Gone but not forgotten: 19 popular attractions in Tokyo that closed during the pandemic

Almost everyone who has visited Tokyo has been to the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku at least once. However, this popular tourist attraction with gigantic dancing robots and neon lights has sadly closed for good.

Just four years after opening in summer 2018, Odaiba’s record-breaking digital art museum teamLab Borderless has closed. However, there’s some good news here: the art collective says it will get a new city centre spot sometime in 2023. In the meantime, you can still visit teamLab Planets.

The Nakagin Capsule Tower by architect Kisho Kurokawa was built in 1972, designed to grow and evolve along with the city like a living organism. However, things haven’t gone exactly to plan and it had to be demolished after a years-long battle to keep up the structure in Ginza.

Oedo Onsen Monogatari housed 13 kinds of onsen-style baths and an indoor space inspired by an Edo-style nighttime matsuri. There were game stalls, restaurants and souvenir shops, so you could spend an entire day here.

Japan’s only Bicqlo has closed for good, but reopened solely as a Bic Camera store. As for Uniqlo, it won’t be moving far – the fashion retailer has plans to open a new Shinjuku flagship store as well as another Shinjuku Sanchome outlet.

Many Tokyoites have stories of wild nights out at Ageha, once Tokyo’s biggest nightclub, which was also known as live music venue Usen Studio Coast. It closed its doors for good on January 30 2022, but organisers are planning to find a new home for the club in the near future.

Shocking news for all Gundam fans: more than two decades since the first Gundam Café opened its doors in otaku mecca Akihabara, the four permanent official Gundam cafés across Japan closed in January 2022. Don’t worry, though – you can still visit Gundam Factory Yokohama to get your Gundam fix.

Palette Town complex is undergoing massive redevelopment starting this year, which means VenusFort shopping mall had to be taken down. Don’t worry, though, because there are still plenty of malls to shop and dine at in Odaiba, like DiverCity and Decks Tokyo Beach.

The 115-metre tall ferris wheel in Odaiba, once known as the tallest ferris wheel in the world, was taken down this year as it was part of Palette Town (see above).

The 94-year-old Toshimaen Amusement Park closed on August 31, 2020. It’ll be replaced with a Harry Potter theme park based on both the original and the subsequent Fantastic Beasts book series, expected to open in 2023.

Massive car museum Mega Web, located beneath the Giant Sky Wheel, has also closed due to the Palette Town redevelopment. So that means you’ll no longer be able to see Toyota’s newest models or take one on a test drive through the two-lap track.

Tsukumo Akihabara Ekimae was known for its retro-futuristic clear escalators that ran diagonally up the facade of the building. Similar to other electronics shops in Akihabara, Tsukumo sold PC parts, gaming peripherals, smartphones and, for some reason, cosmetics.

Some of Tokyo's iconic multilevel game arcades have closed down for good including Taito Station Shinjuku, Sega Ikebukuro Gigo, Sega Building Two Akihabara and Adores Akihabara Building 2.

Harajuku’s iconic OTT dinner show featuring colourful dishes served by eccentrically dressed ‘monsters’ has been forced to close down due to the lack of tourists. However, artistic director of the café, Sebastian Masuda has some innovative ‘kawaii’ projects planned for the future.

Mega one-stop shop Tokyu Hands has permanently closed its outlet in Ikebukuro. Many came here to shop for souvenirs, stationery, cooking equipment, crafts and cosmetics, but it was particularly well known for the Nekobukuro cat ‘petting zoo’ on the top floor. 

Prison-themed restaurant The Lock Up opened its very first location in Kyoto in 1999 serving cocktails in beakers and dishes decorated to look like monsters. Its last remaining outlet in Shinjuku officially closed on July 31 2022.

The popular underground night club at Dogenzaka in Shibuya had its last celebration in September. Management company Global Hearts is looking for new locations so that Contact can be reopened as soon as possible.

Sound Museum Vision had a capacity space of a whopping 1,500 people, unlike many of the shoebox venues you see around the area. It was located just across from Contact, and was also run by the same management company, Global Hearts. 

Don’t worry – Tokyo’s most popular history museum won’t be closing permanently. But after three decades in business, it’s long overdue for a renovation. So it will be temporarily closed until 2025 or early 2026.