Dine by the Light of Fireflies

Summer brings out the fireflies in Tokyo and from May 24-July 18 you can bask in the their lovely glow while dining on the grounds of Chinzan-so, a sprawling historic garden in central Tokyo.  Hotaru no yube (“firefly nights”) have been held annually on the grounds since 1954. 

Three different menus are offered:

• An all-you-can-eat and-drink buffet feast of Japanese and western style cuisine from 7PM with a two hour time limit in the banquet room. ¥9,000 for adults (¥10,000 weekends) and ¥2,000-¥4,000 for kids. Those over age 60 will get a ¥1,000 discount. 
• Kinsui traditional Japanese restaurant will serve a “firefly kaiseki (traditional Japanese dinner)” between 11:30AM and 10PM for ¥21,000
• Mokushundo, a Japanese-style barbecue restaurant in the heart of the park will serve a stone-grilled kaiseki course with seasonal ingredients, beef, seafood and vegetables.  ¥11,550 (lunch only), ¥13,000 or ¥15,750. Lunch is served from 11:30AM – 4PM and dinner hours are from 5PM -10 PM.

If you come in a yukata (summer kimono) you will receive a special gift. Reservations are recommended as this event is quite popular, call (03) 3943-1140 for the buffet, or (03) 3943-1101.  Chinzan-so is a ten minute walk from the Edogawabashi Station (website & directions). 

Image Credit: Wikimedia, Woman catching firefly by a stream, Flickr, Chinzan-so Park