The Best Things to Do in Tokyo This Week: December 18 – December 24

Community Events

1.
Neriya Kanaya: Japanese Sake & Kokuto Shochu Techno Night

Organized by Meet My Amami and Hatachi no Sake Project and in special collaboration with Nishihira Distillery, this event brings Japanese alcohol to the front and center. The name of the event, “Neriya Kanaya,” means “paradise beyond the sea” or “utopia” in the Amami Oshima dialect, and was chosen because the organizers’ goal is a world where everyone enjoys alcohol from Japan’s remote islands.

At the event, you can try sake by Obata Sake Brewery from Sado Island, Niigata and brown sugar shochu by Nishihira Distillery from Amami Oshima in Kagoshima.

There will also be a DJ lineup, namely Amika_rdashian, Koki (Systems), Meleetime (Masala), Guchon and Dogeatingdogs.

2.
Trunk Hotel Winter Market 2023

Head down to Trunk Hotel in Shibuya for its “Old Meets New” winter market — dedicated to finding the value in older items.

Over a mug of hot wine or a glass of sangria, take part in paid workshops in upcycling, and shop for the perfect gifts for loved ones this festive season.

3.
Christmas Dinner Live Show at Sphinx

Sphinx, a new Egyptian restaurant in Iidabashi throws a party for Christmas weekend. The corner restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating is offering a special Christmas menu and shisha for those interested. More Than Music is setting up a communal vibe with music to match the Christmas atmosphere of a dinner and mixer.

Three musicians are performing on the night: FiJA, Yusuke Morita and Isafat.

4.
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King at The National Ballet of Japan

A beloved holiday tradition, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King returns this winter. There will be 17 performances from December 22 to January 8 as a special Christmas and New Year treat. This production features splendid, fast-paced choreography with some humor by Wayne Eagling mixed in. The rich colors of the sets and costumes create an atmosphere somewhere between a dream and reality.

Art Exhibitions

6.
Tohaku Chakan at the Tokyo National Museum

The Tokyo National Museum is hosting Tohaku Chakan (teahouse) in its Okyokan, a traditional Japanese house on the museum premises until January 28. A variety of food, beverages and activities have been prepared for visitors to enjoy Japanese culture. Visitors can also appreciate the 270-year-old house and the reproduced fusuma paintings by Maruyama Okyo, one of the master painters during the Edo period (1603-1868). Participate in activities such as a Kyoto kimono dressing experience, Zen Kokyu breathing method and a bonsai workshop. Enjoy traditional Japanese meals, Japanese sake Aramasa and Japanese whisky made with local ingredients at Okyokan.

7.
Hello Again: Christmas at Ginza Six

This year, Ginza Six returns to celebrate the Christmas period with “Hello Again,” in collaboration with creative studio YAR. The exhibition pays homage to the Nakagin Capsule Tower Building, a portion of which has been rebuilt in Ginza as an art installation for viewers to enjoy.

There is also a skating rink available for use on the rooftop garden, as well as a special Christmas menu at the in-house restaurant.

Yayoi Kusama Soul Burning Flashes (A.B.Q), 1988, Tower, 1998 Installation view at the Yayoi Kusama Museum, 2023 © YAYOI KUSAMA

8.
Yayoi Kusama Museum: Visionary Colors Exhibition

“Visionary Colors” is the latest exhibition at the Yayoi Kusama Museum and includes a host of new artworks. As you enter, on the first floor, the exhibition introduces Kusama’s distinctive color expression with her three-dimensional work and large-scale painting from the 1980s and 90s. In the quadriptych “Soul Burning Flashes (A.B.Q),” visitors can absorb the striking motifs that emerged from her childhood hallucinations.

On the second-floor gallery, there’s an overview of Kusama’s color expression from the early stages of her career. In the 1949 painting “Lingering Dream,” viewers can observe dark yet surreal colors.

9.
Accidentally Wes Anderson Returns to Tokyo

Following the huge success of the “Accidentally Wes Anderson” exhibition in spring, it is returning to Tokyo to share over 300 photos from all over the world, as well as a brand-new section dedicated to a recent Antarctic adventure.

The exhibition features landscape photographs that embody the aesthetic world and spirit of film director Wes Anderson, led by the eponymous Instagram community, that now has over 1.88 million followers.

10.
Kaneko Tomiyuki Solo Exhibition Apotropaic Deities at the Mizuma Art Gallery

The latest exhibition at the Mizuma Art Gallery features Yamagata-based artist Tomiyuki Kaneko. Focusing on deities, spirits and yokai, Kaneko works to materialize spiritual beings that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

10.
Aryo Toh Djojo’s Solo Exhibition at Perrotin Tokyo

Perrotin Tokyo is pleased to present “Over My Head,” the first solo exhibition in Asia by Los Angeles-based artist Aryo Toh Djojo. This is the first time for the artist to incorporate elements such as film and found photography in his work, further exploring the notion of how we perceive truth.

The show debuts a new body of paintings alluding to the artist’s continued interest in UFO sightings and the socio-political discourses that have arisen throughout history as a result.

11.
Touching Transcendence and Influences at Ultra Super New Gallery

Based in Tokyo and Florence, Zerofeedback is an independent publisher, with a focus on contemporary photography, design and culture. This December, it returns to Tokyo for a two-part exhibition at Harajuku’s Ultra Super New Gallery.

Featuring work from 22 artists, “Touching Transcendence” delves into the metaphorical significance of the hand as a conduit between the divine and humanity, as well as the hand’s role in nonverbal communication.

“Influences” showcases the final three issues of the Zerofeedback publication, including mixed media explorations of Japan by Alex Harrison and Thomas Knott, as well as symbolic color interplay by Stéphanie Pineau and Sohei Nakanishi.

More Things To Do in Tokyo

See what other activities Tokyo has to offer:

• Tokyo Robots and Where to Find Them
• The Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo — The Making of Harry Potter Finally Opens
• Visiting Real Life Locations From Haruki Murakami Novels in Tokyo
• 13 Unique Vending Machines in Tokyo
• 7 Places for Authentic Japanese Tea Ceremony in Tokyo
• Shoutenguide: Tokyo’s Best Shopping Streets
• 35 Must-visit Museums and Galleries in Tokyo