Things to do in Tokyo today

Showa Kinen Park is the most beautiful in autumn, with the maple and ginkgo trees blushing in fiery red and yellow respectively. The ginkgo trees are the first to turn and you can see two boulevards of the golden yellow trees as soon as you enter the park’s Tachikawa gate. These trees are expected to turn full yellow in mid-November. The momiji and kaede trees, however, present their signature vermillion hues a bit later towards the end of November. During this season, the park stays open after dark, with special light-ups taking place at the Gingko Tree Avenue (near the futsal and basketball courts) and the traditional Japanese Garden from 4.30pm until 8.30pm. While you can enjoy the light-ups at Gingko Tree Avenue with just the park's regular admission fee (¥450, free for junior high school students and younger), you need an extra ticket to enter the Japanese Garden (advance ticket online ¥1,200, primary and junior high school students ¥600; same-day tickets sold at Komorebi House close to the Japanese Garden ¥1,300, ¥700). Tickets to enter the Japanese Garden are now available to purchase online. Note that the main entrance for this year's event is the Nishi-Tachikawa gate, a 2-minute walk away from Nishi-Tachikawa Station on the Ome Line. 

The 400m-long Keyakizaka Street next to the Roppongi Hills shopping centre is lighting up with 800,000 sparkling white and blue LEDs until Christmas Day. From the pedestrian bridge near the Roppongi Hills Arena, you'll get a stunning view of the trees covered in shimmering lights, with Tokyo Tower in the background, from 5pm to 11pm daily. 

Among the illustrated characters that emerged in Japan across the second half of the 20th century, and continue to capture hearts both at home and across the globe, none represents the phenomenon better than Hello Kitty. With a half-century now having passed since the cartoon feline was introduced by the Sanrio company, this major exhibition looks at how Kitty-chan’s design has evolved over decades of cultural change: without ever losing that innate charm that has endeared her to generation after generation. The largest collection of Hello Kitty goods ever amassed in one place, as well as video content and other media, gradually reveals the secrets to this character’s appeal: how besides keeping pace with the times while simultaneously transcending them, Hello Kitty can mirror the day-to-day moods of each and every fan. Highlights include collaboration pieces created with well-known artists and designers, and a series of immersive photo spots featuring not only Kitty-chan but also other faces from the Sanrio stable, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll.

French-born artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) has long loomed large over Roppongi Hills: her outdoor sculpture of a gigantic spider, named ‘Maman’, is a local landmark. The sprawling development’s Mori Art Museum, then, is a fitting venue for this major retrospective of one of the most important artists of the past century. As explored by Bourgeois’ first large-scale Japanese solo exhibition in over 25 years, fear was an ongoing motivation over her seven-decade career. This fear, however, was not the arachnophobia that one might suppose, given the formidable ‘Maman’. Rather, Bourgeois’ work was driven in part by fear of abandonment; something rooted in her complex and sometimes traumatic childhood. Through her famed oversized sculptures, installations, drawings, paintings and other mediums, she confronted painful personal memories while simultaneously channelling them into work that expresses universal emotions and psychological states. Across three exhibition ‘chapters’ that each explore a different aspect of family relationships, highlights include the ‘Femme Maison’ series of paintings from the 1940s. These works, which decades later were championed by the feminist movement, each depict a female figure whose top half is obscured by a house which protects yet imprisons her. Bourgeois’ extensive use of the spider motif, meanwhile, is examined in depth. As hinted at by the landmark ‘Maman’ (the French equivalent of ‘mummy’), for Bourgeois the spider was symbolic of the moth

Mt Takao is one of the most picturesque destinations in Tokyo to see autumn leaves. And one of the best ways to do that is by taking the scenic cable car ride, which brings you closer to the mountain’s Yakuoin temple. Here you can sample shojin ryori, a traditional Japanese Buddhist vegetarian meal. Throughout the duration of the festival, you can also look forward to a host of free events at Kiyotaki Station, the cable car stop at the base of Mt Takao, including musical and dance performances by local university students. Check the website for the schedule. As it’s the case every year, the base of Mt Takao will be crowded in autumn, so it’s best to arrive via public transport.

British Olympic gold medallist and four-time world champion diver Tom Daley is showcasing his creative side in his first solo exhibition of knitwear at Parco Museum Tokyo. Aside from winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Daley also garnered worldwide adoration for his artistic skills after being photographed knitting in between competitions at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. The exhibition presents around 20 of Daley’s favourite knitted works as well as knitting tutorial videos by Daley himself. On the opening day of the exhibition, Daley will be present at the gallery to host a workshop (applications closed). Later, a charity auction of Tom’s knitwear will take place online from November 8 to November 25. Visitors will be gifted a postcard featuring knitting instructions for ‘Tom’s Friendship Bracelet’ (while supplies last).

Get ready to embark on a journey through the world of Japanese whisky at the Nikka Whisky Tokyo. Opened in August to celebrate Nikka Whisky’s 90th anniversary, this flagship bar by the renowned distillery offers a unique drinking experience for whiskey enthusiasts. On the menu are a list of classic cocktails as well as new and innovative concoctions created in collaboration with 13 of the country’s most prestigious bars. The Nikka Whiskey Tokyo is divided into two sections. The Lounge-Meet serves up classic cocktails for people new to whisky and cocktails. With ever-popular drinks such as the Old Fashioned (¥1,600) and fruity Clover Club (¥1,500), this section is perfect for those looking to venture into the world of whiskey.  Whisky aficionados, on the other hand, might prefer the Bar-Explore section, where classic cocktails take on new and unexpected twists. Bartenders from award-winning establishments in Tokyo such as Bar Benfiddich, Virtù, Tokyo Confidential, The SG Club and more have developed a cocktail each exclusively for this flagship bar.  Advance reservations recommended. Check the event website for more details. Drinking under the age of 20 and drink driving are prohibited by law.

Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the most magnificent parks in Tokyo, and if you need another reason to visit this top attraction, this two-week-long chrysanthemum exhibition is it. Just as cherry blossom is the representation of spring in Japan, chrysanthemum (or kiku in Japanese) is the symbol of autumn. More importantly, it is the ‘royal flower’ of Japan – the Imperial Seal of Japan is also known as the Chrysanthemum Seal. At Shinjuku Gyoen, this annual exhibition (since 1929) highlights the regal blooms under protective awnings. They are a sight to behold, and perfect for your Instagram, too. There’s no separate ticket to see this exhibition but you do have to pay the park entrance fee of ¥500 (high school students ¥250, free for younger children).  

The 1.2-kilometre-long Marunouchi Naka-dori street, always one of the most popular Tokyo illumination spots, will have around 280 trees lit up with about 820 thousand low-energy, champagne-coloured LEDs this year, making for an environmentally friendly and stylish display. If you’d rather stay cosy while admiring the lights, visit the newly renovated Marunouchi House, where the seventh-floor terrace will feature festive illuminations for a limited time. The terrace has plenty of seats surrounded by outdoor heaters. Closer to Christmas, Gyoko-dori between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station will have more illuminations between November 28 and December 25.

The shining full moon looms large in both the autumn night sky and Japanese cultural tradition that is so deeply rooted in nature. This event, at one of Japan’s most lavishly decorated hotels, brings together these two elements and mixes in a third element of contemporary art, in an aesthetic celebration of a natural phenomenon that has enchanted humanity for millennia. From traditional moon-viewing season in early October, multiple rooms and spaces around the hotel’s Hyakudan Kaidan (‘The Hundred Stairs’, a designated tangible cultural property that spans seven storeys) host lunar-centric artworks ranging from Edo-period (1603-1868) woodblock prints to stunning, hi-tech projection-mapping installations. Highlights include 20 prints by artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, who is considered the last great master of ukiyo-e (woodblock print) painting and printmaking, and a selection of works by contemporary artists, in which the moon was rendered using a wide variety of techniques including glass and Japanese washi paper. Across the ornate interiors of seven rooms, meanwhile, projection mapping helps conjure up a two-metre-wide full moon that shines above a series of installations inspired by ukiyo-e depictions of moonlit autumnal scenes. The exhibition is open daily, but closed on Tuesday November 5.