Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) will offer the "Hotaru no Yūbe Dinner Buffet" (Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet) from May 17 (Sunday) coinciding with the hotel's "Hotaru no Yūbe" (Firefly Evening) garden event, which runs from May 16 (Saturday) to June 30 (Tuesday), 2026.
An Extravagant Early Summer Buffet with Live Kitchen and Special Cocktails
The Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet features a rich lineup of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes. Highlights include a salad station with fresh vegetables, popular sirloin roast beef, chilled simmered vegetables shaped to evoke fireflies, and dongpo pork (braised pork belly). This year, the live kitchen lineup has been expanded with new additions.
At the live kitchen stations, guests can enjoy pasta with fragrant shrimp broth sauce and meat sauce pasta finished tableside with freshly shaved cheese, freshly squeezed chestnut mont blanc, and flambéed French toast prepared right before their eyes.
As a ticket-based item, adults will receive a "Premium Tuna Nigiri Sushi – Two Varieties Comparison" featuring medium fatty tuna and marinated lean tuna. Children will receive an "Hotaru Manager"-stamped hamburger (bearing the hotel's original character), a chocolate banana, and an "Hotaru Manager Bag" filled with original goods.
Free-flow drinks include four seasonal cocktails inspired by the garden: "Blue Lagoon" evoking the garden waterside, "Firefly Light" featuring Hiroshima Prefecture hassaku citrus liqueur, "Firefly Haven" – a non-alcoholic cocktail representing the garden's lush greenery, and "Strawberry Spumoni" inspired by the red Benkei Bridge.
A Garden Night Illuminated by Fireflies and Bamboo Lights
After dinner, guests can stroll through the hotel's garden to Hotaru-sawa (Firefly Creek), the waterwheel area, and the biotope to watch fireflies dancing in the mist alongside the hotel's signature "Tokyo Unkai" (Tokyo Sea of Clouds) garden mist production.
Bamboo light artistry by comprehensive bamboo light production group CHIKAKEN will also be on display. Centered around bamboo lanterns shaped like fireflies, a flickering light effect that mimics the soft glow of fireflies plays every 20 minutes. The entire garden is plunged into momentary darkness, creating an ever-changing fantastical scene of light and shadow.
Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet Details
Period: May 17 (Sunday) to June 30 (Tuesday), 2026 ※Selected dates during the period
Times:
- 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
- 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
※Times vary by date. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the meal time.
Venue: Banquet Hall, Banquet Building
Pricing:
- Adults: ¥14,200 (Monday to Thursday) / ¥16,300 (Friday to Sunday)
- Elementary school students: ¥6,700
- Toddlers (age 3 and up): ¥4,100
※Prices include consumption tax and service charge.
Menu Highlights:
Japanese
- Premium Tuna Nigiri Sushi – Two Varieties Comparison (medium fatty tuna and marinated lean tuna) ※Adults / ticket exchange
- Assorted Nigiri Sushi – Three Varieties
- Eggplant Simmered in the Shigi Style
- Chilled Simmered Vegetables in Firefly Style (maple winter melon, mini tomato, round squash)
- Bonito Straw-Smoked from Makurazaki, Kagoshima with Firefly-Style Sea of Clouds Ponzu
- (and more, 13 items total)
Western
- Sirloin Roast Beef with Gravy Sauce and Fruit Sauce ※Live kitchen
- Pasta with Fragrant Shrimp Broth Sauce / Meat Sauce Pasta, Finished with Freshly Shaved Cheese ※Live kitchen
- Original Salad Station with Special Dressings
- Enoki Mushroom Peperoncino with Shimmering Olive Oil and Flaxseed Oil, Shaped Like Fireflies
- Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo's Traditional Special Beef Stew
- (and more, 19 items total)
Chinese
- Chinese Tofu Skin and Thick Black Wood Ear Mushroom Cold Dish
- Sesame Sauce Chicken
- Dongpo Pork (Braised Pork Belly)
- Jellyfish and Summer Vegetable Cold Dish
- (and more, 7 items total)
Desserts
- Flambéed French Toast ※Live kitchen
- Freshly Squeezed Chestnut Mont Blanc ※Live kitchen
- Honey Lemon and Rare Cheesecake
- (and more, 14 items total)
For Children (Ticket Exchange)
- Hotaru Manager-Stamped Hamburger
- Chocolate Banana
- Hotaru Manager Bag
Free-Flow Drinks: Seasonal recommended cocktails, sparkling wine, beer, red and white wine, sake, shochu, whisky, and various soft drinks
Special Bonus: Guests dining by May 27 (Wednesday) will receive one hotel-original umbrella marker made from Japanese cypress thinning wood (one per adult).
Inquiries: 03-3943-5489 (10:00 AM to 7:00 PM)
URL: https://hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp/event/plan/fireflies_dinner_buffet2026/
Dinner Buffet Gift Vouchers
Gift vouchers for the Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet are also available.
Sales Period: March 5 (Thursday) 12:00 PM to May 15 (Friday) 12:00 PM, 2026
Price: ¥16,300 per voucher (includes consumption tax and service charge) ※One voucher is valid for one person.
Valid Period: May 17 (Sunday) to June 30 (Tuesday), 2026
Purchase Locations: Online store, Hotel Building 3F Front Desk, Banquet Building 3F Accounting Office
Online Store: https://store.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp/products/hotarugiftticket
Champagne Night Buffet – Firefly Fantasy (One Night Only)
A special "Champagne Night Buffet – Firefly Fantasy" featuring unlimited champagne will be held for a single night.
Date: June 13 (Saturday), 2026
Times:
- 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
- 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
※Check-in begins 30 minutes before the meal time.
Pricing:
- Adults: ¥17,800
- Elementary school students: ¥6,700
- Toddlers (age 3 and up): ¥4,100
※Prices include consumption tax and service charge.
Venue: Ballroom, Hotel Building
Content: Japanese, Western, and Chinese buffet (same content as the Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet); free-flow drinks (including alcohol) and champagne (Nicolas Feuillatte Réserve Exclusive Brut)
URL: https://hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp/event/plan/champagne/
Stay Plans
Dinner & Breakfast: "Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet" Stay
Period: May 17 (Sunday) to June 30 (Tuesday), 2026 ※Selected dates during the period
Pricing: Prime Superior City/Garden View (45 sqm)
From ¥86,100 for 2 guests per room ※Includes consumption tax and service charge; accommodation tax separate
Inclusions:
- Firefly Evening Dinner Buffet
- Breakfast at the restaurant (choice of Western or Japanese style)
Reservations/Inquiries: 03-3943-0996 (9:00 AM to 8:00 PM)
URL: https://go-fujita-kanko.reservation.jp/ja/hotels/fkg001/plans/10186468
Dinner & Breakfast: Private Hotaru Night
A private garden visit for just 3 groups per night after the garden closes offers an intimate firefly experience.
Period: May 23 (Saturday) to June 7 (Sunday), 2026
Pricing: Prime Superior Garden View (45 sqm)
From ¥117,900 for 2 guests per room ※Includes consumption tax and service charge; accommodation tax separate
Inclusions:
- In-room dinner (braised eggplant, 5 pieces of nigiri sushi, sake, etc.)
- Private garden tour after closing, guided by hotel staff (11:00 PM to 11:30 PM)
- Breakfast at the restaurant (choice of Western or Japanese style)
※This plan is limited to 3 groups per day.
Reservations/Inquiries: 03-3943-0996 (9:00 AM to 8:00 PM)
URL: https://go-fujita-kanko.reservation.jp/ja/hotels/fkg001/plans/10185584
Takeout: Fukiyose – Hotaru (Limited Period, Limited Quantity)
A limited-edition "Fukiyose – Hotaru" confectionery set is also available, evoking the glow of fireflies. Star-shaped icing cookies, crispy round cookies, and konpeito (star-shaped sugar candies) are packed into a round can featuring an original design. The set makes for a charming summer gift or Tanabata souvenir.
On Sale: May 16 (Saturday), 2026 ※While supplies last
Hours: 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Location: Hotel Shop "Selections"
Price: ¥2,000 (includes consumption tax)
Reservations/Inquiries: 03-3943-7613 (9:00 AM to 8:00 PM)
Online Store: https://store.hotel-chinzanso-tokyo.jp/products/fukiyose_hotaru
About Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo's Fireflies
Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo has a long history with firefly conservation. "Hotaru Kanshō no Yūbe" (Firefly Viewing Evening) began in 1954 under Fujita Kanko founder Eiichi Ogawa. Since 2000, the hotel has worked with specialists to create an environment within its garden where Genji fireflies can breed, lay eggs, and take flight.
Approximately 10,000 larvae raised in the hotel's garden and in-house facilities are released into the garden creek each year. While the natural firefly emergence rate is around 1%, the hotel's controlled rearing environment achieves an estimated emergence rate of approximately 30%. During peak season, an estimated 500 to 600 Genji fireflies appear per day. Including adults released from the Nojiri Lake facility from late June onward, approximately 10,000 fireflies are expected to be seen throughout the season.
- Firefly species: Genji firefly (males approx. 1.5 cm in length, females approx. 2.0 cm)
- Viewing locations (late May to mid-June): Hotaru-sawa (Firefly Creek), Kokoui, and waterwheel area
- Viewing locations (late June to early July): Garden and in-hotel biotope
- Garden mist production: The "Tokyo Unkai" mist production has co-existed with the fireflies since 2021
