Shibuya Sky Opens a Rooftop Bar
Open for a limited time from April 28 until November 30, this popular open rooftop also has a bar. You can enjoy drinks and snacks on the sofa seats and standing tables while overlooking the skyscrapers in Shibuya and beyond. Drinks include an original craft beer created for Shibuya Sky by urban microbrewery Y.Y.G. Brewery in Yoyogi, Shibuya. There are a la carte snacks and drinks, as well as set packages that include drinks and a guaranteed sofa seat that you can purchase with your entrance tickets.
Artist, Programmer and DJ Daito Manabe has prepared a special Shibuya Sky mix. Check out the official website for further updates and new announcements.
Nakagin Capsule Preservation
Much to the chagrin of architecture fans, the Nakagin Capsule Tower was disassembled in 2022, but in the spirit of Metabolism, it will be reborn as something new. The Nakagin Capsule Tower Building Preservation and Restoration Project has morphed into the Capsule Metabolism Project, under which single capsules are saved, restored and repurposed under the supervision of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates. At the time of writing, 23 capsules have been restored.
One of the capsules has been regenerated as a moving trailer capsule by the brand Yodoko+. On the weekend of May 18 and 19, it will be shown at the 14th Exterior & Garden Fair Nagoya 2023. After that, you can see it at the Tokyo Trailer House Show, between May 25 and May 27 or at the Kansai Exterior Fair on June 8 and 9. Thankfully, Tokyoites won’t have to wait too long to see another reimagined capsule. This autumn, Shochiku will open a space named “Shutl” with two capsules that can be used for exhibitions, pop-up shops, events and more.
New Toilets in the Shibuya Toilet Project
“The Tokyo Toilet” project by Shibuya ward and The Nippon Foundation invited 16 stellar architects from Japan and abroad to design 17 toilets. TW wrote about the 11 toilets that were finished in 2021. This year, more structures are being unveiled.
Most recently, famed architect Sou Fujimoto’s project was opened. The concave white structure is called “Utsuwa” or “water vessel” and the shape is inspired by a washbasin. A month prior, the toilet in Hatagaya, co-created by Miles Pennington, a professor at the University of Tokyo, and the university’s DLX Design Lab, opened. The structure is envisioned to also be a community space. In January 2023, “Urasando” by Marc Newson opened in Sendagaya.
New 3D Animal in Shibuya
We’ve covered Tokyo’s 3D billboards before, from the popular Shinjuku calico cat to the lesser-known Bremen musicians in Harajuku. Shibuya Crossing has a number of 3D screens with an Akita puppy. Now, a panda has joined the party. The newest 3D billboard in Tokyo is just a few steps away from Shibuya Crossing and on Shibuya Center Gai Street, on top of the Yamashita Honki Udon shop. The panda was spotted last month, though it has been there longer. The adorable panda fiddles with a control stick and eats bamboo leaves. It looks cute and confused.
A Selection of New Eateries and Stores Opening
It seems like no day goes by in Tokyo without a new store opening somewhere. It would be almost impossible to feature them all, so we have selected a few shops instead.
The newest sweets craze in Tokyo is the canelé (also spelled cannelé), a French pastry with rum and cinnamon. From bakeries to convenience stores, canelé is on every shelf and now there’s a new store in Maruonouchi dedicated to it. Tatemachi Cannelé is a specialty store from Hiroshima that is reopening on April 28 at the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo.
Also coming from another part of Japan, Dotonbori Kamukura Ramen brings iconic Osaka flavors to Tokyo. The legendary ramen shop was founded in 1986 and has 75 branches, including a new branch in Asakusa.
Finally, and unexpectedly, there is a café opening in Omotesando that proudly boasts about having horse manure in its name. Also, in keeping with the horse idea, from 10am to 4:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays, live horse racing will be shown on the large in-store screen.
