Three Towns in the Greater Shinagawa Area Connected by Light and Sound
From Thursday, November 19, 2026 to Sunday, January 31, 2027, a wide-area linked light installation event called "LIGHTBEATS" (ライトビーツ, "heartbeat of light") will be held for the first time in three towns of the Greater Shinagawa area (広域品川圏): WATERS takeshiba in Takeshiba, TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY in Takanawa, and OIMACHI TRACKS in Oimachi. The Greater Shinagawa area is the southern Tokyo area from Hamamatsucho Station to Oimachi Station, where the JR East Group is carrying out town development.
LIGHTBEATS is an event where visitors do not just watch the light but also "create the light of the town." The program unfolds along two time axes, "WALKING" (time to walk) and "VIEWING" (time to watch), and visitors can enjoy thinking about "light" in many ways. Each visitor's movement is treated as a "heartbeat," and the different rhythms born in each place meet and overlap across the towns, forming one big heartbeat of the town.
Participatory Programs That Connect the Towns
At the venues, visitors can enjoy interactive experience programs that respond to their movements, and a show program in which the lighting of the whole venue is linked once every 30 minutes. Each venue has "BEAT PORTAL," a triangular or arch-shaped gate object that symbolizes LIGHTBEATS. Light and sound are produced when visitors walk through it, so visitors' actions become the starting point of the effects.
"BEAT BEAMERS," an interactive floor projection mapping, is also available in all three towns. It senses visitors' movements, sends that data to the other two towns as linked signals, and expresses it with light and sound. At Takanawa, there is also "BUBBLE FOUNTAIN," where visitors move their arms and bodies in front of the fountain as if holding bubbles. Light, sound, and water respond to the movements, letting visitors connect with the fountain like a conductor. These and other participatory programs let visitors enjoy moving their bodies.
In addition, "KAZASUICA," a device that triggers special effects when a Suica is tapped, lets visitors enjoy special effects with a Suica tap. A special effect called "MAGIC NUMBER (three is)" also occurs when a Suica is tapped in all three towns.
Two Ways to Enjoy: WALKING and VIEWING
In "WALKING" (time to walk), visitors tour the towns and experience a variety of participatory programs. Walking and moving the body itself becomes an experience that creates the light and sound effects. In "VIEWING" (time to watch), the three towns are linked, and a special 5-minute show of light and sound is held once every 30 minutes. Each visitor's heartbeat becomes the light of the town, and the three towns of Takanawa, Takeshiba, and Oimachi resonate as one beat in effects unique to LIGHTBEATS.
By enjoying both "WALKING" and "VIEWING," the event aims to create a special time in which the whole town is wrapped in a sense of unity, under the concept "each person's heartbeat becomes one beat."
A Website Showing the Current State of Each Town
The website shows venue information and show schedules, and it also lets visitors see at a glance how many people are enjoying the effects with KAZASUICA. The "heartbeat of the town" unique to LIGHTBEATS, in which the town's expression changes depending on visitors' actions, can also be felt on the website.
The site will be published on the official LIGHTBEATS website as soon as it is ready: https://greatershinagawa.com/lightbeats
Lighting Ceremony to Launch LIGHTBEATS
The lighting ceremony that opens LIGHTBEATS starts the light and sound effects together with the visitors and creates the first "heartbeat" connecting the three towns. The lighting and effects at each venue start all at once, wrapping the Greater Shinagawa area in light and sound. After the ceremony, visitors can try various programs in which they take part in the effects themselves while touring the towns and enjoying the world of LIGHTBEATS, where light and sound are connected.
- Date and time: Thursday, November 19, 2026, from 5:00 PM
- Location: TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, 2F station-front plaza Gateway Park (2F駅前広場Gateway Park)
- Speakers: Virtual human Ria and others
- Other: Free admission
The event brings together the heartbeats of people who each walk at their own speed, move to their own rhythm, and feel in their own way, and forms them into one big "BEAT." It offers a new form of night event in the Greater Shinagawa area this winter.
Event Information
- Event name: LIGHTBEATS (ライトビーツ)
- Organizer: East Japan Railway Company (JR East)
- Period: Thursday, November 19, 2026 to Sunday, January 31, 2027, 5:30 PM to 11:05 PM (planned)
- Admission: Free
Venues
WATERS takeshiba
Address: 東京都港区海岸1-10-30 (Kaigan, Minato City, Tokyo)
TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
Address: 東京都港区港南2-21-1ほか (Konan, Minato City, Tokyo)
OIMACHI TRACKS
Address: 東京都品川区広町2-2-9 (Hiromachi, Shinagawa City, Tokyo)
Installation Details
BEAT PORTAL
A gate-shaped installation that produces light and sound when people pass through it. There are two types, the triangular "Prism" and the arch-shaped "Arc." "Prism" generates reflecting and radiating movements as light and video spread, and "Arc" generates movements such as resonating ripples and circles.
- WATERS takeshiba: 8 Prism units
- TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY: 6 Prism units
- OIMACHI TRACKS: 1 Arc unit
BEAT BEAMERS
A floor projection mapping that senses the movements of the people there and lets people in the towns send light (linked signals) to each other. The signals spread across time and space and resonate.
Locations: WATERS takeshiba, TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, OIMACHI TRACKS
BUBBLE FOUNTAIN
When a visitor stands on one of the three triangular conductor's podiums around the fountain and waves their arms, the fountain responds to the gesture, and its height, color, and more change with the movement. The colors of the light also change depending on the number of participants, and the effects of the whole space are created as each person's actions overlap.
If there is one participant, that person controls the whole fountain. When other visitors join, each controls a different range or color, and they can also coordinate and sync with each other. When the movements of three participants match, a finale effect is triggered. Sound, light, and water become one, and the participants themselves become the stars of the show in this experience-based program that creates special moments.
Location: TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
KAZASUICA
A device that triggers special effects when a Suica is tapped. Light and sound effects that begin with a visitor's Suica tap overlap with the movements of the people gathered there and create dynamic effects. The everyday Suica becomes the key to creating effects that color the town.
KAZASUICA Special Effect: MAGIC NUMBER (three is)
A special effect experienced by touring the three towns of Takeshiba, Takanawa, and Oimachi. If a visitor experiences KAZASUICA in all three towns during the event period, a limited effect celebrating the visitor's own trail appears in the third town. The order of visits is free. The trail of the journey connecting the three towns is expressed as one beat, a special moment unique to LIGHTBEATS.
Locations: WATERS takeshiba, TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, OIMACHI TRACKS
PULSE MATCH
A program that uses lasers (light) to create a "rhythm of light" on the ceiling of a passage, based on data acquired at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY. It guides visitors toward MoN Takanawa.
Location: TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
Luminous Fir (光を放つモミの木)
The fir tree in the 1F transportation plaza (交通広場) of TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY is symbolically lit up through an object to welcome visitors who arrive by car.
Location: TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY
