Shonan Candle 2026 (湘南キャンドル2026)
10,000candles, lit by hand every evening for 25 nightsOne of the largest candle events in Japan, held in a clifftop garden an hour from central Tokyo. Night entry to the garden is ¥500 for adults.
If you are looking for one evening out this autumn that does not involve queueing for a theme park, this is an easy pick. For 25 nights the Samuel Cocking Garden (江の島サムエル・コッキング苑) on the island of Enoshima is filled with roughly 10,000 candles in coloured glass holders, and the whole thing sits right next to the sea.
The event is run by the Shonan Fujisawa Revitalisation Consortium, with Enoshima Electric Railway taking part. Below is what it actually costs, when to arrive, what you can join in with, and how to get there without a car.
Dates and lighting hours
The main event runs from Saturday 10 October to Tuesday 3 November 2026, a national holiday. Weekends and holidays stay open an hour longer than weekdays, and that extra hour is the difference between a rushed visit and a relaxed one.
| Weekdays | Weekends & holidays | |
|---|---|---|
| Candles lit | 17:00–20:00 | 17:00–21:00 |
| Garden last entry | 19:30 | 20:30 |
| Sea Candle last entry | 19:45 | 20:45 |
The garden itself opens at 9:00 every day and closes at 20:00 on weekdays, 21:00 on weekends and holidays. The Enoshima Sea Candle (江の島シーキャンドル), the observation tower in the middle of the garden, keeps the same opening hours.
There is also a three-day preview on the mainland before the island event starts: from Wednesday 7 to Friday 9 October, candles are lit from 17:00 to 20:00 at Sunpearl Plaza on the north side of Fujisawa Station. Handy if you work nearby and cannot make the trip out to the island.
What it costs to get in
Here is the part that trips people up: the garden is free until 17:00, and only charges after 17:00. Since the candles are lit from 17:00, in practice everyone visiting for this event pays.
| Adult | Child | |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Cocking Garden (evening entry, after 17:00) | ¥500 | ¥250 |
| Enoshima Sea Candle (tower admission) | ¥800 | ¥400 |
The tower fee is separate from the garden fee. You do not need to go up the tower to see the candles, so if you are keeping the evening cheap, the garden ticket alone is enough. Going up does give you the view down over the whole candle field and out across Sagami Bay, which is the shot most people come for.
Nights in late October on an exposed headland get cold and windy, so bring one more layer than you think you’ll need. If you are turning this into an overnight trip rather than a day out, it is worth checking whether your hotel programme is running anything that week — for example the current Marriott Bonvoy points promotion on stays of two nights or more.
Two workshops you can join
Both run every day of the event, from 10 October to 3 November, inside the garden. No Japanese reading is needed to take part — one is painting, the other is making a candle with your hands.
Candle cup painting — ¥500
You decorate the glass cup that a candle goes into, however you like. Finished pieces can be put on display inside the Samuel Cocking Garden, which means your cup joins the field of lights other visitors are walking past that evening.
Upcycled candle making — ¥1,800 (¥1,500 with a Sea Candle ticket)
Wax left over from previous editions of Shonan Candle is cleaned, re-coloured and turned into something new. The workshop started in 2023 and this is the fourth time it has run. It takes place in the UMIYAMA GALLERY inside the garden. Note the discount: if you have a Sea Candle ticket, the fee drops to ¥1,500.
The organisers have not published a reservation method in the material available, so check the official event page before you go if you want to be sure of a slot.
The Rascal Does Not Dream anime collaboration
Enoshima and the surrounding Shonan coast are the setting for the Rascal Does Not Dream (青春ブタ野郎) series, and the final film, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend (青春ブタ野郎はディアフレンドの夢を見ない), opens on Friday 16 October 2026. The event ties in with it in two ways.
- Original collaboration candles are installed at various spots around the Samuel Cocking Garden, from 10 October to 3 November.
- An original collaboration goods giveaway for visitors to the garden during the event period. Quantities are limited and it ends when stock runs out. Details are to be announced later on the official Shonan Candle 2026 site.
One thing worth knowing: if the event is cancelled because of weather, the giveaway does not happen either.
Live music and one-day events
If you would rather go on a night when something extra is happening, these are the dates to aim for. Everything below is scheduled inside the event period.
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| Kigen Ichikawa slide show (scenes of Shonan and Enoshima) | 10, 18 and 24 October |
| Sunset Enoshima A Cappella (student a cappella groups) | 25 October |
| Shonan Candle Live | 31 October, 1 and 3 November |
| Special programme at Enoshima Shrine (江島神社) | 1 and 3 November |
Note that 1 and 3 November are a Sunday and a holiday, so those are 21:00 nights with the longer lighting hours. They will also be the busiest.
Getting to Enoshima
The venue address is 2-3 Enoshima, Fujisawa, Kanagawa. Three different railway lines reach the area, and all of them leave you with a walk across the bridge and up the island.
| Station | Line | Walk |
|---|---|---|
| Katase-Enoshima | Odakyu Enoshima Line | 20 min |
| Enoshima | Enoden | 25 min |
| Shonan-Enoshima | Shonan Monorail | 27 min |
Those walking times are the official ones and they include the climb, which is a real climb — the garden sits at the top of the island. There are escalators on the island, but plan for the walk to take longer than the number suggests if you are with small children.
Coming from further away? Autumn is a good season for rail passes, and we have written up a few that overlap with this period, including the three-day JR local train pass for ¥7,850 and half-price shinkansen fares on selected routes.
Bad weather, and how to check before you leave
The event is cancelled in stormy or strong wind conditions. These are open flames on a headland, so wind alone is enough to call it off. When that happens, the announcement goes up on the Enoshima Sea Candle website by noon on the day. If the main event is cancelled, the related events are cancelled too.
Practically speaking: check at lunchtime on the day you plan to go, not the night before. A clear forecast in Tokyo does not tell you much about wind on the coast.
Official Shonan Candle 2026 page · Enoshima Sea Candle site
Questions people ask
- Q. Do I need a ticket in advance?
- No advance ticket is announced. You pay the garden entry fee of ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for children when you go in after 17:00.
- Q. Is the garden free before 17:00?
- Yes. Entry is free until 17:00, and the fee applies from 17:00 onwards. The candles are lit from 17:00, so a visit for this event is a paid one.
- Q. Do I have to pay for the Sea Candle tower as well?
- Only if you want to go up. The tower charges ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children, separately from the garden fee. You can see the candles from the garden without going up.
- Q. What time should I arrive?
- Last entry to the garden is 19:30 on weekdays and 20:30 on weekends and holidays. Allow for the 20 to 27 minute walk from the nearest station plus the climb up the island.
- Q. Can children join the workshops?
- Both the ¥500 candle cup painting and the ¥1,800 upcycled candle making run daily throughout the event inside the garden. Age conditions are not stated in the announcement, so check the official page if that matters for your group.
- Q. What happens if the weather is bad?
- Stormy weather or strong wind cancels the event, and the decision is posted on the Enoshima Sea Candle website by noon that day. The anime collaboration giveaway does not run on a cancelled day.
- Q. Where is the anime collaboration held?
- The collaboration candles are placed at various spots inside the Samuel Cocking Garden from 10 October to 3 November, and the goods giveaway is for garden visitors during the same period, while stocks last.