The Ultimate Guide To Tokyo
The dates of most fireworks festivals vary from year to year so that they fall on a convenient Saturday. The Jingugaien Fireworks is an exception - it takes place in a three week window on seemingly random days of the week. This year it happens …
Tonight (Friday the the 9th) and Saturday the 10th sees an evening Bon Dance festival in the very central Hibiya Park. A stone's throw from the Marunouchi financial district and a short walk from Ginza, this festival will see a diverse range of …
Fireworks festivals in Japan are actually called 'contests' - with two different locations 'competing' with each other for attention. This weekend takes the competition to new levels with two major festivals on at the same time. The 38th …
While Marugame Seimen is not quite as cheap as Hanamaru, it still offers consistently tasty noodles and outstanding value for money. When you can get lunch for 280yen in a high cost location like Aoyama (the Oval Building branch that I visited …
The Thai Fair - traditionally one of the most popular of the ethnic festivals at Yoyogi Park - is on this weekend at the events square. The event runs from 10am to 7pm on both days and will feature lots of stalls with Thai food and drink as …
The Ueno Natsu Matsuri Parade takes place this Saturday, the 20th along a 500m stretch of Chuo Dori starting from Ueno Park. The "variety" parade will feature 38 teams of dancers with styles ranging from Yosakoi to Samba. The parade starts at …
After a foray to Tokyo Midtown for the 2012 version, the Indonesia Festival is back at the events square of Yoyogi Park this weekend. The festival will feature 32 booths selling Indonesian food and products as well as lots of traditional and …
Japan has seen an explosion in both the production and popularity of craft beers (called jibiiru in Japanese) over the last few years. For those not satisfied with a production line pilsner from one of the big four breweries, there are plenty …
On the 7th day of the 7th month, Tanabata (star festival) marks the once a year tryst between the dieties Orihime and Hikobshi. As legend goes, if it's cloudy, they have to wait another year. Since it was cloudy last year, there is bound to be …
EDITS: September 15, 2021: The Landmark Square closed on March 31, 2021. July 7, 2013: From our own efforts and the reports by many others, it appears that this offer wasn't made in good faith but was rather, just a cynical attempt by this beer …
If your soul is feeling a little dusty you might consider giving it a good old scrubbing at one of the many shinto purifying festivals going on this Sunday. The ceremony, known as Oharae takes place on only two days of the year - to be …
The 1 million person Candle Night series of events rolls on. Last week it was Ikegami Honmonji, this week you can see lots of flickering candles and presumably lots of people looking at flickering candles at Zojoji Temple in the shadow of Tokyo …
Nadai Fuji Soba is yet another one of the cheap'n'fast soba chains that proliferate around a train station near you. As we've mentioned before, (apart from the er... high sodium content of the broth) soba is about as healthy as you can expect …
In case you haven't noticed, it's raining a lot recently, which is to be expected at a time of year known as 'rainy season'. There's no reason to stay inside though as this is also the time for Ajisai (hydrangea) and firefly festivals. For a …
There are three big traditional central city festivals on this weekend Hot on the heels of the rowdy Sanja matsuri and the shitamachi charms of the Kanda Matsuri comes the relatively refined and subdued Sanno Matsuri. Based around the hilltop …
Beer gardens are a summer institution in Japan. Sitting in a cheap plastic chair on the rooftop of a department store with a cool beer watching the sun setting and the neon lights flickering on is a great way to unwind after a stinking hot day. …
Tirol chocolates (pronounced chiroru in Japanese) are small squares of chocolate available from convenience stores, supermarkets and even pharmacies around Japan. Although they're small, they're also very cheap - and highly varied. Since their …
At the event square at Yoyogi Park this weekend is another outdoor/environmental themed festival - Eco Life Fair 2013. Along with seminars, eco-food and eco-crafts, there will also be a big lineup of Japanese idol groups performing on the main …
Twice a year, Japanese variety TV program Ikinari Ougon Densetsu (Sudden Golden Legend) runs a competition called Setsuyaku Battle (Economising Battle) in which two Japanese celebrities compete against each other for 1 month living on less than …
Cona is part of a chain of 500yen pizza restaurants which also includes Voco (in Ebius) a similarly named branch in Dogenzaka and Ura-Cona in Maruyamacho. While the speciality is Roman Pizza, the exhortation of the menu for "High tension …
Over at Tokyo Big Sight there is a Hawaiian festival that costs 1,000 yen to get through the door just so you can spend more of your money. Get your Pacific island fix at the free Okinawa Festival in Yoyogi Park instead. The festival runs over …
Tokyo parks get crowded. On weekends (especially if you have more than one small child) your kids will run off and disappear like ninjas on a moonless night. Due to the crowds, there also tend to be queues of 6 kids or more waiting to use a …
From the 17th to the 19th another one of the "big three" festivals will be on - the Sanja Matsuri (link in Japanese). This is one of the rowdier festivals with 2 million spectators expected to watch rather energetic, often tattooed gentlemen …
Store closed: Brimmer Beer Box is no more. The beauty of Brimmer Beer Box is its simplicity. They serve quality beer in a box for a good price. They don't sell pizzas, just locally brewed craft beer for 500yen a glass. While that's not as …