This page covers the dated night events in Ueno for November and December 2026, checked against the organisers' own pages on 28 October 2026. Every date is written out so you can see at a glance whether it has already passed. November has two clusters, 30 October to 3 November and 6 to 8 November; December has nothing announced yet.
6 to 8 November 2026: Peace of Light and the Ueno drone shows
Peace of Light is a three-night festival of light and music held by the Ueno Tourism Federation to mark ten years since the National Museum of Western Art was inscribed as a World Heritage site. It is spread across Shinobazu Pond, the fountain plaza and the park's outdoor stage. From Yushima Station it is about two minutes on foot, from Ueno-hirokoji about four, from Ueno-okachimachi about four, from Keisei Ueno about four and from JR Ueno about seven.
The main draw is two drone shows, each about 15 minutes, both free to watch.
- Saturday 7 November, from 19:30 — drones over Shinobazu Pond. Watch from in front of the lotus-viewing deck.
- Sunday 8 November, from 20:00 — drones over the Tokyo National Museum. Watch from the fountain plaza. The organisers state that you cannot go inside the museum for this.
- Friday 6 November has no drone show. The organisers say so explicitly.
- Both shows may be cancelled or moved without notice if the weather turns.
The rest of the free programme runs all three nights. The trees around Shinobazu Pond are lit from dusk until 21:00, entry free. Shinobazu Live plays by the lotus-viewing deck from 12:00 to 20:30, except on 7 November when it runs 12:00 to 15:00. A food area called Shinobazu Soul Dining, serving Kumamoto and Nepalese food, is open 12:00 to 21:00, along with a stand run by bar landladies from Ueno and Yushima. The comedian Hanawa plays a free benefit show for Kumamoto at the lotus-viewing deck on 8 November at 15:00.
Three concerts at the park's outdoor stage are ticketed, all on the same weekend: a J-WAVE anniversary event on 7 November, doors 11:00 and start 12:00, ¥3,900 unreserved; Char's 50th anniversary live on 7 November, doors 16:00 and start 16:45, ¥9,900 reserved, where everyone from primary school age up needs a ticket and pre-school children cannot enter; and Kakubarhythm Folk Pond on 8 November, doors 13:00, start 13:30, ending around 18:30, ¥5,500 for adults and ¥2,000 for school-age children, drinks extra.
A linked event, a sake-tasting festival called Kakuuchi Fes, runs 6 November 11:00 to 20:00, 7 November 10:00 to 20:00 and 8 November 10:00 to 20:30, and says the drone show can be watched from its site and that entry is free from 19:00 on 8 November. Its ordinary entry price is not given on the Peace of Light pages.
30 October to 3 November 2026: Soene Akari Park
Soene Akari Park is a light event in the fountain plaza of Ueno Park, built around displays about new forms of energy and a lighting installation run on green electricity. Admission is free. The lighting is designed by Motoko Ishii Lighting Design.
- Friday 30 October to Monday 2 November, 14:00 to 20:00.
- Tuesday 3 November, a public holiday, 14:00 to 18:00 — the last day finishes two hours earlier.
- It is three minutes from the Park Exit of JR Ueno Station and five minutes from Tokyo Metro Ueno Station.
- Parts of the programme may be changed or dropped in bad weather.
30 October to 3 November 2026: Ueno Toshogu lit up, ¥700
For these five evenings only, Ueno Toshogu opens after dark, 17:00 to 19:00, with entry and the amulet and seal windows closing at 18:30. Admission is ¥700, and the shrine's English page states that no credit card is accepted, so take cash. Hand lanterns are lent out in limited numbers, and there is an illumination seal at ¥1,300 and a limited amulet at ¥800.
This is the only evening opening the shrine publishes. For the rest of the year the gate closes at 16:30 from October to February, which is covered on shrines and temples at night.
30 October to 1 November 2026: Shitamachi Halloween food stalls
The part of the local Halloween festival that runs into the evening is the stall village in the Bentenmon-mae plaza in Ueno Park, with a stage for live music and performances. The shopping association's own pages give it as Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, 11:00 to 21:00. It goes ahead in rain, is cancelled in a storm, and the stage programme may change if it rains. Stall prices are not published.
One caution on the dates: the metropolitan government's event listing for the park gives this festival as 31 October to 1 November, across both the Hakamagoshi and Bentenmon-mae plazas. That listing notes it reflects plans as of 15 September, so we follow the organiser's own pages, but the two do not match. The trick-or-treat round and the costume contest, both on 31 October, needed applications that closed in October, so they are not open to walk-ups.
December 2026: nothing announced yet
We could not confirm a single night event in Ueno Park for December 2026. The metropolitan government's event listing for the park, updated on 1 October 2026 and covering plans as of 15 September, shows no December events in the plazas, and the Ueno Tourism Federation's own highlights carry nothing for December either. The museum and gallery exhibitions running into December are daytime visits.
This section will be updated in late November, once the park's event listing and the tourism federation's pages are published for December. Until then, please do not assume there is a light event; the only December detail we can stand behind is that the park's ginkgo and cherry leaves turn from late November to mid December, which is an afternoon walk rather than a night one. See night views and walks.
Good to know
- Ueno Park itself closes at 23:00 according to the bureau that manages it, and entry outside 5:00 to 23:00 is not permitted, so events in the park end well before that. Admission to the park is free.
- The park bans drones and radio-controlled aircraft for visitors. The drone shows on 7 and 8 November are run by the organisers; you watch, you do not fly.
- Both drone shows are free and both are weather-dependent, with changes possible at no notice. Check the organiser's page on the day before travelling for them.
- Food stalls are only allowed in the park as part of an event with a permit, which is why the Halloween stall village and Shinobazu Soul Dining exist on those dates and nothing similar does in between.
- Dates on this page come from the organisers. Where an official listing disagreed with an organiser, both versions are shown above rather than one being presented as settled.
Plan the rest of the night
If you are out for the 19:30 drone show on 7 November, the pond is a few minutes from the restaurants on Chuo-dori, and several places serve late: Isomaru Suisan Ueno 6-chome is open 24 hours three minutes from JR Ueno Station, and Ramen Kamo to Negi is open 24 hours and cash only, one minute from the North Exit of Okachimachi Station. Inside the park, Izuei Umegawa-tei serves eel 17:00 to 21:00, closed Mondays, by phone booking only. For the area as a whole see Ueno, for the full list of places all venues, and for routes the guides.
Every area in this guide
Ueno · Asakusa · Shibuya · Shinjuku · Roppongi · Ginza · Tsukiji · Tsukishima