Things to do in Tokyo today

While several flower festivals around Japan have been cancelled due to coronavirus, the annual Fuji Shibazakura Festival is still scheduled to run from April 17 to May 30 this year. With its seemingly endless fields of shibazakura (pink moss) and views of majestic Mt Fuji on the horizon, it's no wonder that this annual spring festival out at Lake Motosu in Yamanashi typically attracts hordes of Tokyoites over Golden Week. In addition to strolling around the expansive flower fields, you can try themed foods like a Mt Fuji-shaped hanpen (fish cake), sakura jelly cider and a plethora of sweets made by a hotel patissiere. Visit the souvenir shop to take home snacks including Yamanashi’s famed shingen mochi wrapped in an exclusive pink Fuji shibazakura packaging. If you’re thinking of coming by bus, take the 2 hour and 25 minute highway bus (round trip from ¥5,350) that will get you from Busta Shinjuku directly to Fuji Shibazakura Festival. We recommend making reservations in advance because seats can fill up quickly during spring. Otherwise, you can opt to take the two-hour-long Limited Express Fuji Excursion train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko station (one-way ¥4,130), and hop on the Fuji Shibazakura liner shuttle bus for another 40 minutes to get to the venue.

Whether you’re a fan of high fashion or modern art, this free exhibition in front of Harajuku Station is worth a visit. Dive into the history of Louis Vuitton and see rare designs and collaborations from the company’s more than 160-year history.  Marvel at a range of unique, custom-made trunks featuring the classic LV monogram design, plus bags, scarves and accessories designed by famous Japanese artists including Yayoi Kusuma and Takashi Murakami. Most items you’ll see here are either one-of-a-kind or limited edition pieces that aren’t usually available in stores, so this is your best chance to see them in person. The exhibition runs until May 16 and is free to attend. However, entry is limited each day, so you must make a reservation in advance via the official website before heading over.

This Tom-and-Jerry-themed café serves a selection of cheesy dishes to celebrate the release of the duo’s latest movie. The menu features Jerry’s favourite flavours, including a cheese curry bread bowl (¥1759), omurice shaped into a block of swiss cheese (¥1759), a pizza (¥1,399) baked with meat sauce and cheese, and classic fries drizzled with cheese sauce (¥769). Even the dessert waffle plate (¥1649) comes with a side of orange-coloured cheese sauce. Pair your meal with a delicious latte (from ¥799), which comes in an exclusive Tom and Jerry mug which you can take home for an additional cost (¥1,650). Cold drinks like cream soda (from ¥989) and blueberry tea (from ¥879) come with a coaster which you can also purchase (from ¥770). Plus, you can stock up on more goods like tote bags, stickers and keychains which are exclusive to the character café.

Celebrate Ice Cream Day in Japan on May 9 at the Ice Cream Expo, where you’ll find over 100 variations of ice cream from around the world. The weekend features classics like vanilla soft serve and pistachio gelato alongside chewy Turkish ice cream and the Instagram-famous Cotton Candy Burrito Ice Cream with just about every flavour trend you can think of in between. Some stalls will be selling takeaway cups, so you can bring your favourite  flavours home with you.  It’s free to enter and held at Aeon Lake Town mall’s outdoor square, so anyone with a sweet tooth can keep socially distancing while enjoying an ice cream or two. Make sure you bring plenty of cash, since most stalls don’t accept electronic payment.

[Update April 27] This event has been cancelled due to the new state of emergency in Tokyo * Marvel fans can enjoy a special exhibition at Daimaru Tokyo, which has a collection of movie sets, props and statues from the ever-expanding roster of films, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow and more.  You won’t want to miss the chance to take a look inside Tony Stark’s lab filled with several generations of his Iron Man suits, plus the Infinity Gauntlet from Avengers Endgame.  Better yet, you can even interact with the characters in specially designed rooms – dance with Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, and experience Doctor Strange’s magic powers. Some of the characters will also have life-size statues, so make sure to get a selfie before you leave.

The fields of Kurihama Flower Park in Yokosuka are covered in colourful poppies and nemophila blooms from April 10 to May 30. There are about one million poppy flowers here including Iceland poppies, California poppies and shirley poppies that bloom simultaneously starting in early April, covering 18,000sqm of of the park in bright pink, red, orange and yellow.  The blue nemophila, or ‘baby blue eyes’, bloom on top of a hill overlooking the city, creating what the park calls a ‘flower field in the sky.’ Hop on the flower train (¥300, children ¥200), which will take you all around the park including to its café, herb garden, foot bath and a children’s play area with a big Godzilla statue.

Head up to Ibaraki's Hitachi Seaside Park from mid-April to early May and see a whopping 5.3 million 'baby blue eyes' – also known as nemophila – flowers in full bloom. The hilly grounds span 3.5 hectares and are almost completely covered with the little blue blossoms, making for a pretty spectacular sight. The current flowering forecast predicts that the blooms will be at their best between April 16 and 24, but they are still a magnificent sight if you catch them a bit earlier or even right after peak bloom. Along with the flowers, the park has gone all-out with blue food and drink for you to enjoy during your visit. Sample blue ramune-soda-flavoured soft cream served with nemophila-shaped cookies, pretty blue soda, lattes, and even a blue-tinged curry. While you're at it, pick up a few souvenirs to take home with you including nemophila lollipops, tea bags, cookies and even blue-coloured soap featuring the flower of the season. 

This year, Tokyo’s largest koinobori festival will take place at the foot of Tokyo Skytree with 1,000 carp streamers swaying in the air. The traditional carp-shaped streamers are hung in celebration of Children’s Day, which takes place annually on May 5 during Golden Week. Along with the koinobori display, there will be a number of free family-friendly events including Picnic Park, a children's flea market and a bread festival, which will all take place around the Skytree under the colourful streamers. Picnic Park offers an array of snacks and drinks to enjoy along with slides and inflatable jumping castles. Tokyo Skytree Town's Pan no Fes will see around 30 bakeries from across Japan selling their delicious baked goods over the five days of Golden Week. Bring your little ones along with you on May 9 for the children's flea market, where they can browse through an outdoor market set up just for them.

Suspended in the atrium of Ginza Six is the department store’s latest public art installation by Kyoto-based artist Kohei Nawa. The installation features a sculpture of a deer floating above clouds, a creature that has appeared at the centre of many of Nawa’s coveted works for its symbolic ties to Shintoism and ancient Japanese history.  There is more to the installation than meets the eye, with a corresponding app you can download to see the work come to life through your smartphone. In addition to the ‘Metamorphosis Garden’ installation, a handful of other works by Nawa will be available to experience through the use of AR technology. This includes the artist’s 2013 project ‘Foam’, which was presented at Aichi Triennale 2013 as well as his 2016 collaborative performance art piece with Belgium choreographer Damien Jalet, ‘Vessel’.

Self-proclaimed ‘art aquarium producer’ Hidetomo Kimura deploys a range of lighting tricks alongside traditional Japanese sculpture-like tanks filled with thousands of live kingyo goldfish at Art Aquarium in Nihonbashi. The entire exhibition will be lit up in pink and will include special spring-related goldfish, such as sakura nishiki, sakura ryukin, sakura higashinishiki and sakura daruma ryukin. All the aquarium rooms will be filled with sakura motif projections, so you’ll get to enjoy a different kind of hanami (flower viewing party). For little luxury, grab the sakura-themed sweets set (¥1,430) and cocktails (from ¥1,100) offered at Suigian Lounge.  The Kingyo Collection room features tanks set up like an art gallery, so you can enjoy the interplay between the beautiful fish and the light show. Don’t miss the Sakura-rium, which has white and orange-coloured sakura daruma ryukin fish swimming in a cherry blossom-shaped aquarium tank – it’s a limited-time installation. The Flower Flower Aquarium will also be decked out with cherry blossom flower arrangements and colourful aquarium displays to evoke the feeling of spring.

Suspended in the atrium of Ginza Six is the department store’s latest public art installation by Kyoto-based artist Kohei Nawa. The installation features a sculpture of a deer floating above clouds, a creature that has appeared at the centre of many of Nawa’s coveted works for its symbolic ties to Shintoism and ancient Japanese history.  There is more to the installation than meets the eye, with a corresponding app you can download to see the work come to life through your smartphone. In addition to the ‘Metamorphosis Garden’ installation, a handful of other works by Nawa will be available to experience through the use of AR technology. This includes the artist’s 2013 project ‘Foam’, which was presented at Aichi Triennale 2013 as well as his 2016 collaborative performance art piece with Belgium choreographer Damien Jalet, ‘Vessel’.

Not unlike some Impressionist paintings, the photographs at the Myd Gallery’s latest exhibition are centered on the depiction of light and its varied qualities. The two photographers featured are Kyoto-based Takeshi Sumi and Swiss-born Louise Claire Wagner; they both place light at the core of their latest works using a variety of techniques to capture their subjects and Tokyo’s urban landscapes. Depending on the levels of brightness used to take the photographs, you'll either be drawn to the intensity of the light or feel uplifted by its softness.  Note that while the exhibition is free, you must book a time slot in advance.