Tonight’s times
Venue local timeSchedule
Current published scheduleLocation
MapMap
TOKYO Night & Light uses the east facade of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1 in Nishi-Shinjuku as a projection surface after dark. Viewers gather in Citizens’ Plaza, where animation, graphic art, and music are mapped directly onto the building rather than shown on a separate screen.
The attraction runs as a sequence of scheduled screenings, and the lineup can change as new works enter the program. That makes the live timetable more useful than memorizing one fixed nightly pattern.
Current Screening Pattern
From November 1 through December 31, Daily, performances are scheduled at 5:30 PM, 6:00 PM, 6:30 PM, 7:00 PM, 7:30 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:00 PM, and 9:30 PM.
How the Evening Is Programmed
TOKYO Night & Light is arranged around listed screening starts rather than one continuous animation running without breaks. Individual slots can carry different works from the active program, so the program timetable matters as much as the first and last screening times.
Each listed start is a discrete screening.
The designated viewing area is an open plaza rather than reserved theater seating. The show is free to watch.
The project is presented as a recurring nighttime attraction rather than a short one-off event. The show operates year-round.
A Rotating Catalog of Works
The program mixes original projection pieces with music, anime, game, and film collaborations. The official catalog has featured ATARASHII GAKKO! tracks, HATSUNE MIKU LIGHTS TOKYO, BOCCHI THE ROCK!, Pokémon Trading Card Game: TOKYO LUMINOUS NIGHT, BLUE LOCK -TOKYO EGOIST-, and Godzilla productions alongside works by independent creators and students.
One 2026 addition, Until It Reaches You, was created by students from Tokyo Metropolitan Senior High School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts & Classical Music. The piece turns the facade into school settings such as classrooms, corridors, and shoe lockers, combining hand-drawn and 3D animation. It is a useful example of how the program can shift from pop-culture collaborations to smaller-scale storytelling while using the same building-sized canvas.
The Building Is Part of the Image
Projection mapping is aligned to the architecture, so the facade is more than a flat backdrop. Windows, vertical divisions, setbacks, and the height of the tower can become part of the animation. Some works use those lines to make sections of the building appear to move, open, transform, or become part of a character scene.
Projection Surface
East wall of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building No. 1
Designated Viewing Area
Citizens’ Plaza
Projection Area
13,904.956 m²
Guinness World Records recognizes the installation as the largest permanent architectural projection-mapped display. The scale is useful for understanding why the works are designed around the building’s geometry: a visual detail may occupy several floors, while a full composition can span a large part of the tower.
Music is also part of the presentation. The official project describes TOKYO Night & Light as an artwork combining light and sound, so watching from the designated plaza gives the intended relationship between the mapped visuals and on-site audio.
Watching from Citizens’ Plaza
The official viewing location is Citizens’ Plaza at 2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku City, Tokyo. The projection is watched from outside the building; the observatories inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building are separate attractions and are not the designated show-viewing area.
Because the mapped image covers many floors, leaving some distance between yourself and the facade makes it easier to follow the full composition. If the area closest to the building feels too tight for your preferred view, a farther position within the designated plaza can give more of the projection surface in one sightline.
Viewing Tip
If you want to see a work from its opening frame, be in the plaza before the listed start rather than arriving during the screening.
Rail Access from Shinjuku
- Tochomae Station, Toei Oedo Line: directly connected to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building area.
- JR Shinjuku Station, West Exit: about a 10-minute walk.
- Nishi-Shinjuku Station, Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line: about a 10-minute walk.
Tochomae is the most direct rail approach because it connects with the government-building complex. Coming from JR Shinjuku is also practical, but the walk continues through the Nishi-Shinjuku office district before reaching the plaza.
Access Note
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government provides elevator-based accessible routes for people who have difficulty using stairs. Security staff at the building can assist with route guidance.
The building’s observatories can be paired with the projection show on the same evening, but their entry hours and closure days are managed separately from TOKYO Night & Light. Treat the observatory visit as a separate stop when planning the order of the evening.