Photo/Illutration The Aoba tunnel in the Kobe Municipal Arboretum in the city's Kita Ward is lit up in blue and green on Sept. 16. Butterflies are seen dancing around on the screen in reaction to the movements of visitors. (Takuya Tanabe)

KOBE--Lit up in different colors depending on the season and featuring interactive digital art, a tunnel in the Kobe Municipal Arboretum is transporting visitors into a fantastical world.

The entrance to the 90-meter Aoba tunnel is located in the tree-covered botanical garden, which is nestled in a mountainous area of Kita Ward.

The passage is equipped with two screens measuring 2.2 meters by 3.6 meters, showing butterflies flying around in reaction to the movements of visitors.

Images of a pond dotted with floating lotuses, rows of metasequoia trees and other spots of the park are also projected on the screens.

The tunnel was lit up in blue and green until the end of September, after which the lights were switched to red to emulate autumn foliage. It will be illuminated with white lights themed on snow from early December.

"It feels otherworldly to experience art in a natural landscape. I felt refreshed amid the coronavirus pandemic," said a woman in her 50s from Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture, who enjoyed a relaxing time in the forest while avoiding crowded places.

The event runs until the end of December.

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