A blue Christmas in Nakameguro - if you're in Tokyo, go!

UPDATE: Sadly no more. The blue lights of 2014 have become a victim of their own success and have been cancelled for the 2015 season. Adored by huge crowds, that was actually the problem. Simply too many people joined in the festivities and the call has been made it's just not safe anymore. Great while they lasted, having been in the crowds last year, reluctantly I have to admit they have a point.
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Something has happened in Nakameguro, a small neighbourhood of central Tokyo, nestled below the slopes of Daikanyama. Each spring the sakura (cherry blossom) transforms the area into an almost magical walk along the Meguro river. It's packed with sightseers and no place for pushchairs but one of my favourite strolls through a city of millions of people. And usually that's it until next year. But not this time.

The tree lined Omote Sando is the Champs Elysees of Tokyo with it's high end brands and ultra fashionable shoppers. And for many years has celebrated the Christmas season by wrapping the Zelkova with white lights and it really is a wonderful sight. Now, for the first time, this year someone decided it would be a good idea to wrap the cherry trees of Nakameguro with blue lights. And it is spectacular. 

The lights were turned on at the beginning of December from 5.00PM each evening and since then the crowds have flocked down. They probably should have remembered to close the roads and the security guards were struggling hard to keep the cars and revellers apart. But what a sight. Nicely done whoever you are who made this decision. If you're in Tokyo take an evening and go. It's one of those sights you just need to see.

The incredible lights of the Meguro River