August 2025 events in Tokyo

Tokyo Midtown has a packed programme of summer fun this year. If you want to take it easy, cool down at Midtown Garden’s Ashimizu area. The gentle stream here has been transformed into a foot bath, open between 3pm and 9pm (closed on Tuesdays). It can accommodate up to 70 people at a time and best of all, it’s free. Towels are available at ¥100 each, but of course, you can always bring your own.

Feeling wiped out by the summer heat? Make a beeline for the restaurants and cafés at Tokyo Midtown, now hosting a refreshing summer sweets fair featuring cool desserts such as the hyuganatsu and unshu orange kakigori shaved ice at Toraya, glace au chocolat doux ice cream at Jean-Paul Hévin, amazake watermelon juice at Sake Shop Fukumitsuya and more.

Feel the breeze of 1,500 windmills at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya’s annual outdoor summer fest. This picturesque event features a large dome adorned with over a thousand colourful windmills made from unused clear files from the shopping centre’s tenants. Come evening, the dome as well as the staircase at the plaza are lit up with blue and white lights, while cooling mist envelopes the area to create a mesmerising sight. 

What’s more, the summer festival is hosting several family-friendly activities for everyone to enjoy on August 16 and 17, such as booths for traditional Japanese matsuri games such as rubber ball scooping, shateki shooting, ring toss and a workshop to paint your very own wind chime. The booths will be set up at the main atrium of Tokyo Midtown Hibiya.

If you’re looking for a child-friendly event in the cool indoors, head to the underground plaza on August 9 and 10 for a workshop where participants can craft their very own pinwheels using unused clear files.

Studio Ghibli’s immersive sculpture exhibition is returning to Tokyo to captivate a new generation of fans. Featuring 3D recreations of iconic scenes from hit animated films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle and Porco Rosso, the show is a new and improved version of Studio Ghibli’s first ever art exhibition, held in Tokyo back in 2003. 

Running from May 27 to September 23 at Warehouse Terrada’s B&C and E halls in Tennozu, the exhibition will feature mock-ups of scenes such as Chihiro’s first crossing over the bridge into the bathhouse in Spirited Away, and the thrilling scene from Ponyo where the titular character rides the waves to catch up to Sosuke in the storm. The main highlight, however, is arguably the true-to-size mock up of Porco’s Savoia S-21 seaplane from Porco Rosso.

When hunger strikes, head over to T-Lotus M, a waterfront event space adjacent to the exhibition venue, for some ham ramen inspired by a similar dish in Ponyo. Tickets can be purchased in combination with the Ghibli Museum or in conjunction with hotel accommodation plans.

For more details and ticketing information, check the event website. (Japanese only)

Traditional Japanese erotic art – shunga – flourished during the Edo period (1603–1867), along with the rise of ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Some of the greatest artists of the time, including Kitagawa Utamaro and Katsushika Hokusai, employed ukiyo-e to depict Edo’s hedonistic ‘floating world’ of geisha, kabuki, sumo – and sex. Shunga was in great demand and widely available, despite an official ban, and developed into a highly sophisticated genre in which artists incorporated references to waka poetry and the Chinese classics while tiptoeing around taboos and government censorship.

But once Japan opened itself up to the Western world after centuries of isolation, Shunga was deemed ‘obscene’ and purged from the culture – for nearly 150 years, it turned out. Only after several critically acclaimed exhibitions had been held overseas did the first major display of Shunga open on these shores – at the Eisei Bunko Museum in 2013. That landmark show slowly cleared the way for similar exhibitions, and now Tokyo’s getting perhaps the most rousing (sorry) Shunga show to date.

From July 26 to September 30, visitors to the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage can rest their eyes on around 100 pieces by the likes of Hokusai, Utamaro and Hishikawa Moronobu. Curated from the collection of Mitsuru Uragami, one of Japan’s foremost Shunga connoisseurs, the exhibition extends throughout the distinctive venue – from the Noh stage itself to the auditorium and dressing rooms. Yasutaka Hayashi from artist collective Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group serves as art director, bringing a hefty serving of Kabukicho flair to a show that’s perfect for Tokyo’s most stimulating entertainment district.

Note that the exhibition is off limits to visitors under the age of 18.

Held in the Tokyo Node creative complex on the upper floors of the Toranomon Station Tower, the Design Ah! exhibition by national broadcaster NHK transforms its acclaimed educational TV programme (of the same name) into a vivid hands-on experience. Suitable for visitors of all ages, the exhibition reimagines everyday actions like walking or eating through a design lens, fostering curiosity, creative thinking, and a sharper awareness of the world around us. While you’re there, don’t miss the chance to try out the interactive gesture screen, where visitors are invited to use gestures to interact with subjects in a video in an immersive and responsive way.

With immersive 360-degree audiovisual installations, visual puzzles and interactive zones, the show offers a playful yet thought-provoking way to explore how design influences daily life.

Few would argue against the late Leiji Matsumoto as one of Japan’s most visionary manga artists. Born in 1938, Matsumoto grew up fascinated by the night sky, a passion that would later shape his iconic stories such as Galaxy Express 999 and Space Pirate Captain Harlock. His work blends space-faring adventure with profound philosophical themes, exploring concepts of life, mortality and human perseverance, and has inspired creatives worldwide, even shaping the dreams of future astronauts.

From June 20 to September 7, Tokyo City View at Roppongi Hills will host ‘Leiji Matsumoto: A Creative Journey’, the first major exhibition dedicated to the prolific career of an artist who left an indelible mark on the world of sci-fi with his rich storytelling and strikingly detailed art. Marking the beginning of a series of events celebrating the upcoming 50th anniversary of Galaxy Express 999, this exhibition will immerse visitors in Matsumoto’s imaginative universe. Featuring over 300 original drawings, including early works, rare materials and never-before-seen sketches, the display offers an opportunity to dig deep into the Fukuoka native’s creative process and experience the timeless magic of his work.

In the news for his role as the designer of the Expo 2025 site, Sou Fujimoto is an architect whose work explores the relationship between nature and architecture. Born in Hokkaido, he is inspired by the natural landscapes of his childhood and seeks to integrate organic forms into the built environment through an approach he calls ‘primitive future’.

This philosophy translates into an exploration of the limits between indoors and outdoors and the natural and the artificial, creating spaces that invite a new experience of inhabiting it. Fujimoto’s residential projects in Japan, such as House N, House O and House T, as well as international projects such as the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in London, illustrate this desire to blur spatial boundaries. His work is characterised by the use of simple materials, often only one per project, implemented in innovative ways to create complex and intriguing shapes. The balance between a defined program and the freedom of appropriation by the occupants is at the heart of his approach.

Fujimoto’s first major Tokyo retrospective takes over the Mori Art Museum from July 2 to November 9. The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the architect’s journey over the past quarter century, showcasing his achievements. Models, plans and documentary photographs sit alongside life-size models and installations, providing an immersive visual and spatial experience of the essence of his work. The exhibition highlights projects such as the Musashino Art University Museum & Library, the Arbre Blanc in Montpellier, France, the House of Music in Budapest, and – yes – the Expo site on Osaka’s Yumeshima.

Held in the Tokyo Node creative complex on the upper floors of the Toranomon Station Tower, the Design Ah! exhibition by national broadcaster NHK transforms its acclaimed educational TV programme (of the same name) into a vivid hands-on experience. Suitable for visitors of all ages, the exhibition reimagines everyday actions like walking or eating through a design lens, fostering curiosity, creative thinking, and a sharper awareness of the world around us. While you’re there, don’t miss the chance to try out the interactive gesture screen, where visitors are invited to use gestures to interact with subjects in a video in an immersive and responsive way.

With immersive 360-degree audiovisual installations, visual puzzles and interactive zones, the show offers a playful yet thought-provoking way to explore how design influences daily life.

Though he died at just 37, Vincent van Gogh left behind a body of work that revolutionised modern art; an oeuvre celebrated for its swirling brushstrokes, bold colours and raw emotional force. Yet the Dutch master’s legacy is shaped as much by his turbulent life as by his luminous canvases, and this narrative of suffering and passion continues to captivate audiences around the world.

With ‘A Renewal of Passion’, the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone presents its first-ever exhibition dedicated to the post-Impressionist painter. Running until November 30, the display features key works from the museum’s own collection alongside historical and contemporary responses to Van Gogh’s art, highlighting how his fervent creativity has inspired generations of artists across continents and eras.

The show emphasises Van Gogh’s influence in Japan, where his deeply personal style resonated as early as the Meiji era (1868–1912), and highlights modern reinterpretations by artists such as Yasumasa Morimura and Fiona Tan. Composed of paintings, installations and archival materials, the exhibition offers a poignant meditation on the enduring power of Van Gogh’s vision in a changing world.