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On the night of February 8, 2025, people in Shibuya, Tokyo, were surprised and cheered at the extraordinary sight that suddenly appeared in the sky above them: 2,200 drones decorated the night sky and transformed it into a drone show of the largest scale in Japan.
A massive drone display appearing above the Shibuya skyline was completely unprecedented. Behind it was a passionate team of professionals from Japan and abroad who brought this ambitious vision to life. This is the story of what happened behind the scenes.
2,200 Drones Illuminate Shibuya to the Beat of “Get Wild”
On the night of the 8th, a temporary stage set up in Yoyogi Park hosted a live performance by musicians Tetsuya Komuro, Daisuke Hinata, and Carrie Suzuki. As the music played, thousands of colorfully lit drones soared into the sky. Spiraling upward in formation, they painted vivid scenes of Shibuya’s streets and powerful images inspired by the traditional Japanese ink painting of a dragon, Bokuryu.
Then came the comedic entrance of a futuristic character named “DiGi8,” just as the iconic song “Get Wild” began to play—sending the crowd’s excitement soaring. A penguin dove into the ocean to the message “From Shibuya, Shape the future,” and the show reached its grand finale with a portrayal of “Pangaea,” the supercontinent that existed 200 million years ago, now symbolizing global harmony.
This drone show was the main attraction on the opening night of DIG SHIBUYA 2025, an event blending art and technology, co-hosted by the Shibuya City government. The idea came from Kaoru Hayashi, CEO of Digital Garage, Inc., who proposed a drone show as a symbolic highlight to elevate the second year of the event.
“How can we grow into an event that we can be proud of in the world? I thought it would be better to have one symbolic event that crosses music and Japanese character.” said Hayashi during his opening remarks on February 8.
From there, the project took flight. Hayashi reached out to REDCLIFF, a drone event company founded by alumni of Digital Garage’s startup accelerator, along with music producer Daisuke Hinata. Experts from multiple fields came together to take on the challenge of staging a drone show directly over Shibuya—a feat never before attempted.
Bringing Shibuya’s Vision to the World – Director Hiroyoshi Uruma
The show’s direction was led by Hiroyoshi Uruma, who has worked on major events such as the Tokyo Paralympic closing ceremony and TOKYO LIGHTS at Meiji Jingu Gaien. Despite his extensive experience with drone shows, he says this one was truly special.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing a drone show right in the heart of Tokyo. When I heard the concept, I knew it was that kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Working with legendary artists and creators made it feel like a dream project.”
Uruma built the show around the theme: “What message should we send from Shibuya to the world?” He collaborated closely with CEO Hayashi to develop the concept. They focused on creating something only possible with 2,200 drones—Japan’s largest-ever drone fleet—while ensuring it would also captivate first-time viewers.
“Because the audience would be looking up at the sky, we started with an intro that felt otherworldly—something cosmic. A spiral vortex made of 0s and 1s symbolized the digital world, which gradually morphed into a dragon inspired by the traditional Japanese ink painting Bokuryu. It evolved and took flight, leading to DiGi8 arriving from the future and throwing a party in Shibuya. Finally, we drew Pangaea to express the idea of Shibuya as a joyful city that welcomes talent and culture from all over the world, beyond boundaries of race or nationality.”
The hardest part of creating the show was the steady work of matching the programming, animation, music, and lighting to the composition without a second’s deviation, creating a unified worldview.
“Once we had a rough structure, we could start figuring out how long it would take each drone formation to move. From there, we worked closely with the music team to match the timing and overall tone. The drone lights had to sync perfectly with the beat—if anything was even a second off, it would feel wrong. Even the glow of DiGi8’s sunglasses was timed precisely to Komuro’s rhythm.
Another thing we were particular about was to make sure that the picture was displayed for the entire 15 minutes, with absolutely no dark intervals between pictures. That required complicated planning with animators to choreograph each drone’s movement like puzzle pieces. It took a lot of time.”
With top creators and engineers pouring their expertise and passion into the project, Uruma hopes the drone show can become a new symbol for Tokyo.
“What makes drone shows special is that everyone looks up together, sharing a moment of unity. I’d love to see this grow into a global event that brings people from around the world to Tokyo.”
Designing the Future Hachiko“DiGi8” – James Bigtwin
The quirky character “DiGi8” who appeared in the drone show was designed by digital creator James Bigtwin, a pioneer of graphic and 3D design active mainly in the U.S. Inspired by Digital Garage’s office move to Shibuya, CEO Hayashi approached James — who had been involved with the company’s web production since its early days — to create a new, Hachiko-inspired character. That’s how DiGi8 was born, making its debut at this drone show.
A self-professed dog lover, James described the project as a dream come true. While honoring the legendary story of Hachiko, he added a futuristic twist to give the character a cyber feel. At the opening of DIG SHIBUYA 2025, he shared the story behind the design:
“DiGi8 is a digital reinterpretation of Hachiko, the loyal dog known around the world. He’s imagined as a reincarnation from the year 2050, wearing emotion-sensing futuristic goggles and sporting an 8G antenna on his tail.
I hope DiGi8 becomes a positive symbol of Shibuya’s tech scene and helps keep Hachiko’s legacy alive for future generations.”
During the show, a massive image of DiGi8 lit up the sky, with the word “Shibuya” glowing on his goggles, thrilling the audience.
James added “With the spirit of ‘Inubation’ (innovation through dogs!), I hope DiGi8 appears in videos, digital art, and all around Shibuya as a representative of the city’s creativity and tech culture — something that captures people’s and kids’ imaginations.”
A New Symbol of Tokyo, Like the Jingu Fireworks Festival
The show ended with a formation of the ancient continent Pangaea, as the glowing continents moved together into one. Applause and cheers broke out across the crowd.
CEO Hayashi shared his deeper hopes for the event: “Unfortunately, when people hear ‘drone’ today, they often think of war. I hope this show can change that — to become a symbol of peace instead.”
He expressed his vision for the future:
“I’d love for this to grow into something as iconic as the Jingu Fireworks Festival — an eco-friendly, future-forward event that represents Shibuya. Something we can proudly share with the world.”
*Related Release：
DIG SHIBUYA DG DRONE SHOW“ was certified as the ”Largest Drone Show in Japan” for the first time in Japan.（April 7, 2025）(Japanese only)
DIG SHIBUYA DG DRONE SHOW
Held for the first time on February 8, 2025, above the skies of Shibuya, this was one of the largest drone shows ever staged in Japan. It was presented as part of the official partner program of DIG SHIBUYA 2025, a festival celebrating the fusion of art and technology.
https://www.garage.co.jp/droneshow2025/