Tokyo by night, by private car: the skyline, the lights and no rush hour traffic.

Why by car, by night

By day Tokyo is a city of crowds and trains. By night it is a city of lights, and the lights are spread across the bay, the towers and the hills: too far apart for a walk, too many changes for the metro. From the back seat of a private car the city plays out through the window, with no rush hour traffic on the elevated expressway and no timetable. You stop where the view is, you stay as long as you like, and the car is warm when you come back.

The evening, hour by hour: the 3 hour night tour

18:30, Shinjuku, TOKYO Night and Light. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building becomes the largest permanent projection mapping on a building: the whole façade of the tower moves with light and music, every evening, free to watch. Your chauffeur drops you at the plaza in time for the first show of the evening and waits.

19:30, Tokyo Tower. Orange against the dark, seen from Shiba Park at its feet. From here the skyline at night opens on three sides.

20:15, the Rainbow Bridge and Odaiba. Across the bridge with the city lights on the water, then along the Odaiba waterfront: the bridge, Tokyo Tower and the towers of Shiodome in one frame. The Tokyo Aqua Symphony, the water fountain show at Odaiba Marine Park, is a short walk from the car when a show is on.

21:00, Shibuya from the window. The crossing at night, the screens and the crowds, as the car turns through it. 21:30, back at your hotel.

The order and the stops change with the season and with you: in winter the illuminations of Marunouchi and Roppongi join the route, and in summer the evening starts later.

The 4 hour evening, with an observation deck or dinner

Four hours adds the view from above, Shibuya Sky or Roppongi Hills, or a dinner stop, on the same route, with your hotel at 22:30. Tickets and tables can be booked in advance with your tour and are paid on the spot.

Night view spots, honestly

Not every famous view is worth the stop. Tokyo Tower from Shiba Park, the Rainbow Bridge from Odaiba and the skyline from the bay are the three that always deliver. Roppongi Hills and Shibuya Sky are superb but need a ticket and a queue: ask for the 4 hour evening and they are booked in advance. The Skytree is better seen from a distance than climbed at night.

Good to know

Tokyo at night with kids works well: the car waits, nobody walks far, and a sleeping child is no problem on the way home.

The Night and Light show runs every evening with several short shows; the first show changes with the season, and the evening is timed so you arrive for it. The Tokyo Aqua Symphony at Odaiba Marine Park is free, about ten minutes a show, several shows a day; the schedule for your evening is checked when you book.

The best season for the skyline at night is winter: dry air, clear views, early darkness. Hours after 22:30 carry the night supplement, 20% of the hourly rate for each hour after 22:30.