March 2025 events in Tokyo

The Nihonbashi neighbourhood is once again celebrating sakura season with all things pink. The first floor plaza at Coredo Muromachi Terrace is decked out with pink noren curtains. There are seven designs, each inspired by a different variety of cherry blossoms, like someiyoshino, okame-zakura and kawazu-zakura. There are also a few events, including a pop-up bar on March 21 and live music performances scheduled for March 27, March 29 and March 30. 

Swing by for the Nihonbashi Sakura Yatai on March 29 and 30 and you'll find a host of food and drink stalls around Fukutoku Shrine, representing restaurants, department stores, hotels and other major businesses in Nihonbashi. You can also expect sakura-themed cocktails, bento boxes, pastries and course meals at about 240 venues in the neighbourhood. Check the list of participating outlets on the website.

Come evening, Nihonbashi’s Edo Sakuradori street will light up with pastel pink-coloured illuminations. You’ll find glowing cherry blossoms along the Mitsui Main Building as well as outside shopping malls and office buildings including Ovol Nihonbashi, Coredo Muromachi Terrace, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, Mitsukoshi and more.

Happening for two consecutive days on March 29 and 30, this massive festival featuring over 300 stores returns for the second time this spring. Lovers of vintage goods and bread, rejoice – this event combines Japan’s largest European antique flea market with the country’s most extensive bread market.

Around 80 bakeries will set up shop in the latter area, including Siro, a bakery run by the former patissier of D’une rarete, a popular canelé shop in Azabu-Juban.

In the antiques area, expect to see more than 100 noted antique shops from all over the country gather to sell European tableware, vintage clothing, furniture, accessories and more.

Be sure to check the English language event website for more details.

Yebisu Brewery Tokyo is holding a collaborative art exhibit between Yebisu Beer and manga artist Hirohiko Araki, creator of the bestselling series Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Widely known for his unique artistic style and poses, Araki was invited to collaborate with Yebisu Beer to draw bijin-ga portraits inspired by advertisements produced by the brewery in the early 1900s. Bijin-ga is a term used for portraits of beautiful women in Japanese art, and the style was often applied to beer advertisements back in the day. 

The exhibit will display Araki’s two three-metre tall modern interpretations of bijin-ga, drawn in his signature vivid style: ‘Western’ and ‘Peach Patrol.’ Don’t forget to get the limited-edition Araki-designed Ebisu Beer cans and merch on your way out, as they’re being released in limited quantities.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, who passed away in 2023 aged 71, was one of Japan's most globally influential musicians and composers. He also had a talent for creating multimedia art and became a prominent social activist, concerned with pacifism and environmental issues.

For much of the past two decades, Sakamoto focused upon three-dimensional sound installations, and these comprise the bulk of this show. A series of these immersive large-scale works unfolds around the MOT's vast exhibition spaces to mesmerising effect. The outdoor 'Sunken Terrace', for example, plays host to a literal 'fog sculpture' titled 'Life-Well Tokyo', produced in collaboration with artists Shiro Takatani, of Dumb Type and Fujiko Nakaya. Inside several works draw upon the music that Sakamoto created for his 2017 album 'async', a recording that pursued asynchronicity in a bid to create entirely 'untraditional' music. Indoor and out, together these pieces form a poignant tribute to a much-missed member of the creative community. 

Experience traditional Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints in motion at Warehouse Terrada this winter, as digital creative company Hitohata returns to Tokyo with a dazzling exhibition of works by many of Japan’s most prized artists, including Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige.

The exhibition is set to open on December 21 and will go on until March 31. Expect to see vibrant artworks come to life with surging waves, falling sakura petals and moving flowers and trees.

In addition to the digital exhibits, the museum will display a selection of famous ukiyo-e from the Edo period (1603–1867), making for a perfect chance to learn more about the art form’s history and culture.

Tickets are currently on sale online, with early-bird ticket discounts available from kkday, eplus and Lawson Ticket until Dec 20. 

Few works of anime have left as profound a mark on Japan’s pop-cultural landscape as Space Battleship Yamato. Directed by the legendary mangaka Leiji Matsumoto, the sci-fi epic was first aired in 1974 and revolutionised the medium, introducing a sweeping narrative, complex characters, and a cinematic approach that would influence generations of creators.

The series follows the battleship Yamato on its desperate 296,000-light-year journey to save Earth from extinction, weaving a tale of heroism, sacrifice and resilience. With its captivating storylines and stunning mechanical designs, Space Battleship Yamato became a cornerstone of anime history, inspiring countless adaptations, sequels and remakes.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the epic series, the ‘Space Battleship Yamato Complete Record Exhibition’ will be held at Seibu Shibuya from March 15 to March 31. Fans will have the chance to explore original proposals, character and mechanical design drawings, background artwork, and animated cels from the series’ production.

Planned and produced by acclaimed director Hideaki Anno, who has spoken about his deep gratitude for the influence Yamato has had on his life and career, the exhibition promises a treasure trove of rare and never-before-seen materials, allowing new generations to appreciate the series’ ground-breaking legacy.

Spanish-born Joan Miró (1893-1983) has long been considered one of the most important artists of the twentieth century; revered for his poetic transformation of nature-derived shapes such as the moon and stars into abstract symbols. In this major retrospective, the various phases of Miró's career are presented together in Japan for the first time. Overseen by the Fundació Joan Miró, based in the artist's birthplace of Barcelona, this exhibition sees masterpieces held in collections across the world brought to Tokyo, to form a comprehensive overview of an artistic practice that encompassed painting, ceramics, sculpture and more.

Post-impressionistic early works, such as the 1919 self-portrait, give way to a resolutely surrealist approach as Miró becomes involved in the artistic current then sweeping Paris, where he spent much of the 1920s and '30s. The subsequent three decades then see the artist develop and hone the singular style with which he is most associated, exemplified here by exhibition highlight 'The Morning Star' (1940) and other selections from his 'Constellations' series. Finally, the show highlights how, even in his final years, Miró continued his lifelong search for new modes of expression.

The exhibition is closed on Mondays (except April 28, May 5) as well as May 7.

The work of Kei Imazu, a Japanese-born artist now based in Indonesia, explores how technological innovations have the power to influence human perception. Now, with Imazu increasingly gaining global attention, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery presents her first major solo exhibition.

Tactile, 'traditional' artistic tools and materials meet digital imaging tech in Imazu's experimental approaches. Images sourced from a diversity of media are digitally sampled and processed, before being combined on canvas with oil painting. Elements from history and mythology, including those of her adopted Indonesia, join present-day concerns such as environmental issues and ecofeminism to form large-scale, analogue-digital collages that are truly of their time.

This exhibition is closed on Mondays (except January 13 and February 24) as well as January 14, February 9 and February 25.

The Mori Arts Center Gallery takes you on a journey into the heart of one of the most enigmatic civilisations in history through a selection of masterpieces from the prestigious Egyptian collection of the Brooklyn Museum. Around 150 artefacts will be on display, ranging from monumental sculptures to delicate jewellery, ornate sarcophagi, pottery, human and animal mummies, and precious papyri.

Guided by renowned Egyptologist Yukinori Kawae, visitors are invited to explore three millennia of history through three thematic sections. The first focuses on the daily lives of the people of ancient Egypt, while the second section is devoted to the figure of the pharaoh, holder of absolute power. Works related to twelve iconic kings are presented, tracing the evolution of the dynasty and the representation of the rulers.

The final section explores ancient Egyptians’ beliefs about life after death. Grave goods, ritual instruments and reliefs depicting deities are on display, providing insight into the reasons for and techniques of mummification.

As his nickname ‘God of Manga’ suggests, the Osaka-born Osamu Tezuka (1928–1989) revolutionised Japanese manga and animation, shaping the industry into what it is today. His immense creativity and pioneering storytelling introduced the world to classics such as Astro Boy, Black Jack and Kimba the White Lion. The artist himself, however, considered Phoenix (Hinotori) his magnum opus. A profound and ambitious saga exploring the nature of life, death and reincarnation, the Phoenix narrative follows humanity’s relentless pursuit of immortality through the mythical bird whose blood grants eternal life, alternating between the distant past and far future. 

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of this landmark work, the first large-scale Phoenix exhibition will take place from March 7 to May 25 at Tokyo City View in Roppongi Hills. Featuring over 800 pieces spanning the manga’s twelve main arcs, the exhibition will not only showcase original artworks and manuscripts; it’ll also invite visitors to explore Tezuka's conclusion, left unfinished following the artist’s untimely death in 1989.

By merging art, philosophy and science, ‘Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix Exhibition’ offers a fresh perspective on one of manga’s greatest masterpieces, conveying Tezuka’s visionary legacy to new generations.