Things to do in Tokyo today

Friday Road Show is a long-running weekly TV segment that began in 1985, where full-length, family-friendly films are broadcast every Friday evening on Nippon TV (NTV). The broadcasting network has a strong relationship with Studio Ghibli, as the channel has featured the illustrious anime studio's films over 200 times in the decades since Hayao Miyazaki released his first feature, 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind' (1984).  In this joint exhibition between NTV and Studio Ghibli, anime fans can revel in the magic of the animation studio through Takayuki Takeya's sculptures of the creatures seen in Studio Ghibli's debut film, the studio's stained glass mirror lantern, and other mesmerising installations.  This Tokyo exhibition will open at Warehouse Terrada on June 29 and run through September 24 before reopening at the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design on October 8 2023.

Asakusa Awa Odori is returning for the first time since 2009 on July 1 this year. Enjoy a day of watching ten local Awa Odori dance groups, who will parade along Asakusa Rokku Broadway and Asakusa Yokocho from 4pm to 6.30pm. This event is inspired by the tradition of Awa Odori that can be traced back to the 16th century in Tokushima, Shikoku. It’s said that a local daimyo plied his citizens with booze to celebrate the completion of the local castle in 1586, leading to a citywide outbreak of dancing in the streets. You can get a taste of that atmosphere at this Awa Odori event in Asakusa.

Tokyo Tower's alternative to the ubiquitous summer beer gardens is welcoming the outdoor drinking season with a double dose of whisky highballs. Head to the terrace at the base of the tower for a lengthy menu of highballs combined with a variety of drinking snacks (think karaage and grilled bacon). There's also a meatier option on the roof of the Tower Foot Town building. The Tokyo Tower Rooftop Highball Garden serves up all-you-can-eat jingisukan, the Hokkaido-born lamb barbecue named after the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan. Two hours of all-you-can-drink alcohol and limitless jingisukan can be had for ¥5,500 (teens aged 13-19 ¥3,500, primary school students ¥2,500, children aged 4-6 ¥1,500, all with non-alcoholic drinks, of course). Just keep an eye on the weather forecast, as both terraces close in the case of heavy rain. The Tokyo Tower Cho-Ten Highball Garden at the base of the tower is open until October 1, from 4pm-10pm on weekdays and 12noon-10pm on Sat, Sun & holidays. The Tokyo Tower Rooftop Highball Garden is open until October 9, from 5pm-9.30pm daily. Make your reservations here.

Step into the fantastical world of Yayoi Kusama at her latest exhibition at the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Shinjuku. Kusama's art, famous for its obsessive repetition of a single motif, blurs the line between self and other - a concept she calls 'self-obliteration'. This signature theme of hers is born from her childhood hallucinations and can draw viewers into a dreamlike state. This exhibition provides a unique exploration into Kusama's artistry across different periods, with a focus on the psychedelic aspects – a tribute to America's 1960s psychedelic movement. Installations include a new hexagonal Mirror Room, from a series which she first introduced in a solo exhibition in New York in the late 1960s.  Visitors can also expect to see Kusama's early drawings, where she graphically depicted her innermost images. Works from her later years after her return to Japan are also displayed, including vivid acrylic paintings, large-scale 3D works, and an installation using a black light. A visual feast that captures Kusama's journey of self-obliteration, visitors are invited to immerse themselves in her entrancing world.

You’ll get free-flowing Premium Malts beer, Tokyo Craft pale ale, Japanese craft gin Sui, wine and more at the Ginza Sky Beer Terrace on the 13th floor of Yurakucho's Kotsu Kaikan. There's also plenty of food to enjoy. For a light meal, try the one plate option (¥5,000), which gets you smoked salmon, potato salad, sausage, garlic shrimp, teriyaki sliders, tandoori chicken and more, plus a 90-minute all-you-can-drink deal. The standard plan (¥8,000), on the other hand, includes an additional plate with a few more options such as salad, salami, pork pastrami and quiche. Those who want a full course meal can upgrade to the ¥12,000 plan, which comes with a slab of sirloin steak in addition to the aforementioned plates. This plan also includes a two-hour all-you-can-drink deal with sparkling wine.

The very classy Marunouchi Hotel moves into the beer garden business in summer, but as you'd expect from this nearly century-old venue, it's a much more stylish affair than the boozers on department store rooftops across town. A standard course (¥7,000) will get you a salad, garlic toast and a meat and seafood skewer platter, plus 120 minutes of unlimited beer, wine, cocktails and sours. Meanwhile, the upgrade course (¥8,000) includes premium drinks like sparkling wine and craft beer from Tokyo Sumidagawa Brewing. You'll be sitting on the eighth-floor terrace, which is decorated in blue and white and boasts fantastic views over the neighbouring Tokyo Station.

Taking over the expansive outdoor lawn within the children’s play area at Meiji Shrine’s Outer Gardens, the Forest Beer Garden distinguishes itself from other boozy events in town with its lush green surrounds and bubbling waterfall. The popular two-hour all-you-can-eat (¥5,500) option includes everything from barbecue beef, pork and lamb to veggies, yakisoba noodles, onigiri and even ice pops. It includes an all-you-can-drink selection of seven kinds of beers including Kirin and Heineken, in addition to whisky, sours, wine and soft drinks. Despite being one of the largest beer gardens in Tokyo with a capacity for around 900 people, the event can get extremely busy at weekends, so advance bookings are recommended via the website.

Henri Matisse’s (1869–1954) final years were full of turmoil. Following a separation from his wife and the outbreak of World War II, the French artist was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, which caused him to be bedridden for months at a time. And yet, Matisse never surrendered his art to the distressing circumstances at hand.  When given the opportunity to flee from France to Brazil amid the Nazi invasion, Matisse ultimately refused to abandon his studio in Nice. When surgery to treat his cancer left him too weak to paint on canvases, he directed his assistants as they blended pigments by his bedside and ‘painted’ with paper-cut outs instead. All the while, Matisse continued to lead the Fauvism movement with his use of striking colours in his still lifes and portraits of female figures that depicted a world far more vibrant than the one around him.  Needless to say, Matisse is regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century and a handful of his works are often found at exhibitions in Tokyo every year. This upcoming showcase at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, however, is a particularly momentous event as it is the first large-scale Matisse retrospective Japan has seen in almost 20 years.  The majority of the works are borrowed from the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which boasts one of the world’s biggest Matisse collections. The roughly 150 works on display range from early oil paintings to sculptures and cut-outs that defined the artist’s self-proclaimed ‘se

With its 250 to 300 vendors, this is by far Tokyo’s biggest flea market and it takes place nearly every weekend in the parking lot of Oi Racecourse, also known as Tokyo City Keiba. With an extensive selection of goods, it’s not difficult to spend half a day here – and given the tempting prices, you definitely won’t leave empty-handed. Expect to find daily necessities, rare collector’s items, clothing, accessories, handmade goods, home decor, toys and even a small selection of antiques. And since shopping can be quite tiring, hungry bargain hunters can restore their energy levels by munching on light meals and snacks from food trucks onsite. Do note that the market will be cancelled in the case of rain.

Feast on Korean food at the rooftop beer garden of Ikebukuro Parco. The standard samgyeopsal course (from ¥4,000) will get you a plate of pork belly slices and veggies to grill, plus marinated veggies, Korean chijimi pancakes and plenty of condiments to complement the meal. You can even opt for a standard Korean barbecue course (from ¥4,600) which comes with a platter of beef, pork, chicken and sausage. All meal plans come with an all-you-can-drink deal, where you’ll get makgeolli (Korean rice wine), soju and more.