Things to do in Tokyo this week
This week’s hottest events, gigs, films, festivals and more
When you're spending time in a city as big as Tokyo, it's never too early to start planning for the week ahead. You can pack a lot of living into seven days, whether you're someone who likes to spend an afternoon at the museum or prefers to stay out late clubbing. We've sifted through hundreds of listings to weed out a handful of the week's best events, gigs, festivals and things to do.
RECOMMENDED: Get your tickets to events and gigs here
Best things to do this week
Hamacho Marché
Winter doesn’t mean a lack of fresh produce. Spend a morning at this farmers' market in Nihonbashi-Hamacho, where local producers stalls set up to sell seasonal fruit, vegetables, sundries and flowers direct from the farms and orchards. There are also food trucks along the street for you to grab a light meal as you peruse the booths. Bring the kids along – a play area will be set up with games and workshops for families...
Of Monsters and Men Japan Tour 2020 Tokyo
The Icelandic rock band Of Monsters and Men is no stranger to Japan. Right after their debut album 'My Head is an Animal' landed the sixth position on the American charts in 2012, the group made its way around the world, ending up in a live performance at Harajuku Astro Hall in 2013. After their second album 'Beneath the Skin' took third place in the US charts, the group headlined Fuji Rock in 2015. Now the band seeks to make the world listen once again with their third album 'Fever Dream'...
Bon Iver
Fronted by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, American indie-folk band Bon Iver is known for their distinctive sound that combines folk and rock with electro. Considering the band name is derived from the French phrase ‘bon hiver’, meaning ‘good winter’, there couldn’t be a better season for their Asia-Europe tour...
Tokyo Unplugged: Time Out Acoustic Open Mic Night
Tokyo is a music hub of the region and we’re adding on to the lively scene with our very own open mic night. For our last two shows in 2019, we’ve featured around 10 musicians each, spanning a wide range of genres from rap and folk to down-tempo acoustic and pop. Our third installment, happening on Thursday January 23, will similarly host an eclectic roster of international and homegrown artists...
Usokae Bullfinch Exchange
The Kameido Tenjin Shrine isn’t just popular for its annual chrysanthemum festival – the grounds have hosted a unique Shinto ritual since 1820. Bullfinches are considered to bring good luck, and the shrine provides figurines in the shape of that little bird on January 24 and 25. If you’re an annual visitor, simply exchange your old figurine from the previous year with a new one...
Takashi Murakami Superflat Doraemon Exhibition
Takashi Murakami’s latest work is a collaboration with one of Japan’s beloved cartoon, Doraemon. The blue cat robot is rendered in Murakiami’s signature Superflat style, thus giving this nostalgic character, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, a modern makeover...
Electronicos Fantasticos at Shibuya-san
Electronics Fantasticos gives old and disused electronics a second life by turning them into musical instruments, which are on display at Shibuya’s newest tourist information centre, Shibuya-san. Members of the Nicos Orchest-Lab, a musical project founded by musician Ei Wada, will be there at 8pm-9pm on weekdays and 2pm-3pm on weekends to guide you through a practical session with the instruments...
Japan Brewers Cup
Taking place on Osanbashi Pier, the scenic international ferry terminal between Minato Mirai and Yamashita Park, this event is both a craft beer jubilee and a contest between the vendors. Thirty-two Japanese brewers and six international importers will be setting up shop, offering a staggering 300-plus beers on tap...
Masking Tape Jamboree
Japan is famous for its wide-ranging and inventive stationery, from delicate letter-sheets to erasable highlighters and rolls of masking tape that come in every design imaginable. At the Masking Tape Jamboree, you can geek out over 1,000 kinds of masking tapes to decorate your notebooks, letters and household goods. You’ll also find workshops throughout the day to help you come up with innovative ways to use masking tape...
Famous Ekiben Tournament
Station bento boxes, also known as ekiben are a quintessential part of traveling in Japan, each box is packed with regional specialities. Tokyo Station’s Ekibenya Matsuri may be everyone’s go-to shop to purchase these delicious lunch boxes year-round, but this event is the biggest one yet featuring over 270 goods from all 43 prefectures. Their highlights feature Fukushima’s five-way king crab bowl, Hyogo’s octopus rice bowl topped with simmered eel and veggies served in a flashy golden pot, and Saga’s carnivorous bento with generous cuts of skirt steak, roast and sukiyaki beef...
New Year’s Celebration at the Tokyo National Museum
Celebrate the New Year and usher in the year of the rat at Tokyo National Museum admiring artworks featuring adorable little mice. While many of us see these little creatures as pests, ancient Japanese tales reveal that they were symbols of families blessed with many children...
VR Sound Stage Tokyo – Mahler’s Third
London-based Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is taking up residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, albeit in digital form, thanks to VR Sound Stage, the orchestra’s pioneering virtual reality project. This event is free and will ‘transport’ you to the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in October 2017, where you’ll enjoy Mahler’s Third Symphony...
Sakedokoro Nabegoya
Savour different kinds of hot pots from prefectures all around Japan at Sakedokoro Nabegoya. You’ll have the chance to sample rare dishes not commonly found in Tokyo, including Hokkaido’s tomato cream and Iwate’s duck hot pots. While this winter warmer is generally a communal dish, here at this festival you can order a single portion, too...
Eraser Stamp Exhibition – Reflect the Seasons
When visiting Koenji, make a detour to this eraser stamp exhibition by artist Natsuko Taguchi. Her intricate work incorporates warm colours and traditional Japanese elements, and often feature scenes from the four seasons. Taguchi has her own segment at the weekly variety TV show 'Purebato' and publishes a variety of books on eraser stamp art techniques. Her most iconic works include wall art as well as designs for traditional Japanese sliding doors...
Live in the Dark – Classic
Konica Minolta Planetaria makes for a nice escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, especially when you get to stare into space, or more specifically the ‘French night sky’, while listening to live classical music. The planetarium dome is equipped with the latest technology and a screen that stretches from floor to ceiling...
Choi Jeong-Hwa Exhibition: Blooming Matrix
One of the most influential artists in the Korean contemporary art scene, Choi Jeong-Hwa is showcasing his work at Gyre in a solo exhibition that runs until February 24. Choi has a particular fondness for collecting knick-knacks from around the world and then shape those everyday objects into grand sculptures. Of great acclaim is his ‘Alchemy’ series, a collection of room-sized sculptures that are built by stacking objects onto each other...
See the best illuminations in Tokyo
The days may be getting shorter and colder, but even so, Tokyo doesn't turn into a dark and desolate place at this less than cheery time of year. In fact, as the city transitions from autumn into winter, millions of colourful LED lights are displayed in trees as well as on and around buildings, turning Tokyo into a sparkling wonderland...
Hotel New Otani Japanese Garden Illumination
The Hotel New Otani's Japanese garden will again be lit up through the end of February. Loved by many as a veritable oasis in the middle of the city, the garden sees an illumination set to shed light (sorry) upon the beauty of nature. With this particular garden having a 400-year-plus history and boasting a whopping 10,000 tsubo (about 33,100sqm) of space, that shouldn't prove too difficult...
47 fashionable clothes to represent 47 prefectures
Shibuya’s d47 Museum has always been committed to introducing the unique characteristics of Japan’s 47 prefectures through various media and exhibitions. Its current exhibition, which revolves around the theme of fashion, is showcasing a curated collection of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories that represent each prefecture...
Winter Wonderland in Moominvalley Park
Even though the adorable Moominvalley Park is not in central Tokyo, it’s definitely worth the roughly one-hour trip from Ikebukuro Station. During the park’s winter illumination event, that’s based on the iconic troll’s fifth book ‘Moominland Midwinter’, you can expect a colourful spectacle supported by projection mapping, lights and sound...
Tokyo Mega Illumination
The Oi Racecourse, aka the Tokyo City Keiba, will be lit up during the nighttime races with colourful illumination. What's more, there will be a 'time travel area' featuring designs and artworks from the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras, as well as a 100 metre tunnel covered in lights, making it the biggest illumination in the Kanto area...
United Nations University Farmers' Market
The UNU farmers’ market is one of Tokyo’s longest running and best-attended markets. Taking place every weekend in front of the university’s Aoyama headquarters, this one always attracts a knowledgeable crowd. Organic and local fare is readily available every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, with the farmers themselves happy to provide details about their wares.
Mori Building Digital Art Museum Epson teamLab Borderless
Tokyo's hottest art opening of 2018, self-styled 'ultra-technologists' teamLab have now got their very own museum on Odaiba. The 10,000sqm is space inside the huge Odaiba Palette Town development, courtesy of the Mori Building group and Epson. A good 50 artworks are on display, which all interact with visitors and can even move between rooms – it's truly 'borderless' art...
Free things to do this week
Famous Ekiben Tournament
Station bento boxes, also known as ekiben, are a quintessential part of traveling in Japan. Morever, each box is packed with regional specialities. Tokyo Station’s Ekibenya Matsuri may be everyone’s go-to shop to purchase these delicious lunch boxes year-round, but this event is the biggest one yet featuring over 270 goods from all 43 prefectures. Highlights include Fukushima’s five-way king crab bowl, Hyogo’s octopus rice bowl topped with simmered eel and veggies served in a flashy golden pot, and Saga’s meaty bento with generous cuts of skirt steak, roast and sukiyaki beef. Get a taste of all the prefectures and find your favourite one here.
Takashi Murakami Superflat Doraemon Exhibition
Takashi Murakami’s latest work is a collaboration with one of Japan’s beloved cartoon, Doraemon. The blue cat robot is rendered in Murakiami’s signature Superflat style, thus giving this nostalgic character, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, a modern makeover. At first glance you’ll notice Murakami’s classic flower prints, but pay attention to the fine details like the various expressions of the characters and the distorted clock that’s reminiscent of Dali’s surrealism.
Electronicos Fantasticos at Shibuya-san
Electronics Fantasticos gives old and disused electronics a second life by turning them into musical instruments, which are on display at Shibuya’s newest tourist information centre, Shibuya-san. Members of the Nicos Orchest-Lab, a musical project founded by musician Ei Wada, will be there at 8pm-9pm on weekdays and 2pm-3pm on weekends to guide you through a practical session with the instruments. You’ll have a chance to try out the very rare ‘Barcoder’, which creates sounds from signals picked up by the attached barcode reader. The launch event is set for January 18 at 2pm, where you’ll be able to meet Ei Wada himself and learn about his projects, as well as play around with some of the instruments he has created.
VR Sound Stage Tokyo – Mahler’s Third
London-based Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is taking up residency at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, albeit in digital form, thanks to VR Sound Stage, the orchestra’s pioneering virtual reality project. This event is free and will ‘transport’ you to the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in October 2017, where you’ll enjoy Mahler’s Third Symphony.
Masking Tape Jamboree
Japan is famous for its wide-ranging and inventive stationery, from delicate letter-sheets to erasable highlighters and rolls of masking tape that come in every design imaginable. At the Masking Tape Jamboree, you can geek out over 1,000 kinds of masking tapes to decorate your notebooks, letters and household goods. You’ll also find workshops throughout the day to help you come up with innovative ways to use masking tape. Plus, there will be items here that are designed exclusively for the event – so don’t miss out.
Hamacho Marché
Winter doesn’t mean a lack of fresh produce. Spend a morning at this farmers' market in Nihonbashi-Hamacho, where local producers stalls set up to sell seasonal fruit, vegetables, sundries and flowers direct from the farms and orchards. There are also food trucks along the street for you to grab a light meal as you peruse the booths. Bring the kids along – a play area will be set up with games and workshops for families.
Eraser Stamp Exhibition – Reflect the Seasons
When visiting Koenji, make a detour to this eraser stamp exhibition by artist Natsuko Taguchi. Her intricate work incorporates warm colours and traditional Japanese elements, and often feature scenes from the four seasons. Taguchi has her own segment at the weekly variety TV show 'Purebato' and publishes a variety of books on eraser stamp art techniques. Her most iconic works include wall art as well as designs for traditional Japanese sliding doors. We're excited about the new works she has prepared for this exhibition at Za-Koenji.
James Lee Byars 'Kisoushi'
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Yanaka gallery Scai the Bathhouse is hosting a solo exhibition, ‘Kisoushi' ('Poetic Conceit'), featuring American conceptual artist James Lee Byars (1932-1997). Active during the 20th century, Byars pursued ideal forms and perfection in his work. Often with reference to classic aesthetics, Byars visualised metaphysical concepts of ‘being’ through sculptural installations, performances and letters. ‘Kisoushi’ consists of a variety of works, including those created during Byars’ stay in Japan. ‘The Poetic Conceit’ (1983), for example, shows an altar that’s covered in black cloth, with a replica of the painting ‘Goethe in the Roman Campagna’ (1787) at its centre. The white plate on the pedestal right under the painting resembles an offering. This unusual composition reminds one of a theatrical set, in which Goethe’s zeitgeist intersects with Byars’ minimal aesthetics, creating a meditative work that illustrates the artist’s philosophical ideas.
Yokohama Milaight
This winter, the 1.5km-long area right outside the east exit of JR Yokohama Station turns into a sparkling wonderland. Directed by the acclaimed multimedia art collective Naked, this illumination display uses over half a million LED lights to bathe the area in warm white light, thus providing an interesting contrast to the surrounding blue street lights. Of particular note is the artists’ square, where you can play the piano and affect the lighting effects on the trees and within the immediate vicinity.
Caretta Illumination
This Shiodome shopping complex always puts a lot of work into its Christmas light-ups, and this year is no exception: for this year, the Caretta Illumination will have an 'Arabian Night' theme inspired by Disney film 'Aladdin'. It's blatantly commercial, sure, but still worth a quick look on a dark winter evening. Just like last year, the illumination display will stay up until Valentine's Day.