Kyoto Botanical Gardens' Fantastical Art Night Event "LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO" to Close on March 31

The Kyoto Prefectural Government, the Kyoto Botanical Gardens Art Night Walk Executive Committee (hereinafter "Executive Committee"), and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takashi Ueda; hereinafter "Mitsui Fudosan") announce that "LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO" (hereinafter "the Event"), an immersive experience event that opened the Kyoto Prefectural Gardens—Japan's oldest public botanical garden, opened in 1924 via a donation from the Mitsui family and celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024—to the public at night to experience the new charm of plants woven by light and sound, will conclude on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, as originally scheduled. The event was held for a limited two-month period in fiscal year 2024 and throughout the full fiscal year 2025, starting on Saturday, May 24, 2025. This event began in 2024 as a public-private partnership project to connect the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Gardens, which marked its 100th anniversary, to the next 100 years as a hub for communicating biodiversity. As an immersive event for experiencing the new charm of plants not only during the day but also at night, it attracted a total of approximately 180,000 people over two years. The high cultural and artistic quality of the event, as well as its underlying business significance, resonated with many, leading to collaborations not only with local shopping streets and brands from Kyoto but also with a wide variety of businesses. We would like to express our gratitude once again to all the customers who visited, the local residents who represent the Kitayama and Kita-Oji areas, and all the businesses that sympathized with our vision and supported our business co-creation. ■ Continuous Update of Customer Experience Value Through Co-Creation with Various Businesses In "THE ROOM OF (IN) SCENTS," a collaboration with the Japanese lifestyle beauty brand "THREE," an experiential installation was held in the greenhouse where visitors could enjoy the vitality and fragrance of plants with all five senses while the garden shifted from winter to spring. In the large lawn area outside the greenhouse, "Candlelight®," produced by "Fever," one of the world's largest culture and entertainment platforms from the U.S., was held. At the "KYOTO BOTANICAL GARDEN STORE" operated by CCC, limited collaboration goods with the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, were sold, leading to continuous updates of customer experience value through co-creation with diverse businesses. In addition, we received cooperation from various businesses, such as a chocolate giveaway project with "Meiji," an airline ticket giveaway campaign with "Air Canada," a preview event with the world-renowned Swedish camera brand "HASSELBLAD," and a donation of outdoor tables and chairs from "Snow Peak Business Solutions." (in no particular order) ■ Revitalizing the Region Through Collaboration with Local Shopping Streets, Kyoto-Born Brands, and Nearby Universities/Students As an initiative unique to Kyoto, collaborations were realized with "Ogawa Coffee," a long-established coffee roaster representing Kyoto; "dari K," a cacao brand from Kyoto; and "Byaku," a Kyoto-based brand that creates organic mists using 100% natural ingredients based on sandalwood. Collaboration items were sold at the "KYOTO BOTANICAL GARDEN STORE" operated by CCC. We also worked on improving regional mobility by linking day and night, such as a digital stamp rally where participants visited shopping streets and facilities in the Kitayama and Kita-Oji areas centered around the botanical garden to win prizes. Furthermore, we received cooperation in communication targeting a wide range of generations through collaboration with local students, such as a collaboration with the "Kyoto Student Festival," a campaign with the "Kyoto Student Public Relations Department," the implementation of special classes at nearby universities, and joint PR projects. ■ Winning Various Awards and Usage as a Location Site This project has been highly evaluated for its initiatives and spatial value, and has been awarded and selected for domestic and international awards. It was selected as a finalist in the "Local Impact Category" of the "ART & BUSINESS AWARD 2025 supported by Forbes JAPAN," hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which selects companies and projects that have created economic value through art-related initiatives that utilize local characteristics. Furthermore, this project was selected as a winning work in the "ART: HIGH BUDGET" category at the "[d]arc awards," an international lighting design award hosted and co-hosted by the world-famous British lighting design magazines "arc magazine" and "darc magazine." Winners were determined by an international panel of lighting designers and peer-to-peer voting by industry experts. Also, due to its highly unique spatial expression, this project has been utilized as a location for brand videos, etc. In the tie-up project "24 MOMENTS OF HARMONY" between Suntory Whisky "Hibiki" and the globally expanding American online news media "Business Insider," this project was selected as a brand image location due to its affinity with the philosophy and values of "blending" of "Hibiki." It was used as a filming location for videos expressing the delicate and profound world view of "Hibiki." ■ Famous Personalities Visited, Including Rola, Arata Iura, and Ichiko Aoba Famous personalities such as Rola, Arata Iura, and Ichiko Aoba visited the event. The cultural and artistic nature of this project resonated with many, and was shared by various influencers and celebrities. Rola, who is currently active as a fashion model, introduced this project on her Instagram, commenting, "The show, which unfolds with plants, light, and music, was very fantastical and beautiful." Arata Iura, who is active in various fields as an actor, fashion model, and brand director and has a deep affection for Kyoto, also commented, "I personally knew about the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Gardens from before, and I was made aware of its new charm because the botanical garden changes its appearance at night through the production of sound and light." Furthermore, Ichiko Aoba, a singer-songwriter and artist from Kyoto, also visited and posted about this event on Instagram. ■ Comment from Yukitaka Tsunoda, General Executive Committee Chair of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens Art Night Walk Executive Committee "LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO," which started in October 2024 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Gardens, was carried out in 2025 as a long-run performance in line with the Osaka-Kansai Expo, and was visited by a very large number of people from inside and outside the country. I would like to express my sincere gratitude once again to all the concerned parties who worked hard on this project, including Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. and Moment Factory. "LIGHT CYCLES KYOTO" is a project that challenged to communicate 'completely new charm of botanical gardens' with the theme of biodiversity, as the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Gardens, the oldest public botanical garden in Japan, takes a step toward the next 100 years. Through immersive experiences that fuse plants and art, we believe that we were able to widely demonstrate the new possibilities of botanical gardens to the world, as well as contribute to acquiring new fan layers and revitalizing the night-time economy that colors the nights of Kyoto. We will continue to make even greater efforts to contribute to the further development of the region, as well as the botanical garden itself." ■ About Moment Factory Moment Factory is a multimedia studio that brings together experts from a wide range of fields. Moment Factory integrates various professional fields such as video, lighting, architecture, sound, and special effects, with the goal of providing unforgettable experiences for people all over the world. Currently, it has bases in Montreal, Canada (HQ), Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Singapore, and since its founding in 2001, it has deployed over 550 unique projects around the world. It has a track record of collaboration with clients in various countries such as Changi Airport, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Namie Amuro, Paradise City in South Korea, Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal, Singapore Zoo, Yoshimoto Kogyo, and Universal Studios.