Updated: Sep 11, 2023Exploring the external world is as fulfilling as exploring our inner world (and they go hand in hand).
Below is a personal diary and a bucket list for Tokyo and Japan. As someone who had lived in Tokyo for many years and now lives in Fukuoka, I find it very exciting to consciously keep a fresh perspective when in a familiar pattern, a city, or an environment to keep on exploring, discovering, and having meaningful connections and dialogues with the people I share these experiences.
I would love to hear your suggestions, and if you’re interested in any of these things, it would be great to see if we can tick them off together as well. If there are any that you hadn’t thought of and like to add to your own list, that would be splendid too :)
Not in any particular (or well-organised) order:
ART / CULTURE / HISTORY
Visit the Haruki Murakami Library of International Literature
Visit Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo
Visit Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa, Saitama.
Visit Enoura Observatory in Odawara, Kanagawa
Visit Tokyo National Museum, Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, d47 Museum, The National Art Center, etc.
✅ Visit the Sompo Museum of Art for the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of YAMASHITA KIYOSHI, a Retrospective.
✅ Visit Shibuya Sky (on a weekday) and hit up the bar.
✅ Visit WATARI-UM (The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art) in Jingumae, Tokyo. Have a quick lunch at PRETTY THINGS (listening to Michael Franks, I Really Hope It’s You). Chat wine, and send a selection at Dive to Wine for the family with a little postcard by Jonathan Borofsky (2178900). Stroll back through the urban forest Nonoaoyama and pass by the beautifully out-of-place Aoyama Kitamachi Apartment (sadly to be fully demolished).
Visit: ✅ Nezu Museum: Power of Pattern, ✅ 21 21 Design Sight: The Year 2121: Futures In-Sight, ✅ National Museum of Modern Art: 100 Years of Mingei: The Folk Crafts Movement
✅ Visit Yushukuan Museum (note: not based on a misguided sense of ‘patriotism’, but in the spirit of honouring all people on all sides, esp.. the humanity palpable in all the letters soldiers have written to their families)
✅ Appreciate the West Hall, and Soetsu Yanagi’s residence at the Japan Folks Crafts Museum (West Hall open on selected Wed / Sat). See all of his collections, curation and works in its rightful, atmospheric context
✅ Visit Kawagoe, Saitama
✅ Visit the Ainu Culture Centre in Chuo, Tokyo
✅ Experience teamLab Borderless and teamLab Planets
✅ Visit Tenozu Isle for PIGMENT, TERRADA related museums etc.
✅ Experience a (faux) kintsugi workshop at Maker’s Base in Toritsudaigaku, Tokyo
✅ Visit Mori Art Museum in Roppongi, Tokyo
✅ Visit Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu, Tokyo
✅ More intimately explore Shibuya Bridge, Log Road Daikanyama, Tsutaya Daikanyama etc.
✅ Visit Tokyo Tower and Sky Tree
✅ Exprience teamLab Borderless and Planets
✅ Visit Yanaka Ginza
MUSIC
Get sonically drenched in local shoegaze at Total Feedback at Koenji High
Catch Evisbeats, Ovall etc. live
Check out more local venues for underground music and scenes: Tengu Shokudo (Sangenjaya), bar Cheeky (Kichijoji), Grassroots (Koenji).
✅ Check out Poor Cow (Shimokitazawa), meet local musicians and talk about the history, heart and sould of “the backbeat” until the wee hours.
✅ Check out BAR JUICE (Shimokitazawa) and listen to the owner, Mochii san’s great selection of 90s music from Jeff Buckley, New Order, Bjork, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana and more.
✅ Check out Last Night Music Saved My Life (Shimokitazawa) and make some amazing local mates including the owner, Yuko san (who is beautifully and proudly gay) over 90s RnB.
✅ Check out THE HAPPYmAN CHEAKS (Shibuya)
✅ Catch the Shimokita Ongakusai (Shimokita Music Festival)
✅ Experience Ryuichi Sakamoto + Daito Manabe’s Sensing Streams - invisible, inaudible at Space O in Omotesando Hills
✅ Check out OATH since it moved
✅ Catch Shing02 live (@Liquidroom)
✅ Catch Dengaryu live (@an outdoor event in Jiyugaoka)
✅ Catch Alt-J live (@Akasaka Blitz)
✅ Catch Bonobo live (@VENT Tokyo)
✅ A Nujabes tribute event (@VENT Tokyo)
✅ Catch IN-SIST live (@Liquidroom)
✅ Catch Gezan / MahiToThePeople live (@Shinjuku Minami Exit NO WAR 0305)
✅ A night out at quirky, local and wonderful Bonobo in Jingumae
✅ Spontaneously catch CHIYORI live at SPREAD, Shimokitazawa
✅ Check out 32016 in Sangenjaya
NATURE / EXISTENCE
Visit Todoroki Ravine Park in Todoroki, Tokyo
Climb Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka (early July - mid September)
Stargazing at an off-Tokyo location (open to suggestions)
Humble, less touristy hanami sessions by Onda River in Machida
Zazen at a zen temple (open to suggestions)
Visit Kusatsu in Gunma
Visit Nikko in Tochigi
✅ Visit Gotokuji Temple
✅ Meditating through an extraordinary Aufguss session (with aromatic löyly) at Spa LaQua in Tokyo Dome City
✅ A full plum blossom at Hanegi Park in Hanegi, Tokyo (late Jan - early Feb?)
✅ A 2hr climb up Mt. Takao with primary school senpais and their 1-year old baby boy, with beers, sweets, while pushing a stroller up to the summit. Hachioji, Tokyo
✅ Squid Fishing on a boat from New Odawara Harbour, Kanagawa
✅ A 10-hr climb over two mountains: Mt. Ougi and Mt. Momokura in Yamanashi
✅ Shimoda: surfing, bbq-ing, onsen-ing with mates. Craftbeer and live music at As It, dinner and a stroll down Perry Road,, climbing Kumomi Sengen Jinja (with mates and my dog) in Shimoda, Shizuoka
✅ A hanami at an off-Tokyo sakura spot in Hachioji by Mitake Gorge. Share sake with friends at Sawanoi Ozawa Brewery
FOOD / ALCOHOL
Explore shitamachi food e.g. Nikomi from Kitasenju, Morishita, Tsukishima, Tateishi, Monzennakacho
Appreciating the depth and subtleties of wagashi (with someone who’s a connoisseur)
Experience some solid vegan / plant-oriented restaurants (Japanese cuisine-inspired, fusion, western, or innovative in any way etc.)
Sake at WAKAZE TOKYO, ‘deep’ izakaya at Ikkaku, drinks at Maze (affiliiated with Wokini)
A full experience facing the future of protein via edible insects? E.g. at a specialised restaurant, cricket ramen etc.
✅ Nomiaruki between the new and old fish markets: Toyosu Market to Tsukiji Market with a best mate. Gift a Fujifilm disposable camera to his son and adore his adorably inspired little lovely being.
✅ Modern creative izakaya at Maribana, craftbeer at Sanity, shisha at Oranger in Sangenjaya, Tokyo
✅ Shopping a glorious selection of halal, Muslim, Middle Eastern and South East Asian food at Tokyo Camii Halal Market in Shibuya, Tokyo
✅ Savour a “Suntory time”, a Bill Murray moment (of cultural alienation and a human sense of longing) at the New York Bar at Park Hyatt Tokyo
✅ Omakase sushi with family in Tsukiji at Aozora Sandaime Bettei with Ecchu itacho.
✅ An itamae AYCE sushi at Sushidokoro Shintanaka near Toritsu Daigaku
✅ A pairing course at Kabi in Meguro
✅ A pairing course at Salmon & Trout in Daizawa
✅ A course at Eatrip, Harajuku
✅ Hanging with the affable and magnetic bar owner Tomo san and being part of a friendly, open, vibrant and creative local Shimokita community at Urauchi
✅ Local wine tasting at Fukagawa Winery Tokyo in Koto
✅ An authentic, casual, and brilliantly local izakaya experience at Mitakaya in Morishita
✅ Dinner, wine and table tennis at RIBAYON in Kuramae
✅ A fully-immersive, trippy evening at BAR GARIGARI in Daizawa
✅ Raw oyster, shirako and karasumi party (paired with sake and chardonnay) at a mate’s home
While I’m at it, I might populate a list for all of Japan and pin it here for future reference:
A WIP LIST FOR ALL OF JAPAN
Visit the Jomon Sugi in Yakushima, Kagoshima
Visit Amami Oshima for nature in the sub-tropics
See the sakura view at Mount Yoshino in Nara
Visit Rurikoin in Kyoto
Zazen at a zen temple (Nanzenji in Kyoto, Nara etc.)
Visit D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa, Ishihkawa
Visit Shoji Ueda Museum of Photography and the Tottori Sand Dunes in Tottori
Visit atomic bomb memorials and museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Workshops of traditional crafts e.g. ceramics? (open to suggestions)
Sado, and ikebana workshops (open to suggestions)
A 10-day Vipassana course in Kyoto or Chiba (book a few months in advance)
Visit the National Ainu Museum and Park Upopoy + pay my respect to the goddamn beautiful region in general (maybe during summer?) in Hokkaido
Nakasu Jazz Festival in November in Fukuoka
Visit Iki Island from Fukuoka (which technically, is in Nagasaki)
✅ Nagano: rice harvesting with a deaf family in Azumino, Nagano
✅ Niigata: having fresh sushi and local sake at Pier Bandai, going for a sunset drive by Kohari Beach, visiting boutique local stores at Nuttari Terrace, a night out at Furumachi Dori, going for a drive to Agano River and Higashi Akatani Continuous Tunnel with mates
✅ Saga: Visit and experience Arita and Karatsu ware
✅ Kyoto: Stay at Tokyu Harvest Club Kyoto Takagamine. Visit Genkoan, Kinkakuji, Ryoanji etc. with family in Kyoto
✅ Kyoto: Cycle through Gion, Kamo River, Nanzenji Temple, Suirokaku Water Bridge, Fushimi Inari Taisha, the bamboo forest at Arashiyama, Sanjusangendo and more in Kyoto
✅ Kyoto: Purchase kimono / western hybrid clothing in Kyoto (@Eitaroya)
✅ Kyoto: Stay at Ace Hotel Kyoto
✅ Kumamoto: Walk by the forest waterfalls and rivers at Kikuchi Gorge, Kumamoto
✅ Fukuoka: teamlab Digitized Fukuoka Castle Ruins
✅ Catch FREEZ live at Kieth Flack (and shoot footage and donate / contribute to his music videos)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, inspirations and suggestions!
