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 But let’s not mess aroundContinue reading “Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018”
Category Archives: Awesome Stuff To Do
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 otherContinue reading “Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?”
Chrysanthemums Like You’ve Never Seen Before
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… These photos are from the 2018 displays at the Yushima Shrine and Kameido Tenjin,Continue reading “Chrysanthemums Like You’ve Never Seen Before”
Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES
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 say in order to have aContinue reading “Smart Illumination Yokohama 2018: ALL THE YES”
Sweet Selfies On A Stick
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. This kind of candy sculpting is a very old Japanese art, andContinue 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 year’s “Starlight Garden” extravaganza is super lavish, with different shows for each night of the week. There’s a four-minute blue and white spin around the galaxy,Continue reading “The Best Tokyo Illuminations 2017”
A Feast Of Autumn Leaves
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 places to see them. These are actuallyContinue 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, youContinue 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.)Continue 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, nowContinue reading “Mobbed By Lemurs At The Exotic Animal Petting Zoo!”
Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit
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 of the obsessed artists past. But don’t take myContinue 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 eyeContinue 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: Stills can’t really do this thing justice, so here’s a one-minute video for your mesmerizing pleasure: But of course, it’sContinue reading “Roppongi Art Night 2017”
Giant Gundam Is BACK!
The Giant Gundam is finally back! And it does not disappoint! I was super sad when I heard that the old giant robot outside the DiverCity shopping mall in Odaiba was going away last March, but am happy to report that Gundam 2.0 is bigger, badder and even more entertaining than Gundam 1.0! Here’s aContinue 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! I’m resisting the temptation to be Lady Spoiler of Spoilerfell by posting all theContinue reading “The Secret Innards Of The Catbus And Other Shocking Revelations”
Where To See Magical Red Autumn Lilies In Tokyo
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! Here’s where: • KINCHAKUDA near Koma Station Kinchakuda is a little over an hour by train from Shinjuku Station, then a fifteenContinue 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! And just for fun, here are the eleven strangest shrinesContinue 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 lotsContinue reading “Secret Flower Seasons of Japan”
The Dish-Breaking Shrine
This spring, the ever-impish kami-sama apparently thought I was in need of some sort of life lesson. Because every time I set out with a well-planned, perfectly-timed plan, it was like this: “You know that amazing thing you traveled three hours on four trains to see? Well, forget it. You’re not going to see it. InsteadContinue reading “The Dish-Breaking Shrine”
Endless Fields Of Blue
Every once in a while you discover a place where the photos that made you run to the nearest station and jump on godzilla-knows-how-many-trains to get there did not lie. Not even a little bit. Those pictures of hills swathed in an unbroken carpet of blue flowers at Hitachi Seaside Park? REAL. Where I come from, these little pieces ofContinue reading “Endless Fields Of Blue”
Where To See The Most Amazing Azaleas In Tokyo
From mid-April to mid-May, it seems like there are bright pink bushes whipping by the train window everywhere you go in Tokyo, but there are a few special places that just beg you to take the kind of snaps that make everyone scream “I want to go to there!” Here are my favorite places to take azaleaContinue reading “Where To See The Most Amazing Azaleas In Tokyo”
Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo
It’s purple season again! Yes, the wisteria are blooming, and (did you even have to ask?) of course Japan has over-the-top displays of the good purple stuff. Peak season is mid-April to mid-May, so get thee to these spots right now to see the most eye-popping ones around… ASHIKAGA FLOWER PARK I admit that even if you totallyContinue reading “Where To See The Most Beautiful Wisteria In Tokyo”
Cherry Blossom Illuminations
Did you even have to ask? It’s not enough that famous cherry blossom spots are lit up at night, now Tokyo has electric cherry blossom extravaganzas that rival the ever-more-crazy holiday light shows! • TOKYO MIDTOWN in Roppongi Tokyo Midtown’s promenade of cherry trees is not only lit up in pink… …they also dumped a huge cone of dirt on the field where theContinue reading “Cherry Blossom Illuminations”
Where To Take The Best Cherry Blossom Photos In Tokyo
You know those “Top Places To See Cherry Blossoms In Tokyo” websites that always tell you to go to Ueno Park? Well, this is how Ueno Park actually looks during cherry blossom season: Lots of great flowering trees, not such great photos. The places on those lists do deliver the cherry blossoms, but if you want photos thatContinue reading “Where To Take The Best Cherry Blossom Photos In Tokyo”
Tamao Shigemune: Modern Kimonos That’ll Knock Your Socks Off
So you think you can’t rock a kimono because you’re not Japanese? Think again! Tamao Shigemune designs modern versions of traditional Japanese women’s wear with a distinctly Parisian twist, and guess what? You can see them (and try her new summer collection on!) right now in Tokyo, through Sunday March 26th. Tamao Shigemune will be showing her collection at thatContinue reading “Tamao Shigemune: Modern Kimonos That’ll Knock Your Socks Off”
Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees
Yesterday I got to stumble around doing a 360˚ gawk in a forest of plum trees wearing all their favorite clothes at once. Kairakuen Garden in Mito was planted by a genius of a daimyo who totally got that too much of a good thing is never enough. 2,490 fluffy-branched trees later, I think I can safely say that this is the plum blossom extravaganza to end allContinue reading “Lost In A Forest Of Blooming Plum Trees”
Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids
There’s a little town about two hours from Tokyo called Katsuura, where one a year, dolls rule. 12,000 of them, to be exact. So, how did Katsuura get so many dolls? The truth is, pretty much every Japanese girlbaby is given a set on her first New Year’s, but if you run out of girls to hand them down to, they’re really hard toContinue reading “Girls’ Day Dolls…On Steroids”
Plum Blossom Countdown
All of February (and a little of March) is the best time to see fluffy pink and white and red beauties bursting like popcorn all over Tokyo. Here are the best places to see them, in order of when they bloom: Note: These photos were all taken from 2014-2016, so depending on how warm or coldContinue reading “Plum Blossom Countdown”
Rainbow Icicle Wonderland
On the way to the Werewolf Shrine in remote Chichibu, locals have enterprisingly turned the frozen waterfalls that spangle the cliffs and caves alongside the Arakawa River into a winter wonderland! •
Fox Village Videos!
Here’s what it’s like to visit Fox Village in the snow, when the foxes are at their fattest & fluffiest! I have to confess, when it comes to which animals would get to sit in business class in my ark, it’s all about the tails. Foxes, of course, have the most magnificent fruffy tails in all of the animalContinue reading “Fox Village Videos!”
At The Crazy Cat Parade
I have to admit, I was powerless to resist going to a thing where hundreds of people dressed more or less as cats pranced down the street, some of them raucously performing musical numbers in which “nyan nyan nyan” replaced all the lyrics. The Bake Neko Parade gives everyone and their granny an excuse to dress up every October near KagurazakaContinue reading “At The Crazy Cat Parade”
A Prickly Day At The Hedgehog Cafe
Turn down the volume on your squee-meter, unless you want to lose a little more of your hearing! Check out the little prickle monsters you can snuggle up with at Tokyo’s new Hedgehog Cafe… The reason it’s called the Harry Hedgehog Café is that these little animals are known as hari-nezumi in Japanese, which means (brace yourself for the most perfect name EVER)Continue reading “A Prickly Day At The Hedgehog Cafe”
Where To See Huge Fields Of Cosmos In Tokyo
If you think that vast fields of blooming wildflowers are something you won’t find in Tokyo…think again! From mid-September to mid-October every year, the lowly cosmos is elevated to extravaganza status at two different gardens, blossoming in snapworthy profusion for about four weeks. • SHOWA KINEN PARK – Tachikawa This truly enormous park is about an hour from Shinjuku station,Continue reading “Where To See Huge Fields Of Cosmos In Tokyo”
The Magical Red Forest
If it happens to be raining when you are invited to walk through a magical forest carpeted with five million blooming amaryllis, do not say no. Because this. If you’re in Tokyo at the end of September and would like to see the higanbana in bloom, get thee on the train to Koma Station (it takes aboutContinue reading “The Magical Red Forest”
Goldfish, Goldfish, Everywhere
Although by now we’re all sort of feeling like “don’t let the door hit you on the way out, you miserably hot & humid Japanese summer,” some of the various celebrations of goldfish are lingering on in a most delightful way until the end of September. Here they are! ART AQUARIUM This year’s exhibit was a bit lessContinue reading “Goldfish, Goldfish, Everywhere”
Potatosaurus Rex
A few days ago I was climbing the escalators in the hated Skytree* in search of the Sumidagawa Aquarium, and was stopped in my tracks by this. An exhibition of fake food art! Best. Idea. Ever. All the art in this exhibit was made by the veteran food model experts at the Iwasaki Bei company. Apparently, they have a contest each year,Continue reading “Potatosaurus Rex”
Wading Through A Sea Of Stars & Flowers
It was the last day of the DMM Planets attraction out in Odaiba today, but if you missed your chance to roll up your pants & wade around in a cloud-like sea of flowers and goldfish with a kerbillion and a half other people, here’s what it was like: My favorite part of the thing, though, was the CrystalContinue reading “Wading Through A Sea Of Stars & Flowers”
The Waterfall Made Of Light
This waterfall made of animated LEDs is conveniently paired with a pop-up mojito stand, so you can ooh and ah at the light-up while getting lit up yourself. Which would you rather do: Enjoy the serenity of a cascading river while sipping a cocktail? Or swat mosquitoes while smearing on blister cream after a pesky hike? They look kind of pixellated in the still photo, soContinue reading “The Waterfall Made Of Light”
St. Bondage
One painfully, BEASTLY hot day, I was scuttling along from shade puddle to shade puddle on my way back to Kanamachi Station, and I happened to glance through the gate of a random temple I was passing. Inside, I spotted this! This saint had to have some obscure specialty, like the Wart Curing Jizo or the Scrub Brush Shrine, andContinue reading “St. Bondage”
Which One Is The REAL Goldfish?
Not easy, is it? The lovely specimen in the wooden saké box is a painting of a goldfish. Actually, it’s about a gazillion paintings of a goldfish. Artist Riusuke Fukahori builds these 3-D wonders by pouring a thin layer of clear resin, painting a slice of goldfish, pouring another layer of resin, painting the next layer, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, rinse,Continue reading “Which One Is The REAL Goldfish?”
Where To See The Most Gorgeous Peonies In Tokyo
If you’ve never walked among peonies that stand shoulder-high, with flowers as big as your head, get thee to these Tokyo gardens right now and prepare to be amazed! NISHIARAI-DAISHI TEMPLE Admission: FreeHours: 6:00 – 18:00 • UENO TOSHOGU SHRINE Admission: ¥700Hours: 9:00 – 17:00 • HAMA-RIKYU GARDEN Admission: ¥300Hours: 9:00 – 17:00 •
The Best Dressed Nude Statue In All Of Tokyo
Sometimes you’re trudging home and dreading getting on a crowded train, then you find THIS! How great is it that they have a peeing boy statue smack in the middle of the train platform at the otherwise grim Hamamatsucho Station? As if that weren’t cheering enough, for over fifteen years this bronze nude taking a perpetual whizz has been dressedContinue reading “The Best Dressed Nude Statue In All Of Tokyo”
The Best Cherry Blossom Spots In Tokyo – With Maps!
Whether you’re all about the beer drinking or just want to win a few photo contests, first you gotta find the big pink things. Here’s a list of my all-time favorite hanami party and petal-snapping spots, with maps so you don’t waste time trying to locate the pinkness! • Here’s what the early blooming flowers look like (see them in theContinue reading “The Best Cherry Blossom Spots In Tokyo – With Maps!”
Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie
The idea of being able to get a Barbie-sized clone of yourself has been an internet tease for so long that I almost walked past the studio displaying these super lifelike figures that had obviously been modeled on real people. Surely there would be the usual fine print: “GET A PERFECT PINT-SIZED REPLICA OF YOURSELF (for only $100,000,000,000)” or “NOWContinue reading “Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie”
Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I finally made it to Zao Fox Village last spring, but it’s a good thing I didn’t actually shuffle off this mortal coil due to fox-induced bliss, because then I would have missed seeing all these fluffy vixen in the SNOW! This is just the first installment of fox-centric posts, because the second I walked throughContinue reading “Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!”
Setagaya Boroichi: The Grand Pooh-bah Of All Flea Markets
I’d heard about the Boroichi Flea Market for ages, but never made it to one until today. Yikes, it filled every street and alleyway for BLOCKS! In classic flea market style, there was loads of crap studded liberally with actual finds, but I think I can pretty much guarantee that somewhere within this maze you can satisfy your burning desire for…Continue reading “Setagaya Boroichi: The Grand Pooh-bah Of All Flea Markets”
Flowers By Naked
(I put together this one-minute video because seriously, stills just couldn’t capture how awesome this show is YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY) The name of this exhibition only makes sense if you recognize the name of the digital artists known as Naked, who are the hottest projection-mapping badasses in Tokyo right now. And HOO BOY they did not disappoint! I’m always ready toContinue reading “Flowers By Naked”
Yomiuriland Illuminations
By the time I took four trains and a bus to the gates of the aging amusement park Yomiuri Land, I had already decided that no illuminations could possibly be worth the schlep. Good thing I was SO WRONG! Hats off to whoever produced this kerbillion-light extravaganza – it totally exceeded expectations. Best ¥1000 entertainment I’ve seen in ages. I’m sure my impression wasContinue reading “Yomiuriland Illuminations”
Midnight Fox Parade
Middle school boys in foxface and golden skirt-pants carrying gigantic fox heads through the streets of Tokyo? Can you think of a better way to ring in the new year? Every December 31st at midnight, the good citizens of Oji gather at the local inari shrine to show the furry-tailed messengers of the gods a good time.Continue reading “Midnight Fox Parade”
The Best Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2015
Are you ready once again to have holiday lights spoiled for-e-ver by the insanely great Tokyo Illuminations? This year, the old favorites do not disappoint, but there are a couple of new contenders amid the light-up extravaganzas going on right now in Tokyo! Feast your eyes on… • TOKYO DOME CITY The Tokyo Dome City amusement park puts onContinue reading “The Best Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2015”
Only In Japan 