Kyoto Botanical Gardens 100th Anniversary Project
Mitsui Fudosan to serve as special collaborator in LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO, a project featuring a world of plants shining in the night through an immersive experience of light and sound
Creating further appeal for the botanical gardens through art and entertainment; opens October 18, 2024
September 5, 2024
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Tokyo, Japan, September 5, 2024 – Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, announced today that it will be donating to the Kyoto Botanical Gardens 100th anniversary project run by Kyoto Prefecture and will be providing support as a special collaborator in LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO, a project that will open the botanical gardens to visitors at night, highlighting the many and varied nighttime features of plants that are different from those during the day, through light, sound, scenography, and projection. The project will be held for a limited time, from Friday, October 18, 2024 to Thursday, December 26, 2024.
In & INNOVATION 2030, the Group’s long-term management policy formulated in April 2024, Mitsui Fudosan seeks to engage in the creation of neighborhoods that maximizes substantive value through entertainment. The Kyoto Botanical Gardens were opened with a donation from the Mitsui family in 1924, 100 years ago, and so along with this connection, through the power of art and entertainment, Mitsui Fudosan strongly sympathizes with the significance of the project, which is to pass down the appeal of the gardens to the next generation. For these reasons, Mitsui Fudosan has decided to participate in this project by offering its support. Utilizing the corporate version of the Hometown Tax program, 100% of the funds donated to Kyoto Prefecture by Mitsui Fudosan will be allocated to business funds for the project.
LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO will be planned, produced, and created by one of the world’s leading multimedia studios, Moment Factory, which is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and created by Dominic Audet and Sakchin Bessett. LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO will provide an immersive experience that will allow visitors to use all five senses to enjoy the new allure of plants interwoven with light and sound. The stage will be one of Japan’s largest conservatories, featuring an expansive space filled with the lush greenery of plants. The project aims to communicate new appeal for the Kyoto Botanical Gardens and stimulate the nighttime economy.
About LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO
- LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO is intended to provide visitors with the firsthand opportunity to deepen their connection to plants through the surprise and excitement of entertainment. The plants cultivated at Kyoto Botanical Gardens and the light and sound expressions provided by Moment Factory will combine to create a fantastical world. It will be set up in the conservatory and an immersive experience will be provided to visitors when entering the world of plants.
- With biological diversity as a key word, the venue will be divided into four experience zones, LIGHT WILL FIND YOU, MEMORY OF WATER, INVISIBLE, and FOREST FREQUENCIES, and the experience will be open to a wide range of people regardless of age or nationality, everyone from kids to seniors.
■Overview
| Event name | LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO |
|---|---|
| Venue | Kyoto Botanical Gardens (Hangi-cho, Shimogamo, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto Prefecture) |
| Period held | Friday, October 18, 2024 to Thursday, December 26, 2024 |
| Opening hours | 18:00 – 21:30 (last admission at 20:30) |
| Ticket prices | Adults (middle school students and older): Same-day ticket: 2,500 yen, advance ticket: 2,000 yen Children: Same-day ticket: 1,200 yen, advance ticket: 1,000 yen Children not yet in school: free |
| Official website (ticket sales page) | https://www.lightcycles-kyoto.com/ (in Japanese) Tickets go on sale starting Thursday, September 5 |
| Organizer | Kyoto Prefecture / Kyoto Botanical Gardens Art Night Walk Executive Committee |
| Co-organizer | Agency for Cultural Affairs |
| Special collaborator | Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. |
| Special supporter | The Québec Government Office in Japan |
| Planning, production, and creation | Moment Factory （https://momentfactory.com/home） |
| Inquires | Kyoto Botanical Gardens Art Night Walk Executive Committee LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO Management Office（contact@lightcycles-kyoto.com） |
* Before visiting, be sure to check the latest information on the official website.
* Tickets will not be discounted even if you have already paid to enter the gardens during normal operating hours (9:00 – 17:00).
■Comments from Participants
Takatoshi Nishiwaki, Kyoto Prefectural Governor
Kyoto Botanical Gardens opened in 1924. At the time, the Mitsui Family provided generous support for the founding and development of the gardens. To this day, we have continued to carefully manage the founding memorial of Kyoto Botanical Gardens, which was originally created to commemorate the enthronement of the emperor. The memorial depicts the events that led to the gardens’ founding and is located near the Main Gate. Kyoto Botanical Gardens attracts more than 800,000 visitors per year.
In the Reiwa era, Kyoto Botanical Gardens marks its 100th anniversary of founding. I would like to express my gratitude for the connections that have enabled us to carry out LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO, which represents the first step of the gardens’ next century, with the support of Mitsui Fudosan, which can trace its roots back to the Mitsui family. Furthermore, we will continue aiming to preserve the gardens as a destination that is admired and enjoyed by one and all.
Hideaki Takanami, Managing Officer and General Manager, Open Innovation Department, Innovating Promoting Division, Mitsu Fudosan Co., Ltd.,
Department, Innovating Promoting Division, Mitsu Fudosan Co., Ltd.,
Mitsui Fudosan has been practicing the principle of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating” through its neighborhood creation.
This LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO initiative has many points in common with the spirit of the “& mark,” and through art and entertainment, new appeal will be created and communicated for the historic Kyoto Botanical Gardens. Mitsui Fudosan deeply sympathized with the significance of passing it down to the next generation and donated to it.
■About Moment Factory
Moment Factory is a multimedia studio with experts in a wide variety of fields. Moment Factory integrates various specialized fields, including film, lighting, architecture, sound, and special effects to provide unforgettable experiences to people around the world. Its head office is in Montreal, Canada, and it also has offices in Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Singapore. Since its founding in 2001, it has developed over 550 unique products in countries around the world, including its original Lumina Night Walk Series. It has a track record of collaboration with various clients around the world, including Singapore Changi Airport, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Namie Amuro, Korea’s Paradise City, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, Singapore Zoo, YOSHIMOTO KOGYO, and Universal Studios.
Moment Factory’s official site https://momentfactory.com/home
■Sustainability in the Mitsui Fudosan Group
Based on the meaning of its “& mark,” “to generate new value with society through cooperation, coexistence and co-creation, we forge ahead, innovating,” the Mitsui Fudosan Group views the “creation of social value” and the “creation of economic value” as two wheels of a cart. Accordingly, we believe that the creation of social value leads to the creation of economic value, and that this economic value then creates even greater social value.
Moreover, we identified six Group Materiality priority issues when formulating our new management philosophy in April 2024. These Group Materiality priority issues are (1) Contribute to industrial competitiveness, (2) Coexist with the environment, (3) Health and Vitality, (4) Safety and security, (5) Diversity and inclusion, and (6) Compliance and governance. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will work to address each of the materialities through its core business activities and contribute to the promotion of sustainability.
(References)
・ Group Management Philosophy and Long-Term Vision
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/innovation2030/
・ Group Materiality
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/esg_csr/approach/materiality/
* The initiatives outlined in this release are designed to help address the following three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
