Tokyo, Japan Hotels and City Guide

Tokyo - Going Out

Tokyo Entertaiment Guide

As one of the world's major metropolises, Tokyo has plenty to offer in terms of culture, family fun and nightlife. Art enthusiasts will enjoy the city's numerous galleries housing both traditional Japanese and Asian art as well as world artists. Japan regularly plays host to a range of productions from international bands and classical musicians to traditional Japanese kabuki theatre.

Tokyo After Dark: Nightlife and Bars in Tokyo

Drinking in Tokyo can cost anything from a backpacker's budget to a trader's splurge. Its recommended to enquire as to the price of your drink before ordering as assuming most bars charge within the same price range (even within the same district) could be an expensive mistake. The city is home to a mix of bars, including Western-style and Japanese-style establishments, from smaller local haunts to flashy cocktail lounges.

For a taste of home try Paddy Foley's, an Irish-themed Western bar in Roppongi. To sample something more traditional, look for a nomi-ya or yakitori-ya bars. Nomi-ya translates roughly as 'drink shop' or 'little bar', while yakitori-ya bars serve yakitori (poultry skewers) and other snacks. Several large-scale nightclubs play hip hop, dance and chart music, most located in Ebisu, Shibuya, and Daikanyama, and all stay open until the early hours of the morning.

Part of the experience of heading out afterdark in Tokyo is of course the city lights at night. You'll be surrounded in a blast of vibrant neon signs and shop window displays - try set out a bit early so that you are able to spend more time absorbing the atmosphere of the area before you head into the bar or club.

Tokyo's Annual Events

January
O-Shogatsu (New Year), 1-3 Jan: families visit temples and shrines to offer prayers for the coming year, at temples and Shinto shrines across the city.
Special Opening of the Imperial Palace Grounds, early Jan: crowds flock to the public appearance of the Emperor and Empress, Imperial Palace Grounds. Dezomeshiki (New Year’s Parade of Firemen), early Jan: Tokyo’s firemen perform traditional acrobatic stunts and display the latest equipment, Odaiba.

February
Setsubun, 3 or 4 Feb: people travel to temples to take part in a bean throwing ceremony, to drive away imaginary demons, at popular Tokyo temples include Kanda Myojin Shrine, Hie Shrine and Sensoji Temple.

March

April
Hana Matsuri (The Birth of Buddha), 8 Apr: also known as the flower festival, worshippers pour amacha (hydranger leaf tea) over temple statues of Buddah as an offering, in the Sensji Temple and throughout the city.
Golden Week, late Apr-early May: a major holiday incorporating several national holidays, during which many offices close and huge numbers of locals take a holiday (a crowded time to travel), throughout the city.
Cherry Blossom Viewing, April: representing the birth of spring, families gather under the newly arrived blossoms to drink sake and picnic, Ueno Park and Chidorigafuchi Park.

May
Kanda Matsuri (Kanda Festival), a weekend in mid May (odd-numbered years only): a major 3-day festival honouring the Kanda Myojin Shrine’s deities. Worshipers parade ornate golden mikoshi (portable shrines) and traditional floats through the streets.
Sanja Matsuri (Sanja Festival), third weekend in May: Tokyo’s biggest and most famous festival features enormous parades of portable shrines carried by men and women in traditional costume, Asakusa.

June
Sanno Matsuri (Sanno Festival), mid-Jun (even-numbered years only): historic street festival featuring parades of unusual portable shrines and a procession of 500 people in traditional court dress, Hie Shrine.

July
Sumida Hanabi (Sumida Fireworks Festival), late Jul or early Aug: Tokyo’s biggest and most spectacular fireworks display erupts over the Sumida River, Asakusa’s Sumida Park.

August
Asakusa Samba Carnival, late Aug: the Japanese version of the Rio festival, a riot of colour and sound organised in Asakusa by Brazilian-Japanese returnees.
Bon-odori dances, August: dancing takes place beneath colourful lanterns to commemorate the spirits of the ancestors, various venues.

September

October
Tokyo International Film Festival, Oct: Japan’s annual film extravaganza.
Tokyo Motor Show, late Oct-early Nov: passenger cars and motorcycles featured on odd-numbered years, commercial vehicles featured on even-numbered years, Makuhari Messe, Chiba

November
Shichi-go-san (Seven, Five, Three Festival), 15 Nov (or closest weekend): boys aged five and girls aged three and seven are dressed in their most elaborate kimonos and taken to Shinto shrines to pray for their future, Meiji Shrine, Asakusa Shrine, Hie Shrine and others across the city.
Tori-no-Ichi (Rake Fair), mid-Nov: extraordinarily decorated bamboo rakes, believed to bring good fortune, are sold at a great shrine fair, Otori Shrine, Asakusa.

December
Hagoita-Ichi (Battledore Fair), Dec: lavishly decorated battledore paddles of all sizes are sold at a large and popular temple fair in the hope of an auspicious start to the New Year, Sensoji Temple, Asakusa.
Omisoka (New Year’s Eve), 31 Dec: Buddhist temple bells ring out 108 times and people flock to temples and shrines to see in the New Year, Meiji Shrine and temples and shrines across the city.

Hotels in Tokyo, Japan