Ili Saarinen

Art direction: Steve Nakamura | Photography: Takeshi Hanzawa, Kunihiro Fukumori | Model: Kisaku Sugishita | Casting Director: J Ogawa Hiroshi You don’t have to be a building buff to have heard of – or seen the work of – Tadao Ando. The Osaka-born architect’s minimalist aesthetic of exposed concrete, clean lines and play with light and shadows has influenced cityscapes the world over. But it’s in and around his hometown where the self-taught maestro has built most prolifically, shaping Osaka’s skyline along with the city’s urban identity. The summer issue of Time Out Japan magazine is dedicated to Ando and his life’s work of designing for the next generation. Available nationwide from June 30, the mag features an exclusive interview with the boxer-turned-architect himself, along with an in-depth look at his standout buildings across the Kansai region. Image: Time Out Japan Image: Time Out Japan Elsewhere, in keeping with the future-forward theme, we’ve rounded up some of the up-and-coming stars set to shape the conversation across art, culture and crafts in Japan for years to come. Image: Time Out Japan On top of all that, you’ll find our picks of the best things to do throughout the country this summer, a coffee-fuelled stroll through Tokyo’s Aoyama, an interview with one of the main characters of Osaka’s creative scene, and much more. Pick up your FREE copy of Time Out Japan magazine in English at Haneda and Narita airports, Time Out Market Osaka, as well as selected

You may not be able to escape the heat and humidity, but you can try real hard to distract yourself by ticking off these 10 brilliant things to do across Japan in summer 2026. Whether you’re here on holiday or just craving a reprieve from your daily grind, we’ve got the goods: traditional festivals, a magical movie theatre just outside of Tokyo, a dreamy Okinawan getaway, an absolutely massive Osaka music festival and plenty more. So get those handy fans and frozen Pocari Sweat bottles out – it’s shaping up to be an unforgettable summer. RECOMMENDED: 12 best summer destinations in Japan

From Shogun and shokunin to city pop and Pokémon, Japan’s already Godzilla-sized global cultural footprint is still growing – not least thanks to a hungry new generation of artists and artisans who aren’t content with competing domestically, instead setting their sights on capturing the hearts and feeds of the world from the get-go. Here are a few names you’re bound to hear more about very soon.

Osaka is a lively city year-round, and it gets even more exciting in the summer when there are festivals abound. Many of our favourite seasonal celebrations are fireworks festivals. When vibrant explosions start lighting up the cloudless skies after sundown and the yukata-wearing crowds turn their heads towards the spectacle, that’s when you can get into a truly magical Japanese summer mood. This year’s celebrations kicked off in spectacular fashion with three fireworks festivals on the first weekend of June. The next wave of fireworks will begin in July. Outside of Osaka, you'll find equally stunning displays in Kyoto and Mie that are well worth a day trip. So dust off your yukata, arrive early to secure the best viewing spot, and enjoy the colourful fireworks while snacking on some tasty festival grub. Meanwhile, plan out your June with our curated lists of the best events in Osaka and Kyoto.

The story of Tokyo is composed of countless chapters, rewritten over centuries of destruction and reconstruction, frustration and inspiration, memories and dreams. Its cast of characters runs into the millions, from the samurai, merchants and kabuki actors of bygone eras to the politicians, salarymen and artists of today. And yet, despite all this abundance and variety, it can be difficult to know where to begin. If you really want to get to know Tokyo, its fantastic selection of museums is one of the best ways to get beneath the surface. Some of these institutions focus on history, going beyond explaining the past and truly bringing it to life, while others showcase art that explores the boundless realm of the human imagination across time and space. Still others delve into more niche topics that you might not expect to find in a museum. Many of Tokyo’s museums also feature quiet cafés, beautiful gardens and world-class architecture. While this list includes some of the city’s best-known museums (for good reason), we have gone out of our way to include some that lay slightly off the beaten path. There are larger museums perfect for whiling away a long rainy day, along with smaller ones just right for a quick dose of culture before lunch. And for those looking for unbeatable value, there are several free museums included as well.  Ready to discover the best museums to visit in Tokyo? You have come to the right place.

Whether you’re raising them here or bringing them on holiday, you’ll want your kids to get the most out of their time in Tokyo. Luckily, Japan’s greatest city is jam-packed with exciting things to do that will not only entertain your children, but enrich their minds with new cultural experiences. But Tokyo is a big city. If you’ve just arrived, it’s fine to start out with baby steps. With little kids, we recommend a simple stroll down to the nearest fumikiri (train crossing) to watch the trains roll by. Trust us, they’ll love it more than anything. If your kids are older, set them loose in a convenience store with five hundred yen and see what they come out with. Once you’ve settled in, the options for family fun are endless. You can explore Tokyo’s museums, filled with everything from samurai armour to interactive art to dinosaur fossils. For entertainment, go all out at Tokyo Disneyland or stay local with a family sing-song at one of Tokyo’s ubiquitous karaoke spots. Sports fans will love a sumo tournament at Kokugikan or a baseball game at the outdoor Meiji Jingu Stadium (which involves even more singing than karaoke). And of course, if your little ones just need some time to let off some steam, the city is home to many large, beautiful parks and incredible indoor play centres. To discover the best things to do in Tokyo with your kids as recommended by parents who know the city best, read on. RECOMMENDED: The biggest Tokyo tourist traps, ranked – and where you should go in

Whether you have a soft spot for Japanese cuteness or are merely looking for something fun to read over Golden Week, you’ll want to pick up or download the latest issue of Time Out Japan magazine. Art direction: Steve Nakamura | Photography: Naohiro Tsukada On stands across the country from April 30, our special number digs deep into what’s hot right now in kawaii culture, starting with the cover – which is adorned with either an eminently squeezable cedar-tree plushie or an equally cuddly bonsai tree. That’s right – we’ve gone ahead and created two distinct covers for our guide to what kawaii looks and feels like in 2026, a dizzying journey that starts with profiles of our two featured artists: soft-toy creator Meriyasu Kataoka and floral-print blanket master Makoto Egashira. Photo: Time Out Japan Beyond the interviews, you’ll find a roundup of the latest and greatest services catered towards cuddly toys, tips for plushie photography, and an introduction to five quirky kawaii icons you need to know. Photo: Time Out Japan For a little palate cleanser after all that saccharine splendour, we turn the lights down low to bring you half a dozen nightlife spots worth seeking out now in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Photo: Time Out Japan On top of all that, you’ll find a guide to the stranger sides of Tokyo’s Ikebukuro, a sake-fuelled report from the Hiroshima brewing district of Saijo, tips on how to keep your cool when shopping in Japan, and more. Pick up your FREE copy of Time

With their uncanny shapes, elusive facial expressions and strange yet natural-looking motifs, Meriyasu Kataoka’s plushies are a different (stuffed) animal. Since going professional in 2011, Japan’s soft-toy artist extraordinaire has attracted a loyal international following with her inimitable weird-cute creations, and expanded her artistic activities to include painting and puppet theatre. She celebrated her tenth anniversary as an artist with a sweeping retrospective at the Yokohama Doll Museum and has recently held successful exhibitions in South Korea and Taiwan. But no matter how popular her adorably strange companions have gotten, Kataoka has stayed true to her calling of making authentic art that speaks to her honest feelings. She has deep respect for nature, cherishing every last piece of fabric when transforming scraps of faux fur into mellow but magnetic characters like the cedar treeling on the alternate cover of Time Out Japan’s May 2026 special issue. Who better then to tell us what kawaii means in 2026? Photo: Time Out JapanTime Out Japan special issue, May 2026 How did you get into making plushies? I didn’t set out with the intention of making plushies – it just felt like a natural progression because I’ve loved them since I was a child. I was terrible at both schoolwork and sports, and quickly realised that kids around me grew up faster than I did. It wasn’t until adulthood, when people told me they wanted the things I made, that I felt like the world had ta

Combining decadent fluffiness with an OTT rococo-esque aesthetic, thick floral-print blankets were an omnipresent part of the postwar Japanese experience. But in our age of Muji-coded minimalism, the gaudy beddings have been dismissed as the height of kitsch. A young Makoto Egashira found out as much when he brought his mum’s old duvet with him into his first Tokyo apartment, only to have the item called ‘lame’ by a shocked friend. That moment of embarrassment left a mark – one that’s since powered Egashira to create works of art by enveloping traditional folk crafts, everyday objects and entire rooms in floral prints. Covering a Styrofoam hearse with the mind-boggling textiles netted the Mie native a Special Prize at the prestigious Taro Okamoto Memorial Contemporary Art Awards in 2015; mainstream recognition followed in 2022 with the video work Kaguya by Gucci, commissioned by the Italian luxury fashion house. Egashira’s triumphs have sparked a reevaluation of his subject matter, with a new generation now embracing the florid Showa bedroom look as kawaii. How did flower prints go from eyesore to endearing? We asked the artist whose blanket bonsai adorns one of the covers of Time Out Japan’s May 2026 special issue (pictured below). Art direction: Steve Nakamura | Photography: Naohiro Tsukada Why did floral-print blankets become so big in Japan in the first place? There are various theories, but someone who works at the bedding manufacturer Nishikawa told me that after the

If you’re planning to travel to or from Haneda Airport in the near future, now’s a good time to pay attention. Released on March 24 2026, our ‘25 things to do along the Tokyo Panorama Line’ guide map highlights the hottest spots in the vicinity of the train line also known as the Tokyo Monorail, which connects the capital’s more convenient airport with Hamamatsucho Station via the southern Tokyo waterfront. Our 25 picks are nothing if not wide-ranging, taking in a floating restaurant ideal for seeing the city from the water, an art supplies lab stocked with traditional East Asian tools and a funky shop selling eats and knick-knacks from Tokyo’s outlying islands, to name just a few highlights.  We’ve also included a round-up of the most spectacular viewpoints along the Panorama Line, plus a map to help you navigate through Haneda to the airport’s monorail station, making the free guide worth picking up for first-time visitors and seasoned Tokyoites alike. Here’s a quick sneak peek of what you can expect: Photo: Sealine Tokyo Symphony Tokyo Bay Cruise is not your standard tourist tootle out-and-back, but a relaxing sightseeing cruise that gives you a fresh perspective on the city. There are multiple sailings from morning to night, and the cruise can be turned into a waterborne meal at one of the boat’s restaurants; options range from French and Italian to sushi and afternoon tea. Photo: Pigment Tokyo The art supplies ‘laboratory’ Pigment Tokyo stocks around 4,500 colour pig

For the past eight years, we’ve made it our mission to scope out the coolest pockets of the world’s greatest cities in order to create our definitive annual ranking. The places where stuff like nightlife, art, culture, and affordable food and drink can be found on every corner and down every backstreet. Where diversity is championed and independent businesses thrive, from old-school boltholes to the newest avant-garde art space. Put simply, the world’s coolest neighbourhoods are places that represent the soul of our cities, while maintaining their own unique local character that draws people in to live, work and play. So, what are the neighbourhoods that fit the bill this year? To find out, we asked our network of writers and editors across a breadth of cities to nominate the vibiest district in their hometown right now. We then ranked every neighbourhood against criteria including culture, community, liveability, nightlife, food and drink, street life and that hard-to-define sense of ‘nowness’.  On our list this year, you’ll find everything from homely, village-like enclaves with tight-knit communities to revitalised city-centre hubs and formerly dormant, industrial areas transformed into creative districts. Many are underrated spots that sit in the shadow of their commercialised counterparts; others have become unexpected culinary hotspots or magnets for the city’s artists, writers and activists. What they all have in common is a DIY spirit – and an unshakeable proclivity f

Right now, it feels like a great time to celebrate our cities. What cities do best is bring people together – everything we love about urban life, from the galleries and bars to the neighbourhood parks, exists thanks to the communities that make it all happen.  That’s why, every year, we raise a toast to the city with our definitive annual ranking, created on the back of a comprehensive survey of city-dwellers worldwide. Our survey asks not only what people love about their cities – the food scene and nightlife, the shops and museums, the parks and people – but also how it feels to live there. We asked you about happiness, affordability and quality of life, among a variety of other criteria. And, in order to dig deeper into the everyday lives of locals, this year we expanded our survey to cover aspects like love, romance and community feel. Time Out’s Best Cities with Intrepid Travel spotlights the destinations that offer the best of both worlds: an endlessly exciting catalogue of reasons to visit, as well as all the good stuff that makes a place feel like home. The 50 cities that made the list this year did so thanks to the insights of more than 24,000 people across 150 cities worldwide. To determine the final Best Cities ranking for 2026, we combined their thousands of responses with the votes of more than 100 Time Out city experts. Then we tapped up our network of local writers to tell us exactly what makes their city worth a visit right now. The result? A rundown of the m

Exploring Tokyo’s liveliest and loudest entertainment district can be draining. Fortunately enough, Kabukicho is home not only to host clubs and ‘happening bars’, but also just the type of hideout we appreciate most when we need a break from the sensory overload. Located only a few steps from the central Toho building and its Godzilla head but down an inconspicuous staircase that effectively separates it from the street-level commotion, Mugi no Oto is a sleek, sparingly lit bar and restaurant focused on vegan grub, natural wine and craft brews. Colourful cans of beer sourced from many of Japan’s leading microbreweries and well-known overseas purveyors – we spotted offerings from Left Hand Brewing, Revision Brewing and G Schneider & Sohn on our most recent visit – decorate the space, along with a lengthy line of wine bottles and some outsized greenery in vases. The rest of the décor is perhaps best described as industrial chic, with worn-metal surfaces, exposed ventilation ducts and bare plaster walls. In contrast, there’s nothing rough about the Italian-inspired food. In addition to ample servings of marinated and grilled greens, you can choose from a brief but thoughtful selection of plant-based eats, including fries and a daily pasta special. Animal-eaters can opt for Kumamoto-made gourmet sausages or fresh rock oysters. On the drinks front, the plentiful line-up of canned beers and bio-wines is complemented by a sake list and a frequently updated assortment of six domestic

While they all try, very few central Osaka hotels below the ultra-luxury range can convincingly present themselves as an oasis of calm in the midst of the ceaseless urban cacophony. Zentis Osaka pulls off said feat effortlessly. Walking past the patch of lush greenery at the entrance and into the compact ground-level lobby with its natural, earthy hues and meditative lighting accomplishes an instant – almost disorienting – separation from the neon-lit, town car-filled streets of buzzy Kita-Shinchi. That feeling of having stepped through a portal is accentuated when you make your way past the lobby’s show-stopping staircase to the adjacent guests-only lounge, complete with a fireplace and decorated with quirky art and crafts inspired by the city. Beyond the wall-size windows lies a small but inviting garden-style terrace, where you can bring a local microbrew or soft drink from the lounge and kick back while admiring plump hydrangeas in June and foliage sparkling in red and orange come autumn. Once you locate the discreetly placed elevator call button and make your way higher up in the skinny 16-storey building, it’s time to see your digs. Zentis Osaka has 212 rooms – including two 57sqm suites – with the 25sqm Studio being the standard offering. Creative layout solutions that minimise storage space, modern-minimalist design, and a calm but playful colour scheme incorporating yellows and blues combine to make the rooms feel airier than the numbers suggest. Still, if you have t

Tokyo has more great music venues than you can shake a drumstick at, with ‘live houses’ of all sizes across the city catering to fans of just about every genre out there. While small, sometimes sticky-floored and always intimate indie joints are our bread and butter, there are times when a proper stadium gig is in order. Good thing, then, that the Tokyo region has one of the planet’s certifiably greatest mega-arenas for music – and no, we aren’t talking about Tokyo Dome or Saitama Super Arena. Photo: Ken CorporationK-Arena Yokohama The venue in question is K-Arena Yokohama, the state-of-the-art 20,000-seater in Minato Mirai, which music business mag IQ earlier this month included on its first ever ‘Arena Stars’ list. Recognising 20 of the world’s best arenas for live music, the honour roll was compiled by a panel of industry professionals based on nominations by IQ readers, and includes venues in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Oceania, as well as Asia. Advertised as one of the largest purpose-built music venues in the world, K-Arena Yokohama opened in September 2023 as part of Yokohama’s growing waterfront Music Terrace complex. In addition to the standing area in front of the stage, the venue has seating across four tiers, extending across a total floor area of over 54,000sqm. Photo: Ken CorporationK-Arena Yokohama The seventh floor is home to a bar and lounge that can seat up to 400 people and looks out to a rather dashing city view. This area is open to conc

Time Out Market Osaka keeps on evolving. Bringing together some of the Kansai region’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs in a stylish basement space just steps away from Osaka Station, the food and cultural market unveiled two new kitchens in May, when revolutionary ramen shop Tenmei and fish and chips masters Furai Guys set up shop. And the Market is only picking up the pace in June, with four new eateries set to start serving hungry visitors by the end of the month. Here’s how the restaurant line-up at Time Out Market Osaka will expand over the coming weeks. Photo: Time Out Market OsakaLe Chef du Mois Le Chef du Mois Opened June 11 First up is a new concept from decorated restaurateur Yasushi Karato, a pioneer of vegetable-focused French cuisine. Le Chef du Mois serves as a showcase for some of the city’s most in-demand culinary minds. A different guest chef will be helming the kitchen every month, putting their distinctive spin on the only food menu item available. That offering is a three-course meal (¥2,000) composed of soup, a meaty main dish and a vegetable-forward platter that diners can customise by picking their favourites from the eight kinds of fresh, seasonal produce available at the counter. The kitchen serves only 100 meals per day, so you’d best get there before the greens run out. Psst: Le Chef du Mois also does three kinds of veggie smoothies, which are available in two sizes: 130ml (¥500) and 270ml (¥990). Photo: Time Out Market OsakaK-chicken from

Damp mist hangs over the verdant mountains all around us when we step off the Chuo line at Uenohara, a single-platform station overlooking the Katsura River, just west of the Tokyo-Yamanashi border. Strolling across the rain-drizzled town, we head for the foothills, following a narrow road through a Ghibli-esque tunnel and past unwieldy greenery. Photo: Keisuke TanigawaCineYama After a 20-minute walk, we arrive at our destination: a kindergarten where time appears to have stopped. There’s a reassuringly sturdy-looking yellow gate, trippy vintage playground equipment in the yard, even boxes for students and teachers to put their outdoor shoes in when changing into the uwabaki slippers kids throughout Japan wear every day in school. Photo: Keisuke TanigawaCineYama But only in five-year-olds’ dreams do kindergartens have a neon popcorn sign. And this particular preschool no longer teaches kids how to wash their hands and fold origami. It’s been painstakingly transformed into CineYama – a destination for film fans of all ages, who come to expand their cinematic horizons in a place defined by a love for movies. Out with the bugs, in with the boom The one-screen movie theatre is set in a building that formerly housed the city’s Sawamatsu Kindergarten. The structure had been left to decay after the school’s closure a decade ago and was in rough shape when Matthew Kelson, CineYama’s proprietor, first came across it. ‘It looked pretty from the outside,’ Kelson says, ‘but the inter

Time Out Market Osaka is on a roll. Fresh off announcing two exciting new kitchens just a couple of weeks ago, the foodie and cultural hub bringing together the best of the city under one roof is back with another tasty notification. The latest addition to the Market’s strong restaurant line-up is Furai Guys, a casual spot that serves up time-honoured British pub grub like fish and chips, scotch eggs and fish cakes – all made with high-quality Kansai ingredients including fresh fish, locally grown aonori and Osakan shichimi chilli blends. Opened on May 8, Furai Guys brings some serious culinary pedigree to the table. The kitchen is the brainchild of Philipp Mosimann, son of chef Anton Mosimann, whose namesake private dining club in London’s Belgravia is a favourite among some of the most famous folks on the planet. The Mosimanns and Osaka go way back, with the Swiss-born Anton having served as the head chef of his native country’s pavilion at the Osaka Expo in 1970. Philipp, meanwhile, was involved in the running of several pavilions at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, and Furai Guys is presented as a way for the family to further strengthen and celebrate its bonds to the city. Photo: Time Out Market OsakaOsaka Bay Salad from Furai Guys As for the menu, you’ll want to start with the shop’s elevated take on the classic fish and chips (¥1,800). Other enticing options include a miso-glaced version of that signature dish, as well as an Osaka Bay Salad (¥1,500) combining local eggpla

Fresh off celebrating its first anniversary in March, Time Out Market Osaka has established itself as a foodie and cultural hub of the city. Bringing together some of the Kansai region’s most celebrated chefs and restaurateurs in a stylish basement space just steps away from Osaka Station, the market has also won fans for its diverse programme of music and arts events and family-friendly happenings. The market’s first major move in its second year in business, however, sees the focus placed squarely on food. Two new kitchens will start business in the coming months, and the just-announced entrants sure look enticing. First up is ramen restaurant Tenmei, which will open at the market on May 1. A collaborative effort between venerated Osaka noodle shop Jinrui Mina Menrui (aka ‘Human Beings Everybody Noodles’) and sake sommelier Keita Akaboshi, Tenmei pledges to upend the city’s ramen scene with a subversive soup that contains nothing but pure water and the finest soy sauce. Doing away entirely with dashi broth – an essential Osaka ingredient – while offering sake pairings curated by Akaboshi, the shop looks to treat Time Out Market guests to a next-level ramen experience. And chances are it’ll be successful: after all, Jinrui Mina Menrui’s proprietor Takahiro Matsumura already runs nearly 100 noodle joints across Japan and once sent ramen ingredients into space to test the effects of cosmic rays on them (yes, really). In June, the market’s line-up of kitchens will be further re

The spring holiday season is upon us and Tokyo is gearing up for another glorious Golden Week, packed with food festivals, art exhibitions, floral splendour, outdoor cinemas and so much more. So packed, in fact, that deciding what to do and what to skip can induce some serious FOMO; our full roundup of certifiably great Golden Week events includes a dizzying 44 entries. That’s why we’re also bringing you this best-of-the-best list with Time Out Tokyo editors’ personal favourites – tried and tested happenings extremely unlikely to disappoint. Some of them will leave you with lasting memories, others with a belly full of gyoza and beer. Regardless, they’re all great reasons to get out of the house or hotel room and enjoy the city in what’s usually superb spring weather. 1. Ome Grand Festival, May 2–3 Photo: hamuken/Pixta Picked by: Christopher House, Associate Editor What is it? The Ome Grand Festival is a massive two-day celebration of epic proportions that certainly lives up to its name. Each of Ome's neighbourhoods parades a dashi float through the streets. Musicians sit atop the floats in traditional garb, while costumed dancers move to the beat. Things really heat up when the floats get close to one another and a mini-dance battle ensues. Musical shenanigans aside, you can feast to your heart’s content at the hundreds of food and drink stalls scattered throughout the area serving up local delicacies. Why I recommend it: The festive energy of an entire city celebrating al

A cluster of neon-lit streets lined with multifarious adult entertainment businesses, Kabukicho is the ultimate symbol for Tokyo’s sinful side. As such, it feels only right that the Shinjuku district is also fast becoming the city’s premier hub for the display of erotic art. Since summer 2025, the Kabukicho-based Smappa!Group has hosted a pair of much-discussed and evidently popular exhibitions focused on Shunga, or traditional Japanese erotica. And now they’re making it a threesome with ‘A Contest of Allure: Hokusai and Eisen – Kabukicho in Full Bloom’, on show at the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage and the disused host club Bond until May 31. Photo: Kisa ToyoshimaShinjuku Kabukicho Noh Stage Photo: Kisa ToyoshimaBond Delving into the considerable oeuvre of titillating imagery created by two Edo-period (1603–1868) masters of ukiyo-e woodblock prints, the exhibition includes a limited-time display of what’s likely the world’s most recognisable Shunga artwork. Tentacle time Photo: Kisa ToyoshimaKatsushika Hokusai, ‘The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife’ from ‘Kinoe no Komatsu’ The hands-down highlight of ‘A Contest of Allure’ is Katsushika Hokusai’s The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, a work first published in the 1814 Shunga book Kinoe no Komatsu (‘Pine Seedlings on the First Rat Day’). Familiar to fans of the hit TV show Mad Men and a source of inspiration for countless modern-day manga and anime pornographers, this depiction of a lustful encounter between a woman and a pair o

Tokyo is one of the world’s great art hubs – a city that offers a nearly endless variety of amazing exhibitions, free galleries and public art. With that level of abundance, choosing the best museum in the capital is an order about as tall as the Skytree, so we’ll settle for naming the most popular. Helping us crown the people’s champ is The Art Newspaper’s annual survey of museum visitor numbers around the world. Published on March 31 2026, the 2025 edition of the authoritative study lists the 100 most visited art museums in the world, including 6 institutions in Tokyo and one in Yokohama. Photo: Courtesy of Tokyo National MuseumTokyo National Museum To no one’s surprise, Tokyo’s most popular museum in 2025 was the Tokyo National Museum, which ranked 23rd in the world with a cool 2,576,118 visitors – a 6 percent increase from 2024. Devoted to Japanese arts and antiquities from prehistory to the modern era, the country’s oldest and largest museum is an essential stop for visitors to Tokyo and a gift that keeps giving for us locals. Photo: teamLabteamLab Planets But the National Museum can’t rest on its laurels if it’s to hold on to the No 1 spot, as teamLab Planets, No 24 on the global list, is already threatening to overtake the Ueno oldie. The digital-art depository in Toyosu welcomed 2,516,719 guests in 2025, a year that saw the museum unveil 20 new works. Among the standout pieces is ‘Catching Collecting Extinct Forest’, a dazzling, rainbow-hued world where long-gone

If you’ve ever walked from Shinjuku Station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government buildings, chances are you’ve used the partially tunneled passageway connecting the world’s busiest train station with Shinjuku Central Park to the west. Officially called Avenue No 4, it’s nobody’s choice for most attractive road in Tokyo; the Showa-coded underground section in particular can be downright grimy, despite repeated attempts over the years to rejuvenate it. Photo: Imran Ahmed/DreamstimeThe tunneled part of Avenue 4 on the west side of Shinjuku Station in an undated stock photo But over the coming decade, if the city government’s plans come to fruition, Avenue 4 will be transformed into an eminently walkable corridor adorned with art and lush greenery. The tunneled section will made bright and welcoming, with space for exhibitions and events, while the western half is set to feature wide footpaths and plenty of benches shaded by trees in a style reminiscent of Marunouchi Naka-dori on the other side of town. Image: Courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government Image: Courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government The ambitious redevelopment scheme for the road, unveiled by the TMG on March 30, is part of a bigger and already ongoing project that also encompasses, for instance, replacing the labyrinthine 1960s multi-level plaza at Shinjuku Station’s west exit and sprucing up Shinjuku Central Park. Image: Courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government So when will this all be finished? The im

Netflixを消してソファから立ち上がり、映画館へ足を運ぶには、今や何か特別な理由が必要になっている。それを容易にしてくれるのが、特徴のある優れた映画館だ。 しかし、「新宿シネマカリテ」や池袋の「シネ リーブル池袋」といった、映画ファンに人気の映画館が最近閉館したことからも分かるように状況は厳しい。東京ですら、独立系映画館が絶滅危惧種のような存在になりつつあるが、それでもこの首都には、世界でも指折りの素晴らしい映画館が存在している。 その事実は、Time Out World Wideが発表した「世界の最高の映画館100選」にも表れており、東京エリアからは3館がランクインした。 中でも、池袋が存在感を際立たせている。IMAXの殿堂ともいえる「グランドシネマサンシャイン 池袋」が33位、その近くにある「新文芸坐」は52位にランクイン。さらに横浜の「シネマ ジャック＆ベティ」も世界ランキング90位と、トップ100入りを果たした。 Photo: Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuroグランドシネマサンシャイン 池袋 グランドシネマサンシャイン 池袋 は、「大きいほど良い」を体現している映画館だ。2019年にオープンした池袋の巨大複合映画館で、パンデミックが世界中の映画館に壊滅的な打撃を与える直前にオープンした。10階にわたって12のスクリーンを擁し、約2500人を収容できる豪華な座席を備えている。 上層階へ向かう途中は、まるで映画史をたどるような「ギャラリー」。『メトロポリス』や『東京物語』から『ジョーズ』『万引き家族』まで、140枚の映画ポスターが並んでいる。 アメリカンスタイルのダイナーや、壮観な街の眺めが楽しめるスカイラウンジを通り過ぎてさらに上へ進むと、日本最大のIMAXスクリーンが現れる。スクリーンは2フロア分の高さがあり、幅25.8メートル、高さ18.9メートルという巨大サイズだ。 Photo: Keisuke Tanigawa新文芸坐 一方、新文芸坐は、多くの映画ファンが通った「文芸坐」を引き継ぐ名画座として知られている。2本立て上映や土曜のオールナイト上映が有名で、テーマはゴジラからゲイリー・オールドマン（Gary Oldman）、さらにはソビエト連邦時代のSFまで幅広い。 客席は266と、東京の独立系映画館の中では最大級の規模を誇る。洋画から邦画までを含む、愛情を込めてキュレーションされたプログラムは常に入れ替わるため、いつ訪れても新しい作品に出合えるだろう。 ラウンジエリアには、映画関連書籍のライブラリーも併設されている。 画像提供：シネマ ジャック＆ベティシネマ ジャック＆ベティ 最後に、横浜のシネマ ジャック＆ベティは、かつて映画館に囲まれた通りに面している。1991年、当時1スクリーンだった「横浜名画座」が2つに分割され、一つは時代劇、もう一つは恋愛映画を上映するようになった際、日本の英語教科書の登場人物に由来する「ジャック＆ベティ」と改名された。 現在、同館は新しいインディーズ映画の才能を応援している。『ドライブ・マイ・カー』（2021年）で「第94回米アカデミー賞」で「国際長編映画賞」を受賞した濱口竜介は、早くも2010年には知られた存在だった。 同ランキングには選ばれなかったが、都内にはほかにも究極の映画体験ができる劇場がある。気になる人は、『東京、最高の設備を備える映画館』をチェックしてほしい。 関連記事 『90年代英国カルチャーをスクリーンで体感、109シネマズプレミアム新宿で特集

A shared obsession with tentacles is no longer the only thing tying together cult horror writer HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos and the artistic universe of ukiyo-e master Katsushika Hokusai. In the work of Japanese graphic designer and illustrator Goki Yamada, Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Shoggoths and many other unspellable regulars of Lovecraftian demonology take over some of Hokusai’s most recognisable woodblock prints, emerging from the waves off Kanagawa and peeking out from behind Mt Fuji. © Goki Yamada | Photo: Two Virgins PR The Kanagawa-based Yamada, aka Goking, has been dropping his collages of cosmic horror online and in self-published tomes for years, but now his works are finally set to be available in a medium suited to their majesty. Dropping on March 24, the 128-page, B5-sized Jashin sanju-rokkei (‘Thirty-six Views of the Old Gods’) art book contains monstrous versions of all 46 prints in Hokusai’s iconic ‘Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’ series, including nine all-new artworks as well as in-depth commentary by Yamada. In addition to the book, priced at ¥3,080, Tokyo-based publisher Two Virgins has announced a line of exclusive merchandise adorned with Yamada’s artwork, including three T-shirt designs (¥6,050 each), a 35x60cm desk mat (¥3,850) and the obligatory clear file (¥660). Photo via Otonari © Goki Yamada | Photo: Two Virgins PRClear file True connoisseurs can opt for vibrant fine-art prints of five works: B2-size reproductions (¥55,000 each) are availabl

If you thought Osaka’s time in the global spotlight ended with the conclusion of last year’s World Expo, think again. The city is thriving right now, with a constant stream of exciting openings and events, not to mention Time Out Market Osaka’s anniversary celebrations, setting the stage for what’s sure to be a historic sakura season. The Expo’s considerable momentum is being kept alive too, with beloved mascot Myaku-Myaku embarking on a prefecture-wide tour and the grand Expo fireworks set to be restaged in April. Selected installations from the Expo site will also be showcased at venues across the region. The buzz is reflected in Time Out’s annual Best Cities survey, which has just ranked Osaka as the No 39 city in the world for 2026, ahead of the likes of Chicago, Vienna and Lisbon. It’s an achievement worth highlighting, as Osaka has never made the top 50 before. Now in its tenth anniversary year, the worldwide Best Cities list is compiled based on the insights of more than 24,000 people across 150 cities around the globe, combined with the votes of more than 100 Time Out city experts. The survey it’s based on asks not only what people love about their cities – the food scene and nightlife, the shops and museums, the parks and people – but also how it feels to live there, with questions touching on everything from happiness and quality of life to romance and community feel. The result is a comprehensive rundown of the most exciting places to live in and to explore in 2026