There may be a bit of rain forecast for this weekend, but with all the cool stuff happening in and around Tokyo, there’s no excuse to stay at home.
March 3rd in Japan is Girls’ Day, also known as the Doll Festival, or Hina Matsuri. It’s a special day when families pray for the health and happiness of their little girls (boys have their own day in May), and display sets of intricately-crafted dolls (which represent the royal house of the Heian era). The Hyakudan Hina Matsuri at Meguro Gajoen offers one of the most impressive public displays, with lots of really fancy dolls against beautiful traditional backgrounds. You can view them till Monday. There’s also an exhibition at the Mitsui Memorial Museum (on till April – download the 100 yen off coupon from the site before you go).
Shinjuku’s Some no Komichi festival, which celebrates the art of dyeing and screen printing, is a must-hit for those with artistic and photographic interests. You’ll have a chance to see long pieces of kimono cloth draped over the river, awesome shop entrance cloths (noren) and even have a go at dyeing something yourself.
For hungry cheapos without gluten sensitivities, the Aoyama Bread Festival should make for a fun, (ful)filling activity. More than 50 bakeries will be participating, with plenty of cool pain to purchase – and surely free samples too!
Meanwhile, more than a thousand plum blossom trees in Yoshino Baigo (part of Ome City) will be bursting into colour – and as one of the Kanto area’s biggest plum blossom festivals, it’s well worth a visit.
For fashionable cheapos, the wildly popular Tokyo Girls Collection 2014 is on in Harajuku this Saturday. Tickets aren’t cheap, but the experience of seeing Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (did we spell that right?) live and getting a peek at the latest fashion trends is priceless, or something, right?
And if you’re just looking for something really chilled to do, this is the last weekend you can skate at Tokyo Skytree, Toshimaen and Sacas (probably a few other ice rinks too).
