Things to do in Tokyo today
The day's best things to do in Tokyo, all in one place
Not sure what to do this evening? Well, you're in the right place now: Tokyo always has plenty of stuff going on, from festivals to concerts and art shows, activities and more. Read on for our pick of the best things to do, and if you're planning further ahead, check out our weekly picks.
Japan Alps Art Festival 2017
Held in northwestern Nagano prefecture, the first-ever Japan Alps Art Festival is set to take over the city of Omachi from early June to the end of July. The man behind it all is Fram Kitagawa, an experienced festival director and head of the Art Front Gallery in Daikanyama. Participating artists include both top domestic names (Tadashi Kawamata, Toshikatsu Endo, Tomoko Fuse) and international visitors (Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Maaria Wirkkala), while the Kurobe dam, which makes for a spectacular backdrop, is set to be covered in art as well. Read more about the festival on our blog
Graphic Design in Japan 2017
Published annually since 1981, the Japan Graphic Designers Association's 'Graphic Design in Japan' is a comprehensive look at the year that was in domestic design. Its publication is usually accompanied by this exhibition, which now heads to Midtown for its 2017 edition. Around 300 pieces from the monograph will be on display, including posters, website designs, interiors, books and the colourful packages of Yoshie Watanabe, winner of this year's prestigious Yusaku Kamekura Design Award.
Lee Kan Kyo: Rolex 2D
Award-winning Taiwanese graphic artist Lee Kan Kyo is one busy – and popular – man: he's constantly publishing new work, and has exhibited widely in Tokyo on the topic of consumables, which includes everything from 'idols' to supermarket ads. This Shinjuku show consists of Lee's latest work: paintings of imaginary Rolex watches that could be authentic, fake or anything in between.
Fuurin Matsuri
Find a pretty wind bell made of glass at this annual festival taking place at Adachi's Nishiarai Daishi temple. Craftspeople from all over the country will be peddling their wares, which exhibit a staggering variety of colours, shapes and sounds – find the perfect one just for you, or simply walk around the area and take in the summery atmosphere. There are taiko drumming performances on every Sunday afternoon (from 1.15pm) during the event period.
Showa Beer Garden
Journey back to the smoky decades of the Showa era at Roppongi's Grand Hyatt this summer. Decorated with paper lanterns and old-school posters, the hotel's fourth-floor Chapel Garden serves as the venue for this nostalgia-tinged beer garden, where Japanese oldies from the ’60s and ’70s blare from the speakers while you sip ice-cold suds and snack on deep-fried ham, yakisoba, octopus sausages, Babystar ramen and other decidedly un-trendy eats. All of these are part of the Showa Otsumami Set, which also includes unlimited quantities of Hoppy, highballs and chu-hi and sets you back a cool ¥6,000. Sounds like a fair price to pay for a taste of the good (?) old days.
Tie-dye From the World
Not just for hippies: this exhibition explores the art of tie-dyeing through a global lens. For those who didn't spend their childhood tying up T-shirts and dipping them in dye: tie-dye is a simple way of printing patterns on fabric by tying or scrunching up pieces of it and sectioning it off with strings. Variations (sewing bits of fabric beforehand, twisting it and so on) exist as well, and the concept itself has been around since ancient times. The Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum has now amassed around 130 items that incorporate tie-dye techniques from 25 different countries, including India, Morocco, Peru and the Philippines. They even have tie-dyed kimono – now that's a nice twist.
Michael Soi Exhibition
Kenyan painter and sculptor Michael Soi injects satirical commentary on economic, social and political issues into his colourful, pop art-esque pieces, most of which depict life in Soi's native Nairobi. See his art in July at the Bunkamura gallery, where you can also buy bags and other cool collectibles produced by the maverick cartoonist.
Tokyo Art City by Naked
Projection mapping and light-up impresarios Naked, known for their immersive works at highlight locations like Tokyo Station and Omotesando Hills, are back with this city-themed show at Tokyo Dome City's new Gallery AaMo. Snapshots and models of landmark buildings in Tokyo will be put together in a collage style, with light and projection mapping used to bring an entire miniature version of the capital to life. A total of 250 models will be employed to recreate nine famous Tokyo locations, including Shibuya's scramble crossing, Tokyo Tower, the Rainbow Bridge and Yanesen.
Ueno Summer Festival
Ueno's natsu matsuri kicks off for real with a parade down the area's central street on July 22 (from 5.30pm), while the rest of the event period includes happenings like the picturesque toro nagashi ceremony (July 17, from 7pm), in which paper lanterns are floated on Shinobazu Pond. There will be market stalls in the park throughout the four weeks of the festival selling antiques, potted plants and more, while street performances take place at the Bentendo temple in the afternoon on July 23 and 29. Make sure to also check out Ueno Park's open-air stage, where everyone from idols to jazz veterans will be performing almost every day. And if you're looking for a photo op, come on the afternoon of July 18, when ice sculptors will conjure some (doubtless short-lived) works around the stage.
Yoyogi Village Beer Terrace
Providing a more eco-conscious alternative to the average Tokyo mall, Yoyogi Village is bringing back its annual beer garden for summer. Again taking over the faux beach at the complex, this one's themed 'Mexican Summer', so think plenty of salsa, tacos, 'Mexican-style pizza', mariachi music (at 7pm and 9pm once a week) and copious amounts of Corona, tequila and mojitos. In addition to the main menu, you can pick up street food from the many stalls set up around the Container Zone.
Graphic Design in Japan 2017
Published annually since 1981, the Japan Graphic Designers Association's 'Graphic Design in Japan' is a comprehensive look at the year that was in domestic design. Its publication is usually accompanied by this exhibition, which now heads to Midtown for its 2017 edition. Around 300 pieces from the monograph will be on display, including posters, website designs, interiors, books and the colourful packages of Yoshie Watanabe, winner of this year's prestigious Yusaku Kamekura Design Award.
Lee Kan Kyo: Rolex 2D
Award-winning Taiwanese graphic artist Lee Kan Kyo is one busy – and popular – man: he's constantly publishing new work, and has exhibited widely in Tokyo on the topic of consumables, which includes everything from 'idols' to supermarket ads. This Shinjuku show consists of Lee's latest work: paintings of imaginary Rolex watches that could be authentic, fake or anything in between.
Michael Soi Exhibition
Kenyan painter and sculptor Michael Soi injects satirical commentary on economic, social and political issues into his colourful, pop art-esque pieces, most of which depict life in Soi's native Nairobi. See his art in July at the Bunkamura gallery, where you can also buy bags and other cool collectibles produced by the maverick cartoonist.
The Yoshinobu Ashihara Architectural Archives: Dreaming Modernism
Designer of Komazawa Park's gymnasium and tower, the Sony Building and the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Modernist architect Yoshinobu Ashihara (1918-2003) may have been somewhat overshadowed by his contemporaries Kunio Maekawa and Kenzo Tange, but nonetheless left an indelible mark on his native Tokyo. Composed mainly of drawings, photos and models, this display draws on Musashino Art University's Yoshinobu Ashihara Architectural Archives collection in presenting 11 of Ashihara's most notable works. Also exhibiting reference materials from the architect's days at Harvard, digital data on all 300 of his designs, timelapse photos and more, the university museum is offering a truly comprehensive look at this Showa titan's career.
Roger Ballen + Asger Carlsen: No Joke
Released in Europe last year and now heading to the Diesel Gallery for its first Japan showing, 'No Joke' is a 37-image collaborative series that brings together two giants of the photography world. American Roger Ballen has been based in South Africa for more than three decades and made his name documenting the poor and forgotten segment of that society, while Dane Asger Carlsen is famed for his often creepy but always engaging shots and sculptures of human bodies. See the duo's disturbingly impactful creations in Shibuya throughout summer.
Ginza Six Opening Installation: 'Pumpkins'
Yayoi Kusama seems to be everywhere this year: now, a selection of her pumpkins will be suspended from the ceiling at the new Ginza Six complex. Hanging above the stairwell on the second floor will be twelve red-and-white spotted pumpkins in three different sizes – kind of like rather quirky chandeliers. In addition, the 'Yayoi Kusama Pop Up Store: My Eternal Soul' will be open until May 16, selling merchandise like a range of silver accessories based on the artist's quintessential motifs.
Dan Flavin Exhibition
One of the founding fathers of 1960s Minimalism along with Donald Judd and Robert Morris, New Yorker Dan Flavin is best known for sculptural installations of fluorescent lights. This show at the Espace Louis Vuitton gallery is your chance to see seven of these brightly glowing creations in appropriately serene surrounds.
Emmanuel Saulnier: ATM Tempo I/II/III
A participant in the Mori Museum's 2015 exhibition 'Simple Forms: Contemplating Beauty', French sculptor and installation artist Emmanuel Saulnier now presents his first own large-scale show in the capital. The spacious halls at Maison Hermès's Le Forum will be filled with abstract sculptures, paintings and other artworks by both Saulnier himself and artists he has worked closely with as mentor in the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès residence programme.
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