The Best Things To Do in Tokyo This Weekend

Eric Carle, Illustration for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Collection of the Eric and Barbara Carle Foundation. © 1969, 1987 Penguin Random House LLC.

Eric Carle: Art, Books and the Caterpillar

Few picture books have been loved by as many children as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Created by American author Eric Carle, it has been translated into more than 70 languages and passed down through generations. At its heart is a simple but memorable message: a tiny caterpillar nibbles its way through the world and grows into a beautiful butterfly. It’s a story about hope, change and becoming who you’re meant to be. Marking the 50th anniversary of the book’s Japanese publication, this exhibition brings together around 180 works, including precious original illustrations and handmade “book dummies” that show how Carle’s ideas first took shape on paper. You’ll also see early pieces from his days as a graphic designer — the foundation for the playful, interactive picture books he would later become famous for.

Sumikko Gurashi Exhibition: Meshiagare Sumikko Restaurant

The first Sumikko Gurashi restaurant-themed shopping experience will open in Shinjuku with photo spots, limited-edition items and more.

Soup As Life Exhibition

21_21 Design Sight Gallery will host an exhibition centered around soup and the origins of food, clothing and shelter.

Grand Van Gogh Exhibition

Van Gogh's timeless masterpiece, "Café Terrace at Night," will come to Japan for the first time in 20 years, exhibiting his art evolution.

Soetsu Yanagi and Nihon Mingeikan

In 1926, three friends — Soetsu Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai and Shoji Hamada — set out to found a new kind of museum, based on the word they had just coined: mingei, meaning “folk craft.” At the time, the idea that everyday objects made by unknown craftspeople held aesthetic value just like fine art was quite revolutionary. Ten years later, in 1936, that vision became tangible when the Japan Folk Crafts Museum (Mingeikan) opened its doors.This exhibition marks two milestones at once: a century since that founding prospectus and 90 years since the museum itself opened. Visitors can trace the long road to that opening and follow Yanagi’s vision — from his designs for the building to the objects he collected and the remarkable care he took with every detail, down to the cases, the wallpaper and the light.

TOH Gigamart Exhibition

Creative team "TOH" will host Gigamart, an interactive art gallery with gigafied products and game where guests can steal from.

Azabudai Hills Pop Up Box Maiden's Bookshelf Exhibition

Azabudai Hills Gallery Space's new exhibition reimagines famous literature by contemporary illustrators like the Maiden's Bookshelf series. 

A Feast for the Eyes: Tableware Exhibition

The Suntory Museum of Art will host an exhibit on ceramic tableware from the Momoyama to Edo periods, celebrating "beauty in everyday life."

Invitation from Hogwarts at Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo

The Making of Harry Potter presents “Invitation from Hogwarts,” a limited-time experience running from March 18 to September 6, 2026.

Rina Banerjee, "A woman must keep moving…" (2022). Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin.

Rina Banerjee: "You made me leave home…

Stepping into Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo feels like entering a series of mystical, layered environments built from an extraordinary array of found objects. Indian-American artist Rina Banerjee gathers items from across the globe — such as ostrich eggs, vintage glass chandeliers, copper threads and medicinal powders — and weaves them into sculptures that feel both ancient and modern. While her work directly confronts the legacies of colonialism, she does so through a lens of humor and striking beauty, creating a space where the viewer is simultaneously charmed and challenged. This exhibition, which marks the 20th anniversary of Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo and a decade of the Fondation’s international “Hors-les-murs” program, features 19 works that explore the fluid nature of identity. A highlight of the show is a monumental installation inspired by Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in Eighty Days, featuring a massive dome from which a cascade of objects is suspended. The exhibition also features Banerjee’s 2025 painting series, which integrates South Asian motifs and iconography to create female figures that echo the presence of Hindu goddesses.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Extinction Exhibition

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo will host an exhibition with renowned Japanese photographer and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Picasso, Through the Eyes of Paul Smith

Pablo Picasso never settled into a single way of seeing. He moved restlessly — from the deep blues of grief to the splintered geometry of cubism, into ceramics, sculpture, theater and the unflinching protest of “Guernica.”This exhibition looks at all of that through an unexpected lens. British designer Paul Smith, drawing on the collection of the Musée national Picasso-Paris, has designed the layout himself — and the result is full of color and small, delightful surprises. Around 80 works, including “Portrait of a Man” from the Blue Period and “Paul as Harlequin,” unfold in a loose, easy chronology rather than a strict progression.It builds on “Picasso Celebration: The Collection in a New Light!” — the 2023 Paris show marking 50 years since the artist’s death — now traveling internationally, reimagined here as a space that feels playful, personal and alive.

Ron Mueck Exhibition

Ron Mueck, a contemporary artist, will hold an exhibition at the Mori Art Museum with figurative sculptures that reflect life and mortality.

Janu Tokyo x Jean Jullien: "The Guests"

On the Asymmetry of the Universe at teamLab Borderless

Tokyo’s teamLab Borderless has unveiled On the Asymmetry of the Universe, an exhibition celebrating the reopening of the museum’s Light Sculpture – Flow artwork space.

Sanrio Characters Exhibition Hotel Floria Tokyo

Korea's hit Sanrio interactive exhibition will come to Tokyo, immersing fans into a cute hotel concept with themed rooms and special effects.

Hatsune Miku Akihabara Festival 2026

Hatsune Miku and the Vocaloids will host a festival throughout Akihabara with a stamp rally, a shopping campaign and a collaboration cafe.

Suica Summer Festival

Celebrating summer and the soon-retiring Suica Penguin mascot, JR East will host a summer festival with new merchandise, lotteries and more.

Hibiya Mid Summer 2026

Tokyo Sea of Clouds 2026

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo's famous Tokyo Sea of Clouds will return in July, with a breathtaking cloudscape and roughly 1,000 lights.

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Sanrio Puroland Neo Natsu Matsuri

Sanrio Puroland theme park's futuristic summer festival will have games, character greetings, seasonal menus and limited-edition merchandise.  

Sea Paradise Fireworks Symphony

Yokohama Sea Paradise's nightly summer fireworks show with music and various areas to enjoy the show with food and drinks.