This weekend is a bit of a quiet one in Tokyo, with rain forecast for both days. Our recommendation: chill in the city with these cheap and free event ideas.
If you like to belt out secret shower renditions of “I shot the sheriff” or “No woman, no cry”, then you’ll want to get yourself over to Yoyogi Park for the One Love Jamaica Festival. Now in its tenth year, the event is a two-day celebration of Jamaican dance, reggae, poetry, food and drink. You can expect strong rum, Jamaican coffee, and a whole bunch of Bob Marley songs. Entrance is free.
Meanwhile, the last of the quirky Brazilian Horror Film Festival will be happening at Eurospace (in the Q-AX Building) in Shibuya. If you feel like shelling out 1 400 yen, you can see Rodrigo Aragao’s Mar Negro (Black Sea) at 9.10pm. It’s on every night until the 27th.
The hydrangeas are still doing their thing all over the show, not to mention the irises in Katsushika City. You can admire the latter of these lovely flowers at Horikiri Park and Mizumoto Park. Horikiri has been a famous iris-viewing spot for centuries and boasts 6 000 iris plants (of 200 varieties). Mizumoto has 14 000 iris plants of 80 varieties.
Don’t forget that you can spot some fireflies at Yuyake Koyake Fureai no Sato in Hachioji and the Seichi Koen area of Yomiuri Land – depending on how soggy the weather is.
Of course, you could always stay in (and up) to watch some of the World Cup soccer this weekend. Switzerland tackle France at 4am on Saturday, and Germany and Ghana battle it out at 4am on Sunday. There are more games, but frankly we didn’t feel like typing them out.
