The best things to do in Tokyo this weekend

One of the most popular street dance festivals in Tokyo, Koenji's Awa Odori is returning this summer in full swing. This year, the celebration will feature over 150 Awa Odori dance groups parading around Koenji Station’s Pal shopping arcade, Koenji Junjo Shotengai shopping street and Konan street over the August 29-30 weekend.

The tradition of Awa Odori can be traced back to Tokushima, in the Shikoku region. Legend has it that the local daimyo plied his citizens with booze to celebrate the completion of the local castle in 1586, leading to a citywide outbreak of dancing in the streets. Whatever the accuracy of that tale, the enthusiasm was contagious, and Koenji has been holding a street dance fest of its own since 1957.

While the action starts at 5pm for both days, you'll need to arrive much earlier if you want to snag one of the best viewing spots along the three streets mentioned above.

Check the official website for more details.

Late August is always a good time for dancing in the streets, with many major festivals happening around this time of year. The Yosakoi dance originated in Kochi prefecture in 1954, where it was created to help revitalise the struggling post-war economy. Tokyo's very own Super Yosakoi festival, however, while relatively new, has been going on for over two decades now.

This massive event sees about 110 teams of brightly attired dancers from across Japan and around the world, trying to outdo each other as they strut their stuff to the rhythm of the naruko – a type of clapper that the people of Kochi originally used to scare birds away from the fields.

The dance performances take place at various locations within the Harajuku/Shibuya area. But if you only see one thing, make sure it’s the massive parade along the tree-lined Omotesando avenue on Sunday, August 30 from 11.10am to 4.15pm.

Stage performances and a yatai food fair serving up Kochi prefecture delicacies will also be held at Yoyogi Park Event Square on Saturday and Sunday from 10am. What's more, the tree-lined boulevard between the NHK Hall and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium is hosting a smaller yosakoi dance procession, around the same time.

At the Yoyogi Park Be Stage venue, you can enjoy Yosakoi performances from 11.30am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday.

For the latest information, check the event website.

The annual Otsuka Awa Odori festival has been running since 1972, bringing together more than 1,000 dancers every year. The pre-event festivities will take place at the station-front plaza on August 28, featuring a ceremony followed by mini Awa Odori performances.

The main festival however, falls on Saturday August 29 from 4pm, with around a dozen groups of dancers parading along Minamiotsuka-dori street in front of JR Otsuka Station’s East exit. This year, the festival is celebrating its 52nd year with a line-up of venerable local Awa-Odori dance troupes, including Shinsuiren and the Toriren Awa Odori Club from Ikebukuro's Toshimagaoka Joshigakuen High School, which is one of only four such high school clubs in all of Japan. 

Around 15 teams of elaborately attired dancers flood the streets of Asakusa for Japan's largest samba carnival. Now in its 41st year, the festival features exuberant dance teams largely from the Greater Tokyo region, who will be shaking their tail feathers to the Brazilian beat as they parade along Umamichi-dori in front of Tobu Asakusa Station and Kaminarimon-dori in front of Sensoji Temple's iconic red lantern. 

First held in 1981 in an attempt to revitalise the neighbourhood, the Asakusa Samba Carnival is now one of Tokyo's more popular late-summer events. It attracts half a million spectators every year. 

The carnival begins at 1pm, with the parade starting near Sensoji's Nitenmon Gate. Do note that selfie sticks, chairs and tripods are not allowed in the spectator areas along the side of the road. You can check out the detailed map for the parade route here and read up on the participating teams here.

Following a successful inaugural festival in 2025, Nakameguro’s very own Bon Odori dance bash returns this summer to the riverside Meguro River Park on August 29 and 30. This late-season Bon Odori festival has been beefed up for 2026, with food trucks serving up familiar festival grub like yakisoba, apple candy and kebabs from 1pm. The children’s festival stall area is also back this year (from 4pm), with yo-yo fishing and shateki shooting games available for ¥200. Bon odori dance sessions, featuring live singing from the yagura turret stage, will run on both days from 5.30pm to 9pm.

If you’re feeling rusty, public practice sessions are offered, so even first-timers can join the dance circle on the day of the event. The last session will take place on August 26 at Shokakuji Jisso Kaikan from 7pm.

Head straight to Rinko Park in Yokohama’s Minatomirai area for this annual Bon Odori festival by the sea. Festivities begin at 4.30pm, with special stage performances scheduled for both days.

If you're feeling peckish, you’ll also find food trucks selling all kinds of festival grub from the area. The food area is further expanded this year, with a food court area where visitors can take a break from bon odori dancing and enjoy matsuri cuisine.

The program is yet to be announced. Check the event website for more details.

Tokyo Midtown Yaesu is hosting a summer soirée at its first-floor outdoor plaza in front of Tokyo Station, featuring matsuri-themed festivities and free live performances from August 28 to September 6. This summer’s lineup features two to four acts per day, spanning a wide range of genres, including acts by Japanese legendary music producer and DJ Shinichi Osawa, producer and founding member of Pizzicato Five Yasuharu Konishi, hip-hop trio Donuts Disco Deluxe, contemporary singer-songwriter Moka Sato, six-piece instrumental dub-rock and synth band Neco Nemuru and many more. Expanded for 2026, the stage lineup features two DJ sessions every day.

Head to Tokyo Midtown Yaesu’s lantern-lit first-floor Galleria Plaza for summer bites and drinks – think fresh watermelon, apple and orange fruit cocktails made using Daiyame shochu, Taiwanese mazesoba noodles, chilli hot dogs and piping-hot Hokkaido fries.

On weekend evenings, the atrium next to the Galleria Plaza transforms into Yaesu Yomise, a night market with sundries, accessory-making workshops and mini games.

You can also take part in the Yaesu Lantern Walk, where visitors can stroll around Tokyo Station’s Yaesu Exit with a lantern in hand. Visit all five checkpoints across Tokyo Midtown Yaesu, Gransta Yaesu, GranRoof, and Yaechika Shopping Mall to collect different colours that will transform your lantern. Once you’ve collected them all, you’ll be entered into a raffle to win gift cards.

Opening night kicks off with the Yaesu Lantern Procession as local children light up the streets in a glowing parade. Lanterns are available to borrow from special counters at both Tokyo Midtown Yaesu and Tokyo Station’s Granroof.

Check the event website for the most up-to-date performance line-up. Closed Sep 1.

One of Tokyo’s latest nighttime attractions in Odaiba, this crossover collaboration with the daily Tokyo Aqua Symphony fountain show features over 800 drones. Happening twice daily on the August 29 and 30 weekend, the special performances are scheduled from 7pm and 9pm on both days.

In sync with the ‘Canon’ and ‘Sakura Fubuki’ fountain shows, the drones will be launched behind the fountains near Rainbow Bridge. While the best location to see the show is at the observation decks inside Odaiba Marine Park, we recommend heading near the ferry terminal immediately to the east to avoid crowds.

Performance schedules are subject to change or cancellation in case of inclement weather. Check the event’s official X before visiting.

For a few nights this summer, the Enoshima Aquarium near Kamakura transforms into an atmospheric summer festival venue after closing time. Set against the backdrop of the illuminated aquarium at night, the event features local craft beer, festival food trucks, traditional matsuri game booths and stalls selling ocean-themed handmade goods.

You can also try your hand at the traditional Katase koma spinning top – a local craft made in the area – or join a talk by the aquarium's keepers, who will share insights into cetacean research (in Japanese only). Plus, the first 120 groups to arrive in yukata can take part in a complimentary professional photo shoot in front of one of the aquarium's tanks.

While tickets for the original set dates on July 25 and August 1 have already sold out, an additional day was announced for August 29. Tickets go on sale on July 18 at 12noon on the official website.

Tokyo’s Akishima neighbourhood has been celebrating Kujira Matsuri for over 50 years. The name means ‘whale festival’ in Japanese, and the annual celebration started with the discovery of ancient whale fossils along the banks of the Tama River in August 1961.

With festivities held mostly at Showa Park (not to be confused with the nearby Showa Kinen Park), you can expect around 40 stalls serving traditional Japanese street food such as yakisoba, grilled corn, takoyaki, and buttered steamed potatoes. Kids will enjoy fun fair games such as target shooting and yo-yo fishing.

Both days feature performances by singers, dancers and superhero mascots, but you’ll only get to see its spectacular 30-minute fireworks show on Saturday August 29 at 8pm. Sunday, on the other hand, will host a parade from Akishima Station’s South exit to Showa Park. This starts at 4pm.

Inage Seaside Park in Chiba is hosting weekly DJ parties on its picturesque 90-metre-long pier that stretches out into Tokyo Bay, until September 27. Taking place on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 4pm to 8pm, the parties showcase artists spinning tunes from a variety of genres, including Balearic house, afrobeats, tech house, South African amapiano and more.

While the full 2026 line-up is unannounced, expect to see local favourites including Golden Roa, Mark Mila and Ahreum will also take to the decks, spinning everything from techno to R&B to keep the summer vibes alive.

Check the event website for the most up-to-date DJ line-up.

The National Stadium’s swanky next-door park is hosting a summer beer garden and outdoor cinema festival this month from July 17 to September 27. During the event, the park will be transformed into an open-air beer garden complete with tables, tents and plenty of seating. Hosted by Corona, the beer garden will serve favourites such as Corona Extra (¥750), alongside the brand’s non-alcoholic Corona Cero (¥600) and inventive Corona-infused cocktails. New for 2026 is the Corona Sunsets Truck, which will be serving drinks and appetisers designed to pair perfectly with Corona beer every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

While you’re there, don’t miss the free outdoor film screenings taking place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This weekend outdoor cinema event is one of Japan’s largest, with screenings running for over 70 days. While the cinema line-up for 2026 has yet to be announced, last year’s programme featured Academy Award-winning titles such as Green Book and Top Gun: Maverick, as well as family favourites including Paddington, School of Rock, The Minions and more. Note that most screenings are Japanese-dubbed versions of the films.

While entry to the festival is free, a special reservation is required to enter on August 8, when the nearby Jingu Stadium is hosting the Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival. Capacity is limited to two thousand visitors, so reserve a slot via the official website before it's too late.

After collaborating with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure creator Hirohiko Araki in early 2025, Yebisu Beer and Ai Yazawa reunite this summer for a second collaboration. The project centres on new illustrations that reinterpret Yebisu Beer’s historic bijin-ga advertisements – early 20th-century beer posters featuring elegant portraits of women.

Yazawa presents two new bijin-ga works reimagined through a contemporary lens and themed around summer evening festivals. The pieces will be exhibited at Yebisu Brewery Tokyo from July 8 to August 31. Visitors can also look forward to limited-edition merchandise featuring her artwork, including T-shirts, notebooks, fans and more.

Enjoy a late-night stroll under an artificial Milky Way at Tokyo Tower’s main deck. As an alternative experience for astronomy enthusiasts, Tokyo Tower has recreated the Milky Way using 30,000 LED lights, so you can gaze up at the (artificial) stars in the middle of the city.

Every 15 minutes, the blue LED lights that represent the starry sky turn pink and gold, while the Milky Way changes from white to a rainbow of seven colours. This special effect makes the Tokyo skyline look even more mesmerising, as if our beloved city is under a magical starry night.

The light-up runs from 9am to 11pm.

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 for ¥100 each, but of course, you can always bring your own. Cool down in the mist and ice-cooled water, with a free rentable parasol that even glows softly after nightfall for a calm evening ambience.

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 mango syrup kakigori shaved ice at Hal Yamashita, the strawberry and condensed milk kakigori shaved ice at Ukafe and many more.

New for 2026, enjoy a casual summer evening with small firework sparklers at the Midtown Garden from 5.30pm to 9pm on July 18, 19, 20, and August 8, 9, 10, and 11. Sparklers can be purchased on-site, starting at ¥500 for five sticks and ¥1,000 for 12 sticks. Up to two people may enter the fireworks space per purchase.

Shinjuku welcomes a brand new Korean pub-style beer garden, located on the rooftop of the Lumine Est shopping complex in the heart of the city. You can choose from four meal plans: the Pocha course (¥3,500), which includes yangnyeom chicken and bulgogi kimbap; the Korean Chicken BBQ course (from ¥4,000), offering chicken marinated in sweet and spicy miso sauce as well as salted green onion sauce; the samgyeopsal and beef galbi course (¥5,000), featuring makgeolli-aged samgyeopsal and seafood pancake; and the premium BBQ course (from ¥6,000), which builds on the samgyeopsal set with the addition of wagyu steak. All four courses come with a two-hour all-you-can-drink plan, with the options including fruit-flavoured soju, makgeolli, highballs, and both Korean and Japanese beers, along with unlimited banchan (Korean mini side dishes), French fries and curry.

Popular German craft beer brand Schmatz takes over the Lumine Ikebukuro rooftop with its annual beer garden serving modern German cuisine. The premium all-you-can drink plan features three original craft beers, plus a range of beer cocktails including shandy gaff, cassis beer, mango beer and even a peach weizen. Additionally, there are regular cocktails, highballs, wines and soft drinks to choose from as well. 

The standard barbecue plan with the premium 2-hour all-you-can-drink option will set you back ¥6,500, and includes spare ribs, beef shoulder loin, specialty sausages, chicken, corn and an array of veggies to grill. If you're looking to save, the standard all-you-can-drink lager beer plan at ¥6,000 is worth considering too.

Make a reservation via the official website.

South Korean digital art and design firm D’strict is joining hands with Sanrio to bring a popular interactive exhibit to Japan for the first time after a successful run in Seoul last year. Utilising the latest digital media technologies, the hotel-themed exhibition in Shinjuku’s Tokyu Kabukicho Tower takes you on a photogenic and immersive journey through 11 themed areas in the imaginary hotel, with characters such as Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll and Pompompurin appearing in their own dreamy, fairytale-like rooms.

While the full details are still under wraps, expect to see a plentiful line-up of exclusive Sanrio merch, including Hotel Floria room key charms, hotel sticker sets and travel-themed accessories.

The exhibition space is located on the fourth floor. Tickets are now on sale via Eplus.

Born in Kolkata in 1963 and now based in New York, Rina Banerjee has established herself as a singular voice in the global contemporary art scene. Drawing from her experience of migration and diasporic identity, Banerjee creates intricate, richly layered sculptures and installations out of everyday materials like cotton threads, feathers, shells and glass chandeliers. Her practice, informed by both engineering training and fine art education at Yale, navigates the intersections of postcolonial history, feminism and global exchange, often infusing critical perspectives with a subtle, disarming sense of humour.

‘You made me leave home…’ at Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo is an exhibition of 19 works drawn from the collection of the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Organised as part of the foundation’s ‘Hors-les-murs’ programme, which brings major artworks to venues around the world, the exhibition marks both the 20th anniversary of the Espace Louis Vuitton and a decade of the ‘Hors-les-murs’ initiative.

Spanning installation, sculpture and painting, the exhibition foregrounds Banerjee’s ongoing exploration of migration, colonial legacies and the circulation of people and objects. At its core is the monumental installation In an unnatural storm… (2008), presented publicly for the first time by the Fondation. Suspended from the ceiling in a cascading constellation of forms, the work evokes both the wonder and instability of global journeys, drawing inspiration from Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days.

Alongside this, recent works such as Black Noodles (2023) and a new 2025 painting series extend Banerjee’s inquiry into identity as fluid, hybrid and transnational. Blending references to Indian miniature painting, Chinese silk traditions and Mesoamerican imagery, her compositions oscillate between abstraction and figuration, often conjuring enigmatic female figures reminiscent of reimagined goddesses.

Through its sensuous materiality and conceptual depth, ‘You made me leave home…’ offers a compelling meditation on displacement and belonging.

A new exhibition space in the basement of the Tokyo International Forum, Yurakucho Museum is opening this July, and its inaugural exhibition brings the whimsical world of Pingu to Japan. Running from July 10 to September 6, it features priceless clay models used in actual animation production, alongside storyboards and other production materials. What’s more, you can pretend to be in Pingu’s Antarctic igloo with a photo spot made to look like the penguin boy’s home.

While you’re there, take the opportunity to study Pingu’s facial expressions, unique play-doh-like contortions and language, and maybe you’ll learn to decipher his noot noots once and for all. The exhibition also includes three collaborative art pieces by renowned miniature photographer and artist Tatsuya Tanaka, who has reimagined Pingu with everyday items.

Tickets are now on sale via Epus.

Known for emotionally resonant works that bridge intimate storytelling and speculative worlds, Mamoru Hosoda is the man behind landmark films such as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars and Wolf Children. His cinema is marked by a fluid interplay between everyday life and digital or fantastical realms, as well as a sensitivity to themes of family, memory and transformation.

Marking the 20th anniversary of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, ‘The Creative Origins of Mamoru Hosoda’ unfolds at the Creative Museum Tokyo from June 20 to August 31. Conceived as the most comprehensive exhibition ever dedicated to the director, it offers unprecedented insight into the creative processes behind his most celebrated works.

Drawing extensively from original production materials, the exhibition presents storyboards, layouts, key animation drawings and background art that illuminate the construction of Hosoda’s cinematic language. By foregrounding these foundational elements, the show reveals how influences from painting, cinema and animation converge within his visual storytelling.

Rather than simply looking back, the exhibition invites visitors to reconsider Hosoda’s films through the lens of their origins, tracing recurring motifs and stylistic evolutions across his oeuvre. In doing so, it captures both the enduring appeal of his past works and the continuity of his artistic vision as it extends toward new creative horizons.

Daniel Buren has spent more than six decades questioning where an artwork begins and where the surrounding world enters into it. Internationally renowned for his unmistakable 8.7cm vertical stripes, the French artist has transformed this seemingly neutral motif into a rigorous conceptual tool, using it to expose the architectural, historical and symbolic conditions of every site he inhabits. This spring and summer, Scai Piramide in Roppongi presents ‘Situated Works 1966-2013’, a rare survey spanning nearly fifty years of his practice.

The exhibition traces Buren’s evolution from his early, radical interventions of the 1960s to luminous optical-fiber works produced in the 2010s. Historical pieces such as Peinture aux formes variables reveal the moment when the striped industrial fabric first became his defining visual language, while the Five Elements paintings, originally created for a 1989 exhibition in Nagoya, demonstrate his persistent dismantling of expressive authorship and painterly convention.

In later galleries, Buren expands this inquiry through works integrating LED-lit optical fibers, where colour and light become spatial phenomena rather than fixed surfaces. Their shimmering presence underscores the artist’s long-held conviction that colour is the irreducible core of visual experience. Deeply connected to Japan, Buren here appears as an artist whose disciplined investigations continue to sharpen our perception of space itself.

When the boundless imagination of Pablo Picasso meets the vibrant creativity of Sir Paul Smith, fireworks follow. Picasso (1881–1973), one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, revolutionised modern art with his radical innovations in form and colour. British designer Smith, noted for his playful approach to tailoring and his masterful sense of colour and pattern, brings his unique sensibility to the table, transforming the NACT’s galleries into a dialogue between art and fashion, and tradition and reinvention.

‘Adventure of Playful Spirits’ offers a fresh encounter with approximately 80 works from the Musée National Picasso-Paris. Following the success of the 2023 Paris exhibition ‘Picasso Celebration: The Collection in a New Light!’, this Japan edition invites visitors to rediscover the painter’s creative evolution from his early Portrait of a Man to the tender Paulo as Harlequin, through Smith’s imaginative spatial design.

From colour-splashed walls to whimsical décor, every element of the exhibition reflects Smith’s joyful spirit and his fascination with artistic play. This meeting of two creative giants – one who shaped modern art and another who redefined contemporary design – conjures up a vibrant, immersive world where curiosity, humour and craftsmanship intertwine.

Ron Mueck has long been celebrated for redefining figurative sculpture through extraordinary craftsmanship and emotional acuity. After early work in film and advertising, the Australian-born, UK-based artist emerged on the contemporary art scene in the mid-1990s, gaining international attention with Pinocchio (1996) and Dead Dad (1996-97), the latter exhibited in the landmark ‘Sensation’ show at London’s Royal Academy in 1997.

Over the decades, his meticulously crafted human figures, rendered at startlingly altered scales, have probed themes of vulnerability, solitude, resilience and the fragile complexity of existence. With a rare and limited oeuvre of about fifty works, each sculpture distills months or even years of observation and reflection, resulting in pieces that feel at once hyper-real and quietly enigmatic.

From April 29 to September 23, the Mori Art Museum hosts the artist’s first solo exhibition in Japan in eighteen years. Organised in collaboration with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, the exhibition gathers eleven works tracing Mueck’s evolution, including six making their Japanese debut. Its monumental centrepiece is the Japan premiere of Mass (2016-17), an immersive installation of 100 giant skulls reconfigured to reflect the museum’s architecture. Other highlights include Angel (1997), Woman with Shopping (2013) and the iconic In Bed (2005), each inviting viewers into a deeply intimate emotional space.

Complementing the sculptures, photographs and films by Gautier Deblonde offer a glimpse into Mueck’s studio practice, revealing the quiet rigour behind some of contemporary art’s most affecting works.

A visionary who worked along the boundaries between art, design and everyday life, Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007) was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Italian design. Rising to prominence in the 1950s through his groundbreaking work for the typewriter and computer manufacturer Olivetti, Sottsass redefined industrial design by infusing functional objects with emotion, symbolism and wit. His restless creative spirit culminated in the 1981 founding of the Memphis Group, an international collective whose bold colours, playful forms and radical aesthetics came to define post-modern design and reshape global visual culture.

‘Design begins where magic begins’ at the Artizon Museum is the first comprehensive retrospective of Sottsass’s work in Japan. Drawing from the Ishibashi Foundation’s extensive collection, the exhibition brings together 112 works spanning the entirety of its subject’s long and prolific career, from early experiments to later, more philosophical creations.

Through furniture, industrial design and conceptual works, the exhibition traces Sottsass’s lifelong challenge to strict rationalism and his belief that design should reflect the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human life. Humour, colour and sensuality emerge as tools with which he sought to illuminate the lived experiences, desires and contradictions of modern society. Offering a rare opportunity to encounter Sottsass’s work in depth, the exhibition reveals a visionary who insisted that true design begins with imagination and magic.

Hiroshi Sugimoto is one of Japan’s most internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, whose practice spans photography, architecture and stage production. At the core of his work lies a profound engagement with analogue silver gelatin photography, a medium he has elevated through rigorous conceptual frameworks and extraordinary technical mastery, even as it faces obsolescence in the digital age.

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo now offers a major survey that traces the evolution of Sugimoto’s photographic practice from the late 1970s to the present. Featuring approximately 60 silver gelatin prints, the exhibition brings into focus a medium the artist recognises as endangered, while asking broader questions about truth, memory and time.

Structured into three chapters, the exhibition spans 13 series, from early works that established Sugimoto’s reputation to later bodies of work that probe abstraction, perception and the limits of representation. Newly unveiled pieces, including additions to the Diorama series, offer fresh insight into themes Sugimoto has pursued for more than half a century.

The exhibition’s title refers to a deeper meditation on what is disappearing from contemporary visual culture. As digital images become infinitely mutable, Sugimoto reasserts photography’s original power as a medium of evidence and presence. Through its breadth and philosophical depth, ‘Extinction’ is set to offer a rare opportunity to reflect on photography’s past, and its uncertain future, through one of its most rigorous practitioners.