Gas Day

What Is Gas Day?

Every November 13th is "Gas Day" (ガス記念日, Gasu Kinenbi) in Japan. On November 13, 1872 (by the old lunar calendar — the date corresponds to the period when Japan was transitioning to the solar calendar), gas street lamps were first lit on the Bashamichi street (馬車道) in Yokohama — the first use of gas illumination in Japan. The glowing gas lamps on Yokohama's main commercial street announced Japan's entry into the era of modern artificial lighting and marked the beginning of Japan's city gas industry.

Gas Lighting Comes to Japan

Yokohama — Japan's primary international trading port — was the natural location for Japan's first gas illumination. The technology was imported from Western countries where gas lighting had been standard in major cities since the 1810s-1820s. The gas for the Bashamichi lamps was produced at a gas works facility built near the port and supplied through underground pipes to the street lamps. The soft glow of gas illumination transformed Yokohama's nighttime streetscape, making commercial activity and social life possible after dark in ways that oil lamp lighting had not enabled.

Japan's City Gas Industry

From the 1872 Yokohama gas lamps, Japan's city gas (都市ガス, toshi gasu) industry developed into a major utility sector serving homes and businesses across the country. Major gas companies — Tokyo Gas (東京ガス), Osaka Gas (大阪ガス), and Toho Gas (東邦ガス) — provide piped natural gas for cooking, heating, hot water, and industrial applications to millions of Japanese households. Japan's gas infrastructure has progressively shifted from manufactured gas (originally produced from coal) to natural gas imported by LNG tankers from Australia, Qatar, Malaysia, and other suppliers.

Fun Facts

• Bashamichi: Yokohama's Bashamichi (馬車道, "Carriage Road") — named for the horse-drawn carriages that once traveled its length connecting the port to the foreign settlement — is now a historic shopping and dining street where replica gas lamps maintain the atmospheric illumination that made the street famous in 1872.
• Eneos and gas: Japan's energy sector interweaves gas with electricity and petroleum — major energy companies like Tokyo Gas have expanded into electricity retail alongside their gas businesses, reflecting Japan's energy market liberalization and the integration of energy services that began in the early 2000s.