Tokyo Diary to the Fibonacci sequence. It will be taking over Nihonbashi’s Mitsui Hall in January and February. Jan 8-Feb 11 5F Coredo Muromachi, 2-2-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo. tinyurl.com/TOTflowers. Adults ¥1,300 (advance ¥1,100), high school students and below ¥900 (advance ¥700), toddlers free.
What’s on in town January-March 2016 Make the most of the city with our editors’ picks of the best things to do over the next three months
Tokyo Diary
SHOPPING OEDO ANTIQUE MARKET Taking place once almost every month, this market is great for picking up some cool art, unique handicrafts or time-worn decorative items. Keep an eye out for real Edoera treasures. Jan 11 & Mar 27 2-1 Yoyogi Kamizonocho, Shibuya. tinyurl.com/ TOToedomarket. Free.
January SHOPPING OI RACECOURSE FLEA MARKET This flea market takes place almost every weekend at the Oi Racecourse, and usually attracts around 300 sellers. Many of the vendors are professionals, so the available wares range from the tiny to the large, from daily necessities to rare collector’s items. Do note that the market will be cancelled in the case of rain. Until Mar 27 (only weekends, closed Jan 2 & 3) Tokyo City Keiba, 2-1-2 Katsushima, Shinagawa. Free.
THINGS TO DO HATSUMODE: FIRST PRAYER Expect big crowds at Tokyo’s shrines for the first prayer, as well as food and drink stalls to keep you entertained. The atmosphere is lively, and many shrines have traditional performances such as Shishi-mai, a lion dance for good luck. Meiji is the biggest, but pretty much every shrine will be open and bustling on New Year. Jan 1 Meiji Jingu Shrine, 1-1 YoyogiKamizonocho, Shibuya. www. meijijingu.or.jp/english. Free.
THINGS TO DO RICKSHAW RIDE IN SHIBUYA Part of the New Year’s celebrations at the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, this is your chance to roll down Dogenzaka and across the Scramble Crossing in a rickshaw on the first day of 2016. The rides start and finish at the hotel, lasting for around 20-30 minutes, and require booking in advance – call 03 3476 3000 (9am to 6pm Mon-Fri) for reservations. They’re available for up to two people per rickshaw. Jan 1 Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya. tinyurl.com/TOTrickshawride. ¥1,000 per person. FILM SHORT FILMS WITH THE BEST PUNCHLINE PROGRAM Brillia Shortshorts Theatre, Japan’s first theatre to focus exclusively on short films, is hosting the ‘Short Films with the Best Punch Line’ program featuring films like ‘Love Hurts’, ‘The Last Border’, ‘Tu P*** banco’, and ‘Grown Ups’. If you visit the theatre on New Year’s Day you’ll be able to watch the program for free and receive a free gift of amazake (traditional sweet drink made from fermented rice), while stocks last. Jan 1-31 Brillia Shortshorts Theatre, 2F Filmee, 5-3-1 Minatomirai, Nishi, Yokohama. www.brillia-sst.jp. Free entry on Jan 1, adults ¥1,000, 3 year olds, middle school students, seniors ¥800.
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THINGS TO DO SKATING RINK IN MIDTOWN This outdoor ice skating rink opens for a limited time and can hold up to 210 people. Enjoy being surrounded by greenery while you skate and, from 5pm-10pm, you’ll get the added scenery of pretty illuminations. Jan 6-Mar 6 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato. Adults ¥1,500, middle school students and under ¥1,000 (includes shoe rental). THINGS TO DO FURUSATO MATSURI TOKYO The annual Furusato Matsuri gives a chance for prefectures around Japan to dazzle Tokyoites with their culture – and, of course, their food. There’ll be stalls at Tokyo Dome hawking everything from sake to seafood, with special sections devoted to ramen, fancy desserts, craft beer and the like. When you’ve sated your appetite, you can sit back and watch large-scale recreations of popular festivals like Aomori’s Nebuta Matsuri and the Akita Kanto Matsuri, or the costume character dance contest. Afternoon tickets (¥1,100, entry after 4pm) have been added for this year, inviting you to swing by casually after work. Jan 8-17 Tokyo Dome, 1-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo. tinyurl.com/ TOTfurusatomatsuri. ¥1,600. ART FLOWERS BY NAKED Lightup champions Naked Inc are the crew behind this project, which incorporates a wild jumble of elements from flowers and scents
DANCE TOUCH OF THE OTHER Based on Laud Humphreys’ 1970 book called ‘Tearoom Trade’, which was an analysis of homosexual acts occurring in public toilets, this performance by Takao Kawaguchi and Jonathan M Hall hopes to positively increase awareness of Japan’s LGBT community. Jan 15-17 Spiral, 5-6-23 MinamiAoyama, Minato. tinyurl.com/ TOTtouch. ¥3,500, on the day ¥4,000, students ¥2,500. FILM KON ICHIKAWA: THE ACT OF LIGHTS AND SHADOWS One of the most influential figures of postwar Japanese cinema, Kon Ichikawa created several masterpieces that challenged both the suffocating traditions of society and the ideals of ‘new Japan’ in the ’50s. Marking 100 years since Ichikawa’s birth, this extensive retrospective features 27 films, including digitally remastered versions of ‘Enjo’ (1958), ‘Her Brother’ (1960) and ‘An Actor’s Revenge’ (1963). Jan 16-Feb 11 Kadokawa Cinema Shinjuku, 4-5F Shinjuku Bunka Bldg, 3-13-3 Shinjuku, Shinjuku. tinyurl. com/TOTkon. ¥1,600, college and high school students ¥1,300, seniors ¥1,100. THINGS TO DO EARTH GARDEN WINTER You know people are serious about all that ‘love the earth’ stuff when they’re still willing to gather in Yoyogi Park around mid-January. The winter edition of the quarterly Earth
