Ever since I discovered that one of the most inspiring kimono stylists I know offers private tour and photo sessions, I’ve been dying to swan around Tokyo in a gorgeous ensemble, styled down to the last deco bracelet by modern kimono maven Anji Salz. (If you don’t already follow @salztokyo on Instagram, check these photosContinueContinue reading “Kimono Princess For A Day!”
Category Archives: Awesome Stuff To Do
The One Word Saint
As the old year draws to a close (and we say good riddance to all that was disappointing and discouraging), and a new year is about to begin (along with the ever-springing hope that it will be better than the last), I find myself thinking about this odd little booth that sits in a quietContinueContinue reading “The One Word Saint”
At The Mori Museum: 3D-Printed Sushi & Other Glimpses Of The Future
The Mori Museum’s current exhibit, Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life – How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow pushes all my favorite buttons: food, fashion & WTF! It’s a satisfyingly huge show, with installations ranging from utopian plans that harness cutting-edge tech, to darker commentary on how we’ll use technology to evolve in a worldContinueContinue reading “At The Mori Museum: 3D-Printed Sushi & Other Glimpses Of The Future”
Where to see the best winter illuminations in Tokyo
The holiday light displays have become a bit more subdued since the pandemic, but there are still plenty of amazing light shows, if you know where to look! Here are the ones right in central Tokyo you can see for free! Tokyo Midtown Roppongi Roppongi’s Midtown mall stages a choreographed holiday light show along theContinueContinue reading “Where to see the best winter illuminations in Tokyo”
Where To See The Best Autumn Leaves In Tokyo…Lit Up At Night!
The hot new trend of holiday illuminations in Tokyo has spread to the gardens and parks, with more and more lighting up their naturally spectacular autumn leaves and opening for special evening viewing! Here are my current favorites: • SHOWA KINEN PARK near Tachikawa Station There are two areas lit up at night: 1: TheContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Autumn Leaves In Tokyo…Lit Up At Night!”
Killer Chrysanthemums 2019
It’s that time of year again, when the chrysanthemum wranglers of Tokyo liberate their flower-of-choice from ragtag funeral bouquets and show the world they can hold their own with far more glamorous blooms! Here’s what’s new for 2019: • YUSHIMA TENJIN SHRINE It’s hard to argue that this isn’t the must-see chrysanthemum diorama every year.ContinueContinue reading “Killer Chrysanthemums 2019”
The Most Beautiful Autumn Leaves In Japan
Last fall on this exact day, I was ogling some of the most gorgeous autumn leaves in Japan, and I’ve been WAITING for the season to roll around again, so I can show you! All these places are within shouting distance of Tokyo, but while the leaves are still maddeningly green in the city, they’reContinueContinue reading “The Most Beautiful Autumn Leaves In Japan”
Smart Illumination Yokohama 2019: WOW
This year, there were fewer artworks at the Yokohama Smart Illuminations, but the ones on exhibit were SO worth seeing! Or – more accurately – worth DOING. Because this year the participation element was front and center, and quite a few of them required serious athletic juice from the audience to power them. When IContinueContinue reading “Smart Illumination Yokohama 2019: WOW”
Insanely Detailed Sculptures Made From Japanese Snack Packages
Generations of small boys have fantasized about becoming mighty cyborgs while scarfing Bisco cookies From the nation of insane Japanese modelmakers, this. The artist known as “Karabako Shokunin Harukiru” (That’s “Empty Box Craftsman Harukiru” to you), snips and folds and glues the unlikely medium of Japanese snack food boxes into unbelievably intricate sculptures, and rightContinueContinue reading “Insanely Detailed Sculptures Made From Japanese Snack Packages”
Tokyo Cake Show: So Gorgeous, So Japanese
How can you tell a professional baking conference is in Tokyo? Because among the fantasy wedding cakes, there’s a Shinto shrine wedding, complete with marzipan bride and groom. From the roof tiles, to the torii gate tunnel, it’s pretty clear that this loving couple isn’t getting married in Winchester Cathedral That pink cake is 100%ContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Cake Show: So Gorgeous, So Japanese”
Dahlia Bonanza At The Toshogu Shrine
Every fall, this exquisitely curated exhibition happens at the Toshogu Shrine in Ueno Park, at the same place that hosts the eye-popping peony specimens in May. This “garden” only exists for a few weeks every year, when the patiently nurtured dahlias are coaxed into bloom by their owners and brought to the shrine. Each plantContinueContinue reading “Dahlia Bonanza At The Toshogu Shrine”
The Eleven Strangest Shrines In Tokyo
Tokyo is stuffed with gorgeous shrines and temples, but some of the gods in residence have hilarious and entertaining specialties! Here are the ones dedicated to my favorite kami-sama and how to snag some of their favor for yourself: • THE WART SHRINE Resident kami-sama’s superpower: Curing warts How to get your warts cured: Throw aContinueContinue reading “The Eleven Strangest Shrines In Tokyo”
Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels
Usually you’d have to hie yourself all the way up to rural Aomori* to catch a glimpse of these epic glowing floats, but lucky for me, last fall I happened across an outpost of the Nebuta Festival right in my own backyard! For some mysterious reason, six of the outrageously great floats were swanning down the shopping street near NakanobuContinueContinue reading “Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels”
Jazz Age Paintings Of Beautiful Women And The Real Kimonos They Were Wearing
If you love kimono – and especially if you love Taisho and Showa-age kimono – don’t miss this exhibition! Right now, the Yayoi-Yumeji Museum – where over 3,000 of artist/illustrator Takehisa Yumeji’s works are archived – is displaying the actual kimonos and accessories worn in his paintings, side by side. I’m a huge fan of TaishoContinueContinue reading “Jazz Age Paintings Of Beautiful Women And The Real Kimonos They Were Wearing”
3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?
Doth my eyes deceive me? Riusuke Fukahori paints 3-D goldfish so real you can’t believe they’re not wriggling. And I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but the exhibit of his work going on RIGHT NOW at the Sano Art Museum in Mishima is so astounding, that in real life, the fish look more realContinueContinue reading “3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?”
If Only Japanese Rock Gardens Were Filled With Cooling Mist & Illuminations…
Oh. Wait. At Tokyo Midtown this summer, they are! On the lawn that hosts those amazing winter illuminations, they’ve constructed a wide wooden veranda enclosing a “rock garden,” complete with clouds of mist and a fireworks-themed lightshow. And the best part is, you can sit and dangle your feet for as long as you like,ContinueContinue reading “If Only Japanese Rock Gardens Were Filled With Cooling Mist & Illuminations…”
Rice Field Art
In what has to be the weirdest creative medium next to the Seed Art Pavilion at the Minnesosta State Fair, Japanese farmers have taken to making large-scale art by planting some of their fields in different strains of rice. The only problem is, in order to even see what the picture is of, you haveContinueContinue reading “Rice Field Art”
Floating Lanterns
Candle-lit lanterns floating across a pond in the moonlight? Yes, please! This Toro Nagashi lantern ceremony was at the Ueno temple that sits amid the nodding lotus heads of Shinobazu Pond, and it was lovely. What I didn’t know was that it signals the end of annual O-bon festivities, the three days in summer when theContinueContinue reading “Floating Lanterns”
Where To See The Most Divine Lotus Blossoms In Tokyo
Most flower seasons in Japan are like hitting the jackpot, but lotus season is more of a treasure hunt. Instead of fields of I-can’t-believe-my-eyes color, you have to hunt for the sublime pinkness amid a sea of green. But when you find it… <swoon!> Lotus flowers open at first light, are at their best fromContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Most Divine Lotus Blossoms In Tokyo”
Things I Did Not Know You Could Do With A Lotus Leaf
This morning I was at the Sankei-en garden in Yokohama at the ungodly hour of 7:00 a.m. to see their field of lotus in bloom, but it was the bonus attractions that really made my day! Sankei-en has special early weekend opening hours during The Season, because (who knew?) lotus flowers only bloom in theContinueContinue reading “Things I Did Not Know You Could Do With A Lotus Leaf”
The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest
The spring rainy season isn’t the most delightful time to be in Japan…unless you’re hiking through a shady forest, surrounded by heaps and heaps of blue hydrangeas! Minamisawa Ajisai Mountain’s groomed trails wind up the side of a mountain, through a silent and stately cedar forest that’s robed in countless poufs of cooling blue andContinueContinue reading “The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest”
Under The Umbrella Sky
If there’s a better way to celebrate Japan’s summer rainy season, show me! This is the latest environmental art exhibit at Metsa Village, the same place where Digitized Lakeside and Forest happened last winter. The exhibit is constructed from hundreds of tinted umbrellas, linked invisibly overhead, between the trees You enter beneath the warm endContinueContinue reading “Under The Umbrella Sky”
Azalea Pilgrimage 2019
I know you’re exhausted after elbowing your way through the crazy crowds instagramming the cherry blossoms, which is why you should take a deep breath and go see the azaleas. Like cherry blossoms, the all-flowers-all-the-time spectacle will knock your socks off, but unlike the famous fluffy things, you can enjoy them in blissful near-solitude. HereContinueContinue reading “Azalea Pilgrimage 2019”
The Best Places To See Pink Rivers of Cherry Blossom Petals
Photo thanks to the Hikawa Shrine Facebook page, which (thanks to their position right on the banks of the Shingashi River in Kawagoe) got the pink river timing perfect (unlike, uh, moi) The leaves are greening, hangovers cured, blue tarps furled, the madness over. Right? Wrong! Because as soon as the petals begin to fall,ContinueContinue reading “The Best Places To See Pink Rivers of Cherry Blossom Petals”
Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party
Kicking back under clouds of pink blossoms in the warm spring sun, eating a picnic and drinking with friends – it’s something you always dreamed of doing in Japan, isn’t it? And then you get here, and you discover that unless you’re a member of a work group that puts on a hanami party, you’ll beContinueContinue reading “Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party”
Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night
The Yushima Shrine is famous for its plum blossoms, and until the end of February, you can see them lit up at night! Even if you’re a cherry blossom loyalist (in which case I sentence you to visiting all my favorite plum tree gardens and upgrading your flower preferences JUST SAYIN’) it’s a grand opportunity toContinueContinue reading “Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night”
Flowers By Naked 2019
This year’s Flowers by Naked (at the same Coredo venue that hosts Art Aquarium during the summer) was better than last year but not as engaging as the first year I saw it. The art of projection mapped animation has taken such huge strides in three years that it kind of amazes me how wowed I wasContinueContinue reading “Flowers By Naked 2019”
Shirakawago In The Snow
For years, I’ve wanted to see the old-fashioned farmhouse hamlet of Shirakawa-go all lit up at night in the snow, and this week I got half my wish. It turns out that ever since it was named a Unesco World Heritage Site, viewing the farmhouses lit up at night has become such a crazy tourist madhouseContinueContinue reading “Shirakawago In The Snow”
Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART TWO: Just Beautiful
It was so hard to choose only a few quilts to feature from the embarrassment of riches at this year’s Tokyo International Quilt Festival, but here are some of the overall stunners, and a couple that had details to die for. • You can see why this piece won the 2018 Machine Quilting Award… “LifeContinueContinue reading “Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART TWO: Just Beautiful”
“Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation
If ogling giant resonating eggs and gawking at color-changing trees isn’t what you’re planning to do this weekend, cancel your plans and get thee out to Hanno to see this new digital art installation instead! It meanders halfway around the small lake in the Metsa Village recreation area, and it’s everything glow-in-the-dark entertainment should be.ContinueContinue reading ““Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation”
Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts
I didn’t think it was possible to be more blown away than I was in 2016, by the sheer artistry and sewing chops I ogled at the Tokyo International Quilt Festival, but yesterday it happened again. In fact, there are so many quilts I want to show you, I’m going to break this into twoContinueContinue reading “Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts”
Lighting Up The Winter Night
Because I’m helplessly drawn to things that glow in the dark (gee, ya think?), I recently returned to two of my favorite lit-up-for-winter amusement parks, because I’d heard that they’d updated their gazillion-fairy-twinkle extravaganzas. (And you can check them out too, if you’re anywhere near Tokyo, until Valentines Day!) SAGAMIKO “ILLUMILLIONS” THEME PARK This yearContinueContinue reading “Lighting Up The Winter Night”
Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018
Free displays of holiday illuminations have become a huge attraction in Tokyo – probably because they’re the most instabae invention since selfie sticks – and every year they get bigger and better. Here are this year’s offerings from my favorite places to see them… • • Most Entertaining • TOKYO MIDTOWN Midtown’s “The Universe” is myContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018”
Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?
Okay, what do you think THIS floral designer got in trouble for drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks…? If I’d come in through this portal, I might never have made it to the annual Shinjuku National Garden chrysanthemum displays, because I’d have died laughing, so it’s a good thing I entered from the otherContinueContinue reading “Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?”
Chrysanthemums Like You’ve Never Seen Before
This year’s living bonsai figures at the Yushima Shrine The fall leaves aren’t winning any awards this year in Tokyo, so thank whatever gods are in charge of making autumn insta-worthy that there are still chrysanthemums! Yes, it’s time once again for your socks to be knocked right off, with… …bonsai chrysanthemums that look likeContinueContinue reading “Chrysanthemums Like You’ve Never Seen Before”
Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES
“Pacific Feet” by Hiroko Kubo Woo hoo, it’s time for the annual art-as-entertainment Yokohama Smart Illumination 2018! This year, for some reason it took a giant leap in quality, and although the artspeak “explaining” each piece is equally opaque in Japanese and English, you don’t need to know what the artist was trying to sayContinueContinue reading “Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES”
Sweet Selfies On A Stick
This is the owner! There’s a little shop near Sendagi Station called Amezaiku-ya where you can order the ultimate sweet selfie! Most often commissioned for wedding cake toppers, all the resident artists need is a photo and a little time to craft a mini-you out of sugar. The portraits are too complicated to make whileContinueContinue reading “Sweet Selfies On A Stick”
The Best Tokyo Illuminations 2017
It’s time again for the best free holiday light show ever! Here are this year’s Tokyo Illuminations offerings, some of them even better than before: • TOKYO MIDTOWN This one is from the “Venus” themed show, which is the Friday offering This year’s “Starlight Garden” extravaganza is super lavish, with different shows for each nightContinueContinue reading “The Best Tokyo Illuminations 2017”
A Feast Of Autumn Leaves
Showa Kinen Park, November 8, 2017 The season has arrived, and in somewhat strange order this year. The ginkgo trees are full-on gold and already carpeting their surroundings with fallen leaves, but most Japanese maples are still just showing a mere tinge of red. Here’s what’s happening right now, and here are the best placesContinueContinue reading “A Feast Of Autumn Leaves”
Yokohama Smart Illumination 2017: Even More & Better Than Before
I know it seems like all I do these days is frant about looking at stuff lit up at night, but there’s been a sudden rash of illuminations events in & around Tokyo lately, and they’ve all been worth staying up way past bedtime for! Last time I went to the Yokohama Smart Illuminations, youContinueContinue reading “Yokohama Smart Illumination 2017: Even More & Better Than Before”
The Digital Greenhouse
Level up, holiday lightshow fanboys & girls! This digital greenhouse ups the ante in the illuminations game, bigtime. First of all, you can go inside and LIVE THE KALEIDOSCOPIC DREAM. But that’s not all. You can trigger new musical sounds and light patterns by touching the live veggie plants inside. (Yes. Dying. Going to heaven.)ContinueContinue reading “The Digital Greenhouse”
Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!
Who can say they never clutched the fence at their local zoo’s lemur exhibit and didn’t long to sneak over the top just for a few minutes (or, okay, in my case, A FEW HOURS) to cavort with those frisky, big-eyed, long-tailed cuties? Admit it – you’ve always secretly wanted to, haven’t you? Well, nowContinueContinue reading “Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!”
Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit
Aluminum skulls encrusted with tiny flowers? Yes, please! Okay, I really want to hate the Mitsui Memorial Museum (because see below) but they keep putting on shows like this. The idea behind “Amazing Craftsmanship!” is to pair mad Meiji-era woodwork, metalcraft and even (who knew?) embroidery with contemporary artists whose mindbending skillz rival those ofContinueContinue reading “Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit”
Butterfly Season In Tokyo
Went to check on whether the cosmos were blooming yet at Hama-Rikyu Teien garden last week and discovered that the lovely fields of gently nodding multicolored blooms I remembered were looking vastly overgrown and (honestly!) kind of ratty. I was about to stalk away muttering, “Disappointment, thy name is Hama-Rikyu” when the corner of my eyeContinueContinue reading “Butterfly Season In Tokyo”
Roppongi Art Night 2017
All art, all night long. That’s the idea behind Roppongi Art Night, and although past years have been a bit meh, this year it was totally worth staying out late! These were my favorite bits: The Sonic Light Bubble by Australian multimedia design studio ENESS was the best. It’s a giant inflated clear plastic pieceContinueContinue reading “Roppongi Art Night 2017”
Giant Gundam Is BACK!
The Giant Gundam is back! And I’m happy to report that Gundam 2.0 is bigger, badder and even more entertaining than Gundam 1.0. At 65 feet of evil-fighting robo-goodness, not only does it light up like a boss, this one moves! From the back you can see its badass glowing jetpack And because this oneContinueContinue reading “Giant Gundam Is BACK!”
The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations
It’s not often that I walk through an art show where each piece is more surprising and delightful than the last, but Jason Freeny’s “Plastic Surgeon” exhibit at the Megumi Ogita Gallery really pushed my amusement meter into the red zone! You’ll think twice before biting off the head of your next chocolate easter bunny,ContinueContinue reading “The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations”
Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo
This photo was taken at Kinchakuda, near Koma station. Higanbana generally burst into bloom right after the first big rain of mid-September. These Japanese amaryllis bloom once a year for only a few days, right at the fall equinox. If you move fast, you can still catch the higanbana in their full glory right now!ContinueContinue reading “Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo”
The Lost Cat Shrine
Don’t you just hate it when your kittehs get a touch of the walkabout? Well now you can do something about it. A quick prayer at the Tachikawa Suitengu Shrine will have them back on your doorstep quicker than a twist of the can opener! Judging by the number of prayer plaques hung on theContinueContinue reading “The Lost Cat Shrine”
Secret Flower Seasons of Japan
So, everybody knows about the cherry blossoms, and I bet you flower mavens even know about the glories of the plums, wisteria, azaleas and iris. But recently a bunch of parks & gardens have figured out that the best way to attract crowds of wallet-carrying camera-toters in the off-season is to plant lots and lotsContinueContinue reading “Secret Flower Seasons of Japan”
Only In Japan 