Things to do this week in Tokyo

Monday 10

Oedo Kioicho Matsuri
If you'd like to experience a small-scale and intimate Tokyo summer festival but don't feel like heading out into the 'burbs, this celebration at the New Otani should be just right. Step into the hotel's impeccably maintained Japanese garden to try your hand at familiar matsuri fun. Read more

Que Será, Será with Till von Sein
Hike to Harajuku for an extra-long set by Berlin beatsmith Till von Sein, whose deep yet bumping, serious yet fun, and electronic-housey yet disco-happy tunes should appeal to a wide range of dance enthusiasts. Make sure to also check out the avant-garde art exhibits upstairs. Read more

Tuesday 11

Jingu Gaien Fireworks Festival
Yukata-clad spectators crowd the streets during the annual Jingu Gaien Fireworks, a display that ranks as one of Tokyo's top summer fireworks festivals. The cluster of sports stadiums to the south of Sendagaya Station offer the best vantage points. Read more

Wednesday 12

Lars Müller: Books – Analogue Reality
Swiss publisher and designer Lars Müller may not exactly be a mainstream name, but serious paper-sniffers will most likely have seen his individualistic creations somewhere. This display shows off a full 100 Müller tomes, giving book design nerds plenty to chew on. Read more

Cerulean Tower Summer Sweets
Hop on the wildly speeding kakigori bandwagon in Shibuya, where the Cerulean Tower hotel's garden restaurant and lounge is serving up decadent shaved ice mixed with ice cream. Take your pick of the mango, peach and matcha flavours. Read more

Thursday 13

Red Brick Resort
No need for a real trip to the sea – the central plaza at Yokohama's Red Brick Warehouse has turned into a miniature resort for the hot season, complete with an artificial beach, sofas and palm trees, plus food and drink stalls selling burritos, taco rice, smoothies, rum cocktails and more. Read more

Yuki Katsura Exhibition
Active in the Japanese avant-garde art world for six decades, Yuki Katsura produced a wide range of work, from satirical allegories to abstract collages. Expect to see all that and more at this display, which focuses on pieces created during and before the artist's most cosmopolitan years. Read more

Friday 14

Siege of Osaka Quadricentennial
Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Siege of Osaka, this Marunouchi display pays homage to three samurai warriors who made their mark at the time, exhibiting armour replicas and miniatures while also serving up a special 'fighting spirit' food menu. Read more

Nights of Wonder
The aquarium at Kasai Rinkai Park extends its opening hours tonight, letting visitors take a look at the nightly activities of marine creatures from giant tuna to penguins. The aquarium lighting will be toned down, making for a mysterious atmosphere. Read more

Central American Cocktail Night
Need a hard one after work? The Nishi-Azabu outpost of coffee authority Kentaro Maruyama's signature chain serves up punchy cocktails available in both hot and cold versions. The concoctions consist of Panamanian rum mixed with Maruyama's excellent brew. Read more

Saturday 15

Asakusa Toro Nagashi
First held at the 1946 'Festival of Recovery', the hauntingly beautiful Toro Nagashi lantern light-up was revived in 2005 after a 40-year break, and now takes place in Sumida Park between Azumabashi and Kototoibashi on the day the war ended for Japan. Read more

U-1 Udon Grand Prix
Challenging for the title of Japan's number one udon contest, the U-1 Grand Prix now gears up for its third Tokyo edition. 16 top noodle-makers from all across the country will do battle just outside Yoyogi Park, where you can also look forward to plenty of related tipples. Read more

Bon Odori in Minato Mirai
Dance the traditional way at Rinko Park's Bon Festival, where you can also catch a taiko drumming performance, snack on above-average festival grub, get buzzed on nihonshu and take in the sweaty summer atmosphere of Yokohama. Read more

Hakkiyoi: Sumo at Kitte
What better way to make use of the empty space inside Marunouchi's Kitte building than to set up a full-on sumo dohyo (ring) on the ground floor? Catch the Grand Sumo exhibition and watch former pro rikishi show off against kids today. Read more

Picnic Cinema
Catch a movie outdoors on a hot summer evening at Ebisu's Garden Place, where the screenings start from 7.30pm. The free films are shown on a big screen set up in the middle of the complex – quirky Japanese travel tale Kamome Diner is on tonight. Read more

Ukiyo-e Master Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Highlighting one of the late Edo era's greatest artists, Yokohama's Sogo Museum recounts ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi's career through around 200 pieces, from cutting-edge landscape depictions to funny cats and gorgeous geisha. Read more

Sunday 16

Fukagawa Hachiman Matsuri
Known as one of the three ‘great festivals’ of Edo, the matsuri at Fukagawa's Tomioka Hachimangu shrine comes to a climax today with mikoshi (portable shrine) processions, rowdy dance performances, and people throwing water on the participants. Read more

Slide the City in Seibu Prince Dome
Didn't get a chance to dive down the giant slope at Odaiba's Slide the City? You better not miss this one, then: the monstrous waterslide is making a comeback outside the Seibu Dome in Tokorozawa today – a full-on foam party awaits, too. Read more

Let Us Know About Okinawa
Photographer Ari Hatsuzawa shows off a trove of photos taken after his move to Okinawa, inviting visitors to this Shinjuku exhibition to consider the multitude of issues facing the island today – from the legacy of World War II to hardships of daily life. Read more

This is Party!!!
Kansai six-piece Wonderful Boys bring their mixture of soul, hip-hop and reggae with a Japanese twist to Daikanyama's Unit for this afternoon party that's looking far more laidback than the three exclamation marks in the title might suggest. Read more

Embracing for Painting
For an idea of where contemporary Japanese painting is headed in the future, look no further than this three-artist display at Ginza's Shiseido Gallery. We're especially fond of Minako Abe's captivating reinterpretations of landscape photographs. Read more