- A New Famous Night Spot for the Kyoto and Kitayama/Kitaoji Area -
Kyoto Botanical Gardens Fantastical Art Night Project
LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO to Be Held
Starting May 24, 2025 (Saturday)

April 25, 2025
Kyoto Prefecture
Kyoto Botanical Gardens Art Night Walk Executive Committee
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Key Points of this Release

• By popular demand, Japan’s oldest public botanical garden, Kyoto Botanical Garden’s fantastical art night project, LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO, will be held again in fiscal 2025, and this time, it has been upgraded. The project is to start from May 24 (Saturday).
• As a flagship component of the Osaka-Kansai Expo Kyoto Action Plan, the project is intended to create a new high profile Kyoto night spot by energizing the entire Kitayama/Kitaoji Area through collaboration between Kyoto Botanical Gardens and the local commercial district.
• With a full-year running period, LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO will provide a special immersive experience for even more visitors with one of Japan’s largest all-weather conservatories. Plans include coordination with seasonal events at the botanical gardens to appreciate the changing of the seasons and sales of limited-time products, set tickets for enjoying the botanical gardens by day and by night, and student discounts.

Tokyo, Japan, April 25, 2025 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, and Kyoto Botanical Garden Art Night Walk Executive Committee (hereafter, the Executive Committee) based in Kyoto, announced today that they would hold LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO (hereafter, the “Project”) again this year from May 24, 2025 (Saturday) to March 31, 2026 (Tuesday), after holding it last year. The project is an immersive experience that will allow visitors to use all five senses to enjoy the new allure of plants interwoven with light and sound. It is to be held at night at Kyoto Botanical Garden, the oldest public botanical garden in Japan, which is marked its 100th anniversary in 2024, having opened in 1924 with a donation from the Mitsui family.

Taking the theme of “Biodiversity,” the Project 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 founded by Dominic Audet and Sakchin Bessette. It offers visitors a chance to enjoy how plants and nature interact and the communication that takes place between plants over a wide area through an immersive experience. Last year, the project was held over a period of approximately two months, during which a cumulative total of approximately 85,000 people visited.

In fiscal 2025, the Project has been positioned as a flagship component of the Kyoto Prefecture Osaka-Kansai Expo Kyoto Action Plan. With a full-year running period, the Project is intended to create a new high profile night spot for the Kyoto-Kitayama/Kitaoji area through cooperation between Kyoto Botanical Gardens and the local commercial district, etc. Moreover, by contributing to Kyoto’s nighttime economy for domestic and overseas visitors to the Expo, the Project will help to revitalized the overall region.

■ A Fantastical Immersive Experience in One of Japan’s Largest All-Weather Conservatories to Be Enjoyed All Year Round

Visitors walk through four experience zones set up in the Kyoto Botanical Gardens conservatory, one of the largest in Japan, offering them an opportunity to experience ways of interacted with plants and nature, as well as the communication between plants over a wide area with all five senses through the collaboration between the forms and fragrances of diverse types of plant and the light, sound, and projection produced by Moment Factory. The venue is an all-weather facility that can be enjoyed all year round, and the Project offers enjoyment for a wide range of ages from children to seniors, as well as for people of different nationalities. (Experience time: approximately 45 minutes)
* Experience image video: https://youtu.be/jCbmtPbC-bQ

「LIGHT LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO facility experience image

■ Experiencing the Entire Botanical Gardens to Enjoy the Changing of the Seasons

By coordinating with guided tours, workshops, Christmas seasons illumination and other events that are held at the botanical gardens each year, the Project will provide an opportunity to further enjoy the changing of the seasons and the gardens themselves. In addition, Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (hereafter, “CCC”) has been included as a business partner, and will open an exclusive store, KYOTO BOTANICAL GARDENS STORE. To enable people to enjoy LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO in the own homes, the store will offer a range of select products that incorporate the perspectives of “plants” and “light,” as well as original merchandise incorporating the history and appeal of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens, and official LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO merchandise, among other products.

Example of select products: Solacube

Examples of original Kyoto Botanical Gardens merchandise: (from left) acrylic key ring, T-shirt, clear file

■Dining Booths Offering Delicious Local Cuisine Operated by the Nearby Commercial District Are Not to Be Missed

Light meals, sweet snacks, and hot drinks showcasing Kyoto’s unique cuisine are provided by open-air stalls and food trucks to further enhance the occasion of a night visit to the botanical gardens. Popular local restaurants have come together here with plans for exclusive menus featuring unique flavors for the venue. Using the botanical gardens at nighttime will open up a new customer segment that differs from the usual daytime visitors, with the aim of stimulating the local area.

Open-air stalls and food trucks

The conservatory where the project is to be run

■Offering a Special Experience to Even More People with Weekday Student Discounts and Day and Night Set Tickets for the Botanical Gardens

We plan to offer weekday student discounts and set tickets for enjoying the botanical gardens by day and by night with the aim of providing the enjoyment of a special nighttime experience of the gardens to even more people. Details of the tickets will be announced on the official website in the near future.

Image of the LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO Facility Experience

Student discount: A special discount, just for students

A weekday student discount only for entering the venue late in the evening will be offered to students. Since students will be the pillars of tomorrow’s society, we believe it is important to offer them an opportunity to have a more personal experience of the importance of biodiversity and the world’s leading digital art. Students attending senior high schools, colleges of technology, vocational schools, junior colleges, universities, and job training institutions are offered a special discount on the usual entry fee.

Day and night set ticket: Full enjoyment of the appeal of the botanical gardens

We plan to sell a discounted set ticket for enjoying both the beautiful scenery of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens by day and LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO by night. Visitors will be able to fully appreciate the appeal of the plants’ different appearances during day and night.

Early discount: early purchasers will benefit from a great discount!

An early discount ticket will be sold at a discount for those who purchase at least 31 days before their visit. Visitors are urged to make their plans to enjoy LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO before the tickets sell out.

Late show discount: There is still time to visit after work or after dinner!

We are planning to sell discounted tickets for those entering the venue during the later hours when it is relatively less crowded.

• 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).
• During the period, ticket prices may vary. Please check the official website for the latest prices.

■ 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

■About Mitsui Fudosan

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. Through the power of art and entertainment, the project aims to communicate new appeal for the Kyoto Botanical Gardens and stimulate the nighttime economy.

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/
& EARTH for Nature
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/business/development/earth/for-nature/

Furthermore, in April 2025, the Mitsui Fudosan Group formulated “& EARTH for Nature,” its declaration of coexistence with the environment in neighborhood creation. Seeing the environment as a “Holistic Environment” blending nature, people, and community into a cohesive whole, the Group is promoting neighborhood creation that expands prosperous “Holistic Environments” and passes them on to future generations. In the Declaration, five key issues to address have been established: Preserve and nurture greenery, Harness the allure of water, Enrich the ecosystem, Connect the aspirations of the community, and Promote the circulation of natural resources. The initiatives described in this news release contribute to 4 of the key issues to address in “& EARTH for Nature.”