17 Things To Do in Tokyo This Week: February 20–26

Live Events

1.
Tokyo Weekender Magazine Party: Celebrating the Jan-Feb 2023 Issue

To celebrate our first issue of the year, we have partnered with Or, a stylish venue in Miyashita Park, for a party (and an afterparty) in the heart of Shibuya. We’ll mingle to the sounds of DJs including Mumei, and Sinzin, while the Or afterparty will raise the roof with the DJ sets of DJ P.H.B. aka Pure Human Beat, DJ Fu, DJ Fujiko and DJ Hokuto.

Come join us with TW magazine in hand. Let’s meet up in real life.

2.
How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart: Book Launch & Panel Discussion on Book Publishing

The launch of How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart, a debut collection of essays by Florentyna Leow, will include a book reading and Q&A session. There will also be a three-way panel discussion featuring translator Yuki Tejima (@booknerdtokyo) and David Wang (Editor-in-Chief of Sankaku magazine), facilitated by designer and writer Carina Fushimi.

There’ll be plenty of time to chill out, chat with like-minded bookish people and make new friends over drinks.

3.
Sunday Dinners: Belgian Night

At MTM Sunday dinners you will be surrounded by amazing people, fantastic food and great music to match the atmosphere of a family Sunday dinner. Everybody is welcome to enjoy that much needed time to wind down together.

This time around, MTM is hosting a Belgian night.
The menu includes; Stoofvlees friet (Flemish beef stew with beer sauce and fries), Vol-au-vent (creamy chicken dish), Belgian winter salad and rice pudding.

4.
Amelie Lens in Tokyo

Amelie Lens makes a return to Japan after 4 years with an exclusive performance at Spotify O-East.

She is a world-renowned DJ and a regular headliner at huge festivals around the world, including Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, Amsterdam Dance Event and Sónar. Support comes from Mari Sakurai, Yohji Igarashi and more.

5.
Haus Von Schwarz: Happy Deathday Drag Show

One of Tokyo’s most intriguing and unique goth drag houses, Haus Von Schwarz is holding its first show in 2023.  The house mother Nattmara and house father Verik will perform, alongside their drag children: Le Horla, Stefani St. Sl*t, Angel Heart, Julia Your-Makeup-Is-Terrible and Summer Balenciaga. They’ll be joined by special guests Belgium Solanas, Lady Nana, Polaris and more. Music by DJ Sisen.

6.
Clothes Swap at Ryozan Park

To help combat textile waste, Ryozan Park is organizing a clothes swap. Bring up to 20 of your used clothes that are preferably in good condition. During the event you can try on and take home as many items as you want. Any items left over at 5pm, when the event ends, will be donated to the Japanese NPO Furugi de Vaccine. It’s an NPO that collects and ships used clothing to developing countries. The clothing is then sold and reused locally, helping to create jobs within the local economy. In addition to donating clothes, for each donation bag purchased five polio vaccines are donated to children in need.

7.
Shiba Park Hotel Afternoon Tea

Ishu washi paper and kaga mizuhiki (paper cord ornaments) are traditional crafts that have been handed down by Japanese artisans. This afternoon tea offers a variety of Japanese, Western and Chinese sweets inspired by these traditional arts.

8.
Spring Afternoon Tea at Café 1894

An afternoon high tea themed on strawberries and chocolate, this is the perfect match for spring.

Café 1894, which is attached to the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, offers its popular afternoon tea menu. This season, visitors can enjoy a strawberry and chocolate-themed high tea. Sweets include Hachette d’école — a dark chocolate mousse combined with a soup containing whole Japanese strawberries. There’s also handmade champagne jelly, hand-baked scones and cookie sandwiches. The savory items include dishes with truffles, roast beef, snow crab and other luxurious ingredients.

Art Exhibitions

9.

Megalithic Yard – Koji Shiouchi Exhibition

While crossing the fields of fashion, music and art, Koji Shiouchi works across various disciplines, including graphic design, product design and video through collective methods. He was also selected as the main artist for the NFT art project at Shibuya Parco and Shinsaibashi Parco.

The title of the exhibition, “Megalithic Yard,” is a term used to describe an ancient fictitious unit of length equivalent to approximately 2.72 feet (0.83 m). It has also been believed by some researchers to be a unit used in the construction of megalithic structures. The artworks in the exhibition make you feel as if you are looking at the present from the future.

10.
Teaware Exhibition 2023 – The Encounter with Yamato Tea

Huls Gallery Tokyo is holding an exhibition on a selection of teaware items suitable for Japanese, Chinese and Taiwanese tea. It is introducing white porcelain teapots made by ceramic artist Masato Komai, who is based in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture, as well as one-of-a-kind works by Bizen ware artist Hitoshi Morimoto. There’s also the latest Arita teaware from Riso Porcelain.

In addition, Yamato teas such as Kabuse Sencha, Japanese black tea and Karigane tea from Tsukigase, Nara Prefecture made by Tea Farm Inokura are available. A tea workshop with special guest Mitsuhiro Inokura, head of the Inokura family, is being held during the exhibition.

11.
World Book Design 2021-2022

This exhibition displays approximately 160 prize-winning books from the “World’s Most Beautiful Book 2022 Competition” which was held in Leipzig, Germany in February 2022, as well as the “55th Book Design and Binding Competition” in Japan and other competitions held in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, France, Canada and China.

12.
Cleon Peterson’s Solo Exhibition: “Under the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars”

Kaikai Kiki Gallery is pleased to present “Under the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars,” a solo exhibition of Cleon Peterson’s works opening on February 13, 2023.

Cleon Peterson is based in Los Angeles, CA, and has exhibited in various cities, including New York, London, Paris, Sydney and more. Peterson’s works are characterized by a subdued tone and stylized, graphical compositions, but depict scenes of violence and struggle that could be described as extremely primitive.

This is Peterson’s first solo exhibition in Japan in seven years. There are 27 new paintings, including a large new painting created to fit the Kaikai Kiki Gallery space.

13.
Herbie Yamaguchi: “Tomoyasu Hotei Glorious Days” Photography Exhibition

Super Labo Gold is holding a photo exhibition at Super Labo Store Tokyo to commemorate the release of Herbie Yamaguchi’s photobook Glorious Days.

The exhibition showcases photographs documenting the life of Japan’s legendary guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, who is most well-known for his track “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” from Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill.

14.
Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams

Following its success at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and after having traveled the world from London to New York, the exhibition “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” is on show at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. It celebrates 75 years of Dior couture.

Plum Blossom Festivals

15.
Yushima Tenjin Plum Blossom Festival

Plum blossoms are the first signs of spring. So, what better way to see them than at a shrine festival?

Yushima Tenjin Shrine attracts over 400,000 visitors per week during its plum blossom festival. Several stalls sell food and other goods. There are also live performances, including taiko drumming and outdoor tea ceremonies held on weekends. Don’t forget to pray for study success, as this shrine is devoted to Tenjin, the Shinto god of learning.

16.
Setagaya Plum Blossom Festival 2023

The 44th Setagaya Plum Blossom Festival takes place at Hanegi Park from February to early March. With almost 650 plum blossoms in pink, red and white scattered around, it’s a great place for plum spotting.

17.
Kyodonomori Park Plum Festival and Illumination

With around 1,100 plum blossoms, Kyodonomori Park is another place worth visiting this season. The flowers will be beautifully lit up during the weekends of February 25 and March 4. The festival arranges special walks through the plum garden, while also hosting ceremonies and performances.