It’s time to take action Climate change is real and the signs are all around us: erratic and extreme weather patterns, wildfires and rising temperatures, just to name a few. And as the world comes to an abrupt standstill with the Inside coronavirus pandemic, we are finally being forced to really examine our relationship with nature. July – September 2020 At Time Out Tokyo, we see it as our mission to help you get the most out of the city. In recent years, more and more green initiatives are popping up around Tokyo, and it’s now easier than ever to make smart choices that benefit, rather than harm, the environment. From recycling Friendly warning: these are unusual times, so please check that venues and upcycling to going vegan and switching to eco-friendly products, remain open before heading out. just a small change in lifestyle can have a big impact. So we hope this issue will inspire you to act now and support the global movement for a healthier Earth. â Join Tokyo in its efforts to go green and sustainable. See p12 Beyond vanilla Japanese ice cream flavours you should try PAGE 30 â CHAVATY Tokyo thrift The city’s best second-hand and consignment stores PAGE 32 Come over â for lunch and dinner RAGTAG WASARA Or we'll deliver to you Green fingers Food flicks via Uber Eats! Learn about the world of plants These documentaries will have at these botanical gardens you craving Japanese food PAGE 34 PAGE 40 â â YUMENOSHIMA TROPICAL DOMEGREENHOUSE NETFLIX ORIGINAL, CHEF'S TABLE, STREAMING EXCLUSIVELY â FEATURES AND REGULARS 04 Tokyo Update 06 Life in the time of coronavirus 08 How green is Japan? 12 Green is good 28 The New Normal interview series 30 Eating & Drinking 32 Shopping & Style 34 Things to Do 36 Art & Culture 38 Music & Nightlife 40 Film 42 Travel & Hotels Cover Editor-in-Chief Editor Kasey Furutani Staff Photographers Aya Ito Advisor ORIGINAL Inc. Art direction: Steve Nakamura Lim Chee Wah Kaila Imada Hisato Hayashi Keisuke Tanigawa Phillip Huey Masashi Takahashi 101, 5-9-9 Hiroo, Shibuya, Tokyo, 150-0012 Contributing Editor Staff Writers Editorial Assistant Kisa Toyoshima Paul Clark Executive Vice President +81 (0)3 5792 5721 www.timeout.com/tokyo Liquidroom 2F, 3-16-6 Higashi, Shibuya, Tokyo (Ebisu Station). Marcus Webb Mari Hiratsuka Youka Nagase Administration Ili Saarinen Akiko Toya Advertising and general enquiries: [email protected] Sub-editor Shiori Kotaki Designers Momo Ando Reina Iwabuchi President/Publisher Back cover image: Ryoji Iwata/ Kit Kriewaldt Tabea Greuner Zineb Bektachi Creative Solutions Hinata Matsumura Hiroyuki Fushitani Time Out Digital Time Out Group CEO 03 5774 0440 | timeoutcafe.jp 77 Wicklow Street, Julio Bruno Unsplash Jessica Thompson Saiko Miyasato Mao Kawakami Toshiyuki Seki London, WC1X 9JY Founder Emma Steen www.timeout.com Tony Elliott Check the website for the latest opening hours. +44 (0)207 813 3000 3 July-September, 2020 Time Out Tokyo MOST GOOGLED Is Tokyo tap water safe to drink? Tokyo WITH THE NUMBER of vending machines in Europe and North America has ‘hard’ water Tokyo selling bottled water, you’d be forgiven (high pH, high mineral content). Soft water is for thinking there was something wrong with known for its gentle fl avour and aroma, and drinking water straight from the tap. The good it’s thought that Tokyo’s prestigious cuisine news is, there’s not: Tokyo’s tap water is safe owes some of its appeal to this soft water, to drink, and millions of people do so daily, which works well in mild, clean-fl avoured Update unboiled and unfi ltered. dishes like dashi and tofu. Soft water is also Tokyo’s water is subject to stringent recommended for brewing Japanese tea, as standards set by the city’s Bureau of it’s believed to help reduce bitterness and Waterworks and must meet more than 50 astringency. water quality standards to be considered safe The average human needs two litres of to drink, such as being free of pollution and water per day, as hydration is critical for brain harmful contaminants. The bureau manages and body function. Yet to turn on the tap and and protects the forests around the Tama fi ll a glass of water – then drink it – is a luxury River, Tokyo’s water source, and ensures aff orded by just a handful of countries in the water is purifi ed through a combination world, so we shouldn’t take it for granted. 2 of ozone and charcoal treatments. This Jessica Thompson removes pollutants, organic and inorganic With Harajuku matter as well as reduces odor and taste. Harajuku’s newest shopping complex is home to Tokyo’s first city-centre Ikea. It also As water quality is ensured at the source and Five new sports a new Uniqlo outlet featuring the chain’s hottest collaborations as well as an not the outlet, you can drink the tap water not SEE MORE just in homes but metro stations, malls and interactive digital wall, where shoppers can browse the latest fashions. You’ll also find convenience stores – unless the signs restaurants scattered throughout the property, but we particularly love the open terrace TIMEOUT.COM/ say otherwise. TOKYO overlooking the greenery of the nearby Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi Park. If the water tastes diff erent to you at fi rst, it openings could be because Tokyo’s water is ‘soft’ (low Across from the shopping centre sits the new Harajuku Station, complete with a new café pH, low mineral content), whereas much of and a lot more space. The historic old station building, which dates back to 1924, is set to be WABENO/DREAMSTIME torn down at a later date. In the meantime, you can still see it right beside the new station. in Tokyo à tinyurl.com/TOTWithHarajuku 3 4 1 PLAY! MUSEUM, EXHIBITION ROOM, SPECIAL EXHIBITION, 'KAOTEN.' OF TUPERA TUPERA Hana Biyori Play Museum Inside the lush Japanese garden run by Yomiuriland This new interactive art museum in Tachikawa offers amusement park, this spacious new greenhouse is the a whole lot of fun for both kids and adults. Currently, perfect spot to enjoy flowers blooming all year round. It’s also the museum is showcasing illustrations and videos © SMALL WORLDS home to Japan’s first Starbucks inside a greenhouse, of Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, along Small Worlds Tokyo complete with two massive aquariums featuring 50 species with an engaging installation by Japanese artist duo of fish. Plus, when the lights go out, guests are treated to a ‘tupera tupera’. Don’t miss the indoor Play Park with The world’s biggest miniature colourful projection show incorporating the on-site plants. several play zones for kids. theme park will make you feel like àtinyurl.com/TOThanabiyori àtinyurl.com/TOTplay a giant as you explore all three floors of the family-friendly space. 5 On the third floor you’ll find six thematic exhibitions including Tokorozawa Sakura Town the Global Village and Space This pop-culture complex in Saitama prefecture draws heavy Center, as well as special areas infl uences from manga and anime. Complete with a shopping featuring Sailor Moon and Neon mall, hotel, museum and event space, Tokorozawa Sakura Town Genesis Evangelion in miniature. is set to be fully operational after November, with some facilities You can also scan your body and opening earlier between July and October. The highlight will get a 1:80 scale model of yourself no doubt be the stunning Kengo Kuma-designed Kadokawa to place into this tiny world. Culture Museum, which also houses a stunning library. àtinyurl.com/TOTsmallworlds KENGO KUMA© & ASSOCIATES, KAJIMA © CORPORATION àtinyurl.com/TOTsakuratown Time Out Tokyo July-September, 2020 4 5 July-September, 2020 Time Out Tokyo THE PAST FEW MONTHS haven’t been easy, EVENTS ARE REIMAGINED to say the least. On top of the heartbreak of AND STILL EVOLVING postponing the much anticipated Tokyo When the pandemic hit, events and festivals 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, we’ve had were the first to go into cold storage. Many of to adapt to some dramatic lifestyle changes, this year’s biggest celebrations such as Fuji many of which will be with us for a while Rock and Kyoto’s Gion Matsuri have been yet. Although Japan never went into a hard cancelled. Smaller events, however, have lockdown like other parts of the world, staying proved slightly more resilient, transforming inside and going weeks without meeting into live-stream formats, helping people friends or loved ones was a struggle for all maintain a sense of connection while they of us. Even since the state of emergency – shelter in place. announced on April 7 – ended on May 25, it’s EATING IN IS THE NEW EATING OUT Now that coronavirus restrictions have been difficult to gauge just how safe it is to go At first, we worried Tokyo’s restaurants and eased, events are going through another stage back to eating at our favourite restaurants, let cafés would be asked to close when the state of evolution, this time incorporating the need alone hanging out with our friends again. of emergency was declared. Luckily, they for social distancing. Old-school drive-in In a city as vibrant and densely packed as remained open, but with severely reduced cinemas are making a comeback, with major Tokyo, weeks devoid of boisterous nomikai hours for dining in. Even now, restaurants cities around the world, from London to New (drinking parties), weekend get-togethers and have limited seating, so dinner at home has York and even Tokyo, hosting several pop-up late nights on the town have made the capital been a more frequent affair in the past few drive-in movie events.