One of the best things about Tokyo is that there’s always something new. You’ll need to deal with the fear of missing out, but it goes hand in hand with the joy of constant novelty and discovery. Speaking of which, here’s our discovery of what’s new in Tokyo this month.
1. Harry Potter Mahodokoro Shop & Harry Potter Café
Magic has no expiry date and neither has our love for whimsical worlds, in this case, the one of Harry Potter. Harry Potter Mahodokoro is a new shop for all your wizardry needs, opening its doors on June 16 in Akasaka Biz Tower. Some of the announced products are bags and pouches featuring the Deathly Hallows and the Dark Mark.
For all those unable to portal themselves to Tokyo anytime soon, there’s also an online store. Those who do make it there first, though, might get their hands on a limited-edition Sorting Hat tote bag with a purchase of ¥6,600 or more (tax included).
There will also be a Harry Potter Café in Akasaka Biz Tower. It will have a pre-opening period from June 16 to July 7, followed by a Grand Opening on July 8. The café will offer whimsical food such as grilled cheese sandwiches themed around Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin colors, owl-themed bites, drinks resembling magic potions and more. Reservations required.
2. Kiki’s Delivery Service Magical Pop-up
For more magic, you can turn to the one created by Studio Ghibli. The beloved Japanese animation studio has several merchandise shops, but there’s one coming in June dedicated only to Kiki’s Delivery Service. More specifically, to Kiki’s mom Kokiri, a senior witch. It’s a limited period pop-up and it offers new products not available in the other Donguri Closet shops that sell Ghibli merchandise.
The pop-up shop will be in Marunouchi between June 7 and June 20.
3. Ekolokal Slow Ecolab Café
Ekolokal is a start-up that has a mission to promote an easy eco-friendly lifestyle to as many people as possible. The focus is on food as well as organizing events and workshops, like eco-shopping for example.
Ekolokal recently opened Slow Ecolab, an all-vegan café in Otsuka. The hand-kneaded pizza, the hummus and the matcha latte have already become favorites among the first customers.
True to Ekolokal’s eco values, all ingredients are organic, with no or minimal pesticides used. Zero waste is one of Ekolokal’s core values, so they sell domestic and high-quality ingredients and goods by weight at the café. It’s bring-your-own-container, a rule also in place if you want takeout food from Slow Ecolab. It’s also planning to start full-scale composting of organic garbage in the store. The goal is to produce no garbage by the end of the year.
From June onwards, Slow Ecolab will hold a farmer’s market on Saturdays, in partnership with organic farmers.
4. Art Aquarium Museum Ginza
The popular summer exhibition of countless goldfish in elaborately sculpted and lit-up aquariums has become a year-long affair. Art Aquarium Museum Ginza opened its doors in May 2022. It’s located on the eighth floor of the Ginza Mitsukoshi New Annex Building and it covers much more ground than the previous summer exhibitions. It’s divided into 11 areas, nine of which are exhibits. The other two spaces are a gift shop and a photo booth.
In addition to fish, the museum draws aesthetic inspiration from Japanese traditional arts such as origami and paper lanterns, around which some of the aquariums are themed.
Art Aquarium will also collaborate with various artists. The first one is Shogo Kariyazaki, a leading Japanese flower arrangement artist.
5. Dinner and Fireflies at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo
Fireflies are a symbol of summer nights, but there’s rarely a chance to see them in urban cities. Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo has gone through a lot of work to change that, releasing hundreds of fireflies in the hotel’s famous garden back in January. The fireflies were raised in Nagano by a team of specialists. They started emerging in the garden in mid-May and are expected to twinkle around for all of June. If you’re lucky you still might be able to see them in early July.
Via the hotel’s website, you can book the special buffet dinner plan that offers a view of the garden full of fireflies. There are two seatings per evening and a ¥1,000 discount if you book online. The buffet plan lasts until July 3.
Alternatively, you can purchase a ticket to the Chinzanso garden, if you just fancy a stroll among the fireflies. It’s open to non-hotel and restaurant guests.
