With summer now fully underway, food and the arts are grabbing the headlines in Roppongi this August. From a slew of gourmet burgers at Roppongi Hills to a marriage of seasonal cuisine and bucolic décor at Tokyo Midtown, here’s what’s new in Roppongi this month.
Events
Get Your Tickets for the Celebration of 60 Years of Sanrio at Tokyo City View
At Tokyo City View, the 52nd floor gallery of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, a 60-year-anniversary Sanrio Exhibition will take center stage from September 17 to January 2022. Advanced tickets for the marquee event, however, go on sale at 10am on August 1 from Lawson convenience stores. The exhibition will pay homage to “the beginning of kawaii” and will feature more than 800-character products – the most in Sanrio history – as well as original artworks and official documents. Given how pervasive Hello Kitty and friends are in Japanese culture, tickets are likely to fly off the shelves. You can buy tickets for this event here.
When: Tickets available now
Don’t Miss Out on Kaws Tokyo’s First Exhibition at the Mori Arts Center Gallery
American artist Kaws has a fairly distinct oeuvre: you may have seen his cast of cartoony characters – looking ever perturbed – splashed across Uniqlo tees with the Sesame street gang. Now he’s bringing his ambitious works to the Mori Arts Center Gallery in his first large-scale exhibition in Japan. The exhibition explores his creative development and features pieces from his own private collection, along with AR (augmented reality) works and interactive installations. Tickets are available online.
When: Until Oct 10
Where: 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Food & Drink
Feast on a Range of Gourmet Burgers at Roppongi Hills
Also in Roppongi Hills this month, 21 restaurants around the complex will be offering limited-edition menus. 10 regular menu items and 15 items will be exclusively on sale during the two-month period. Burgers top the list, with 25 types of gourmet burgers available across 21 individual restaurants. Joining saliva-inducing staples like the classic cheddar or smoked cheese and onion ring burgers, are unique concoctions: a lasagna burger, a Korean barbecue burger, a tonkatsu patty burger and a quattro cheese feast.
When: Until Sep 26
Where: 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Have an Art-themed Dinner at the Midpark Art Lounge in Akasaka
Not far from Roppongi, in neighboring Akasaka, experience a unique cuisine-art fusion at the Midpark Art Longue. Located in the upscale Tokyo Midtown complex, an outdoor lounge has been created where visitors can dine under a colorful riot of art lanterns in nature-inspired surroundings. The menu encapsulates the sights and smells of Japanese summer, featuring spring rolls with seasonal fruits and traditional spices, grilled beef with goya salad, cool mocktails and shaved ice.
When: Until Sep 5
Where: 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku
Spicy Food Festivals at Ark Hills and Toranomon Hills
In the Ark Hills and Toranomon Hills complexes in Minato-ku, chefs from the most popular international restaurants have created exclusive dishes with “hot and spicy” as the operative theme. Familiar Japanese spices, such as wasabi and horseradish, are featured throughout, as are blood-boiling peppers like cayenne, Sichuan and the Carolina Reaper. The dishes are available at selected restaurants, with take-out options.
When: Until Aug 31
Where: Ark Hills (1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku), Toranomon Hills (1-23 Toranomon, Minato-ku)
Want to know what else is new in town? Read our latest What’s New roundups.
