September 2024 events, festivals and things to do in Tokyo

Sanrio is going all out in 2024, as this year marks a grand occasion – Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary. While there have been a host of special events and collabs to commemorate the girl-cat’s big five-o, the festivities are not over just yet. Soon, a special Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Cafe will be opening for a limited time in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya in September through October.

The incredibly cute anniversary café will have a red theme. It’s set to offer a special menu including this two-tiered afternoon tea set (¥6,590) with a variety of adorable Kitty-themed food. The afternoon tea set features both Hello Kitty and her twin, Hello Mimmy.

Tokyo's Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Cafe will take over Box Cafe & Space in Shibuya 109 from September 13 to October 27. Reservations are now open and can be made online for a fee of ¥600. 

In teamLab's new pop-up exhibition in collaboration with the Galaxy store in Harajuku, the digital art collective's enchanted forest has been transformed into an underwater fantasy. This latest installation is also an interactive one, where visitors can use smartphones to catch, study and release the colourful sea creatures they encounter in the space. There's a great variety of marine animals to see, including fish like tuna as well as aquatic creatures that are endangered or extinct. 

To catch a creature to study it, you can use the designated app on a Galaxy smartphone to scan fish swimming in the space, or throw out a 'Study Net' towards the floor if you see something interesting darting around your feet. 

Each session is an hour-long, with daily exhibitions open from 11am until 7pm. 

Note: an end date for this exhibition has yet to be announced.