Things to do in Tokyo today

The sixth edition of Flower and Light Movement is taking place at Toneri Park in Adachi this year. The park has around 1,000 cherry blossom trees as well as a field of baby blue eyes (nemophila), both of which will be illuminated from 6pm to 9pm. Ukima Park in Itabashi (about 50 minutes away) is also taking part in the Flower and Light Movement event.

For 11 months of every year, Nezu Shrine doesn't attract all that much attention from the outside world. Then spring rolls around, and its remarkable crop of azaleas burst into bloom. The shrine precincts are home to some 3,000 azalea plants – roughly 100 varieties in total, including rare breeds such as the black karafune flower – and has to find space for at least as many flower aficionados during the month-long Bunkyo Tsutsuji Matsuri.  Another highlight of Nezu Shrine is its red torii gate tunnel, similar to the ones at Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine but in a much smaller scale.

The annual Fuji Shibazakura Festival is returning this spring with a staggering 500,000 pink, purple and white blooms from April 13 to May 26. With its seemingly endless fields of shibazakura (pink moss) and view of majestic Mt Fuji on the horizon, it's no wonder that this annual spring festival out at Lake Motosu in Yamanashi typically attracts hordes of Tokyoites over Golden Week.  In addition to the eight kinds of shibazakura, you’ll get to see other colourful blooms like cherry blossoms, grape hyacinth, poppy anemone and forsythia. While you’re here, it’s also worth checking out the adjacent Peter Rabbit-themed English Garden, decorated with around 300 kinds of plants as well as figurines of the characters from the storybook.  One of the best ways to get here is by highway bus. A round-trip ticket including festival entry fee starts from ¥7,800, with the bus departing from Bus Terminal Shinjuku, Mark City Shibuya, Futakotamagawa Rise and Tokyo Station. It takes you directly to the Fuji Shibazakura Festival in around two and a half hours. We recommend making reservations in advance because seats can fill up quickly during spring. Otherwise, you can opt for the two-hour-long Limited Express Fuji Excursion train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko Station, and hop on the Fuji Shibazakura liner shuttle bus for another 50 minutes to get to the venue.

Head up to Ibaraki's Hitachi Seaside Park from mid-April to early May and see a whopping 5.3 million 'baby blue eyes' – also known as nemophila – flowers in full bloom. The hilly grounds span 3.5 hectares and are almost completely covered with the little blue blossoms, making for a pretty spectacular sight. The blooms are usually at their best from mid- to late April, but they are still a magnificent sight if you catch them a bit earlier or even right after peak bloom. According to this year's forecast, the flowers will be in their full glory between April 18 to 27. Along with the flowers, the park has gone all-out with blue food and drink for you to enjoy during your visit. Sample blue ramune-soda-flavoured soft cream served with nemophila-shaped cookies, pretty blue lemonade, lattes and even a blue-tinged curry ramen. While you're at it, pick up a few souvenirs to take home with you including nemophila macarons, cookies and jewellery featuring the flower of the season.  The park is home to various other spring flowers, too, including daffodils and tulips, which also bloom between April and May.

Tachikawa's Showa Kinen Park isn't content with merely hyping sakura: its Flower Festival takes place over three months and celebrates the blooms of tulips (in April), poppies and rapeseeds (May) and water lilies (May), of course in addition to the cherry blossoms in March and April. 2024 marks a special milestone for Showa Kinen Park, as the massive green space is celebrating its 40th anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, park officials will be planting a staggering 1.8 million nemophila plants, which will turn into a gorgeous sea of blue once they bloom.  Along with flower-viewing, the park will be hosting a number of floral-themed events, and dedicated photo spots will be set up on the premises. Photo sessions will include time to take pics among the park’s 250,000 colourful tulips without crowds in the background, while a special spot will allow you to capture the nemophila accented with soap bubbles.

The colourful Children’s Day koinobori carp streamers are an annual sight at Tokyo Tower, and this year you can see them at the main entrance from March 20 through Golden Week until May 6. There are 333 streamers set-up here, signifying the 333m height of the iconic tower.  Among the 333 streamers, there's one that's not a carp – see if you can spot the sanma (pacific saury) nobori. This unique inclusion is Tokyo Tower's way of sending hope to the region affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. As this display is held right outside the tower on the ground level, you don't need a ticket to see this joyous sight.  

If you’re craving some Taiwanese food this spring, then drop by Tokyo Skytree Town for its Taiwan Festival. Head over to the fourth floor of Sky Arena until May 26 to feast on Taiwanese food throughout the day. There are several stalls offering popular Taiwanese cuisine such as lu rou fan (braised pork over rice) and da ji pai fried chicken. You can also shop for Taiwanese goods and even enjoy massages and fortune telling. The dining area is decorated with red lanterns to give it a Taiwanese night market feel.

Renowned 20th-century master Henri Matisse (1869-1954), though best known as a painter, was a true multimedia artist whose creativity also spanned sculpture, printmaking and other forms. This is the very first exhibition in Japan to focus on the French artist’s work with paper cut-outs, the medium he energetically pursued in the last decade-and-a-half of his life. Works on loan from the Matisse Museum in Nice, France show how the artist began creating expressionistic collages composed of scissor-cut pieces of paper in a multitude of colours. The subjects and themes of these cutout works included the female form, avian life, and a distinctive two-dimensional take on the flowers-and-fruit still life. While initially modest in size, these cut-outs grew in scale to become murals spanning entire walls: the largest example featured here is some eight metres wide. Also on show is a selection of works in other media, including painting, ink brush on paper, and stained glass. This exhibition is closed on Tuesday, except April 30. Text by Darren Gore

Looking to get into sake? If so, then this huge sake event at Roppongi Hills is a great place to start. The event features around 100 breweries across 11 days from April 18 to April 29. Whether you’re a sake newbie or long-time connoisseur, this festival is for everyone to enjoy. Foodies should also take note, as around 15 gourmet restaurants will whip up sake-pairing dishes at the event. Tickets cost ¥3,900; it includes a starter set with an event-exclusive sake glass plus 11 tokens that can be used to redeem drinks and food. You can purchase more tokens in sets of ten (¥1,600), 25 (¥3,800) or 40 (¥6,000). Tickets are available in advance on the website or at the door on the day of the festival.

Update: The event at Yoyogi Park on Friday April 19 has been cancelled due to strong winds. *** Launched in 2012, Tokyo Rainbow Pride has grown into the largest and most diverse Pride celebration in Japan, always offering a fantastic opportunity to be a part of the country’s journey towards a more equal future​​. The 2024 edition is themed ‘Not giving up till change happens’ and will be jam-packed with educational seminars, late-night parties, social gatherings and, of course, the ever-growing Rainbow Pride Parade and Festival, bringing together people from all walks of life.​​ This year’s Pride Festival will be held in Yoyogi Park over the weekend of April 19 to 21, with the parade set to take over Shibuya and Harajuku on April 21 from 1pm, starting and ending at the Yoyogi 2nd National Gymnasium. Registration for the parade will be open on the day at the same venue (look for the registration booth). We expect this year’s procession to be the biggest and most jubilant yet, as 2024 marks 30 years since Japan’s inaugural Pride parade was organised by a few hundred brave pioneers.  The programme of talks and seminars on Yoyogi Park’s Pride Stage will kick off at 3pm on Friday April 19 with a panel discussion featuring pioneers of the Pride movement in Japan, including 92-year-old gay activist Teishiro Minami, who was the driving force behind that first Pride parade back in 1994. This unique historical recap will be followed by a discussion on marriage equality organised in coll