Malaysians will now have more reasons to save up, as the first-ever Yakei Summit 2018 in Kuala Lumpur today introduced the top destination cities in Japan to witness the ‘Yakei’ phenomenon, which is expected to increase the number of Malaysian visitors to the land of the rising sun in 2018 and 2019.

Yakei (夜景), which can be translated as ‘beautiful night views’ or ‘illumination’, – is not new to the Japanese but is fast emerging trend where brilliant light instalments transform cities into a breath-taking visual experience. It can be traced to the Sapporo White Illumination that was first held in 1981. Since then, the trend has gone on to illuminate more cities and become one of the latest travel trends in the country. 

Hosted by the YAKEI Convention and Visitors Bureau at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, the summit was attended by members of the Japan and Malaysian travel industries and presented a unique opportunity for representatives from Japan and local travel organisations to discuss Yakei as an attractive proposition for Japan’s inbound tourism. 

The best seasons for partaking in the Yakei experience are generally Spring, Autumn and Winter, where the weather is ideal for walking around the illuminated facilities or to admire the city lights from mountaintops. Each season features different themes, ranging from historical-era time travels, the Garden of Illuminated Flowers, as well as the prehistoric Geo Illumination.

With the growing tourism potential between Japan and Malaysia, many Japanese travel facilities and companies are looking to tap into the booming Malaysian travel market. At the Summit, Malaysian tour and tourism-related companies were able to engage with more than 30 Yakei-related travel facilities from Japan to help broaden their travel network and create customised travel packages for Malaysian customers.

The requirement for short-term visas for Malaysians travelling to Japan was also lifted in 2013 - an encouraging factor that is expected to spur Malaysian travel statistics in the near future.

For more information on Yakei, travellers can visit http://www.yakei-cvb.or.jp.

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