Fairies Omotesando Illuminations 2011

When the tree-lined avenue of Omotesando first introduced its Christmas lights in the 1990s, the annual event became so popular that it was ultimately cancelled because of overcrowding. There have been no such problems since the Omotesando Illuminations returned in 2009 – a reflection, perhaps, of the fact that you can now find similar events throughout the capital. This year's is the first to have its own official mascot: Fairies, the Japanese idol group who debuted in September in a belated response to the invasion of slick pop acts from South Korea. Whether this means that visitors will be subjected to a constant stream of piped J-pop remains to be seen, but the display itself promises to be mighty attractive, with some 650,000 LED lights shrouding the elm trees that run between the Jingumae and Omotesando crossings.