Koyasan Café in Marunouchi House

The mountaintop temple town of Koyasan must be the most famous centre for Buddhism in the whole of Japan – but why go all the way to Wakayama Prefecture when you can get the full experience here in Tokyo? Well, sort of. For 10 days, the Shin Marunouchi Building's 7th floor Marunouchi House complex will be transformed into a hotbed of Buddhist culture, as representatives of Koyasan host seminars, meditation sessions, concerts and sutra-copying classes. The nine restaurants and cafés will be getting into the spirit by offering their own interpretations on shojin ryori, the vegetarian cuisine favoured by strict Buddhists – though purists might be aghast at some of the liberties taken (check out the menu on the official website).