The holiday season is a great time to explore how other cultures celebrate. Hikari Light Festival at Tanaka Farms is one of our favorite holiday traditions. Hikari means “shine” in Japanese and this holiday season Tanaka Farms shines with over a million twinkling lights. Wagon Rides through the “Land of a Thousand Lanterns” to walking the Gingerbread Forest. So much fun to be had experiencing Christmas through the lens of another culture. There are lots of other fun activities including visits and photos with Santa, craft station, games, petting zoo and live music. We highly recommend making reservations in advance. We love strolling through the lights. There are plenty of fun photo spots too.
In addition to the Festival of Lights, Tanaka has an amazing selection of Christmas trees. Their customer service is amazing. Their team has the trees staged and organized so you can find the “perfect tree” and are willing to help you mount the tree on your car to bring it home. All of the little things that we truly appreciate. Plus, they have a fun market to get other Christmas decor and tasty treats. One of the things we love about Tanaka is the history of the farm and how it is a family affair. It began with their great-grandfather Takeo, who was an Issei- first generation Japanese American – who immigrated from Japan in the early 1900s. Today, you will find Farmer Glenn Tanaka, Shirley, and Kenny at the farm, pretty much every single day, checking on the crops, answering questions, and talking with customers. And don’t forget Tanaka Farms has lots of fun activities throughout the year including strawberry picking.
