This Month on Maction Planet – April 2026

April 2026 was a month that barely stopped for breath. Guiding took me across Tokyo and Kyoto with some truly brilliant guests, while the city’s cultural calendar kept pace: the 91st Hachiko Memorial Ceremony, the 36th Narita Taiko Festival, and the Bunkyo Azalea Festival in full riot at Nezu Shrine. Sumo stables old and new opened their doors, the Swallows did their surprisingly winning thing, and April somehow also became one of the most musical months in recent memory – from Bar Stereo in Takadanobaba to the dance floor above the tracks at Takanawa Gateway, via Shibuya Sky and the Clutch Kickback pre-party in Shin-Kiba. A reunion with an old friend, a new novel from a favourite author, and a new Kanpai Planet video. We continue…

Featured image: On 18 April I made my way to Narita for the 36th Narita Taiko Festival (成田太鼓祭り) at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. One of Japan’s premier taiko events, it brings together around 50 teams and 1,500 performers from across the country over two days. The festival began in 1994 under the name Narita Kando Gekijo – “Narita Impressive Theatre” – before being renamed in 2003. The day opens with the Sengan Hana Taiko, a mass ceremony in which all participating groups play together in unison in front of the temple’s main hall, a collective act of dedication and a prayer for peace. The combined sound is something else and has to be heard to be believed.

Here are Henk and the gang from Holland on 3 April, caught in the final seconds of our anime, manga, ice cream (!) and gaming tour before we went our separate ways. We’d been so caught up in the day that we’d almost overlooked taking a group photo altogether, which would have been a crime. A few hours together, and it felt like considerably longer in the best possible sense.

4 April 2026 was a looooong time coming – my reunion with Kevin, a bona fide legend. We first met at New York Comic Con in October 2012 and have been firm friends ever since. One of the main reasons I made the trip to NYCC every year from 2012 to 2016 was simply to spend a day in his company. Kevin finally made it to Japan, and I think my smile says everything that needs to be said about that.

Jesse and the family joined me on 5 April for a day touring the length and breadth of Tokyo before we headed to Meiji Jingu Stadium for an afternoon Swallows game in perfect baseball weather. The Swallows delivered too, beating the Chunichi Dragons 7-5. Days like this, great guests, great city, great baseball, are what Maction Planet is all about. Thank you for choosing us.

6 April began at Hakkakubeya (八角部屋), one of Tokyo’s sumo stables, where Heather, Brooke and Robin joined me to watch morning training – a privilege we did not take lightly. This was just the opening act of three days guiding these incredible guests around the world’s greatest metropolis, before they headed off to continue the wider Japan itinerary we had built together. What a trio.

8 April brought a visit to teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills. Here we are inside the Infinite Crystal World – thousands of LED node chains hanging from a mirrored ceiling, creating the illusion of a crystalline universe extending in every direction. No matter how many times I bring guests here, it never gets old. BTW, Heather wrote a lovely review of her time with Maction Planet which made me very emotional.

8 April was also the date of the 91st Annual Hachiko Memorial Ceremony outside Shibuya Station – and I made sure we were there for it. Hachiko was an Akita dog who, after his owner Professor Hidesaburo Ueno died suddenly in 1925, returned to Shibuya Station every day for nearly ten years waiting for him. He died in 1935, and the ceremony has been held each April 8th since 1936, timed one month after his passing to coincide with cherry blossom season.

It was an honour to guide Jude around the world’s greatest metropolis. Jude was kind enough to take the time to write a review on TripAdvisor, describing it as a highlight of her trip. Thank you so much for choosing Maction Planet, Jude.

Prital and family at Ameyo – the last photo we took together as a full group before splitting into two. A full day touring this extraordinary city with this wonderful family was a real privilege.

The first of three days with Beth and Lee – two days in Tokyo, one in Kyoto – timed to coincide with Beth’s birthday, and we did the occasion justice. Here we are under a yaezakura, the double-flowered cherry blossom and my personal favourite variety. Unlike the familiar five-petalled Somei Yoshino, yaezakura blooms carry anywhere from ten to fifty petals per flower, producing dense, layered blossoms closer in appearance to a peony than a standard sakura. They flower two to four weeks after the main season, typically mid-April into May, extending the spectacle for those who know where to look. A perfect start.

After day one with Beth and Lee, I headed to Takadanobaba and stopped in at the Baird Beer Taproom for a well-earned pint (if I say so myself), only to spot myself on the TV. The screen was showing footage from the inaugural My Japan Story SLAM!, held on 23rd October 2025 at the Baird Beer Nakameguro Taproom. Organised by the inimitable James Scott Brew, the event brought together ten storytellers to share true personal stories around the theme of transformation. Natsukashii!

After that, I headed to Bar Stereo to celebrate a landmark occasion: DW’s 100th performance at the venue. Here’s to 100 more, and thank you for every hour of sonic wizardry you have bestowed upon me and your fans.

Adam and family brought their full energy to a day-long extravaganza on 13 April. Highlights included this intergenerational battle across a Pong cocktail cabinet — the tabletop format of the game that, when it launched in 1972, became the first commercially successful video game in history. Watching two generations square off across it was wonderful!

The Bunkyo Azalea Festival at Nezu Shrine ran throughout April 2026, and on the 14th I squeezed in a visit with the amazing Kendall and her amazing mother. Not in place of anything already planned, but in addition to it, made possible entirely by their energy and enthusiasm. Early in the day, conversation had turned to their love of flowers and gardening, and once that became clear, there was only one call to make. Nezu Shrine’s azalea garden covers 6,600 square metres and features some 3,000 bushes across 100 different varieties — a collection that traces its origins to a daimyo garden on the same site in the Edo period, long before the shrine itself arrived in 1706. Worth every detour.

The final photo of a wonderful day with Kendall and her mother. Kendall was kind enough to take the time to write a review afterwards, and reading it genuinely made my day. Thank you both so much — so glad it was everything you hoped for.

Suzanne first got in touch a few years ago on the recommendation of Carol and Bruce, who toured with me back in 2018. It took a while for the stars to align, but on 15 April she and Charles, Jan and Barbara finally made it to Maction Planet. Not even the rain could put a dent in it. When Suzanne emailed me the photo afterwards, she wrote that she couldn’t think of a better way to end their Japan experience. That means a great deal. Philadelphia and Bermuda – I’ll hold you to that invitation.

Day three with Beth and Lee was a day trip to Kyoto. First, my thanks to them for supporting the ceramics industry. After the tour, Beth and Lee invited me for a drink at Kohaku, the intimate bar on the fourth floor of the Park Hyatt Kyoto, which frames the Yasaka Pagoda through floor-to-ceiling windows. The honour was entirely mine. They were also kind enough to leave a review afterwards, which I am very grateful for. BTW, thank you for my wonderful glass tumbler – I think of you every time I use it.,

I guided Rhonda and John across 15 and 17 April, and on the 17th we visited Dewanoumi-beya (出羽海部屋), the oldest existing sumo stable, head of the Dewanoumi ichimon, and a genuine heavyweight of the sport’s history. Here I am forming a new gang outside the stable entrance.

The final photo of two brilliant days with Rhonda and John. Genuinely excellent company from start to finish – two days in their company flew by in the best possible way.

On 24 April I was invited to the Clutch Kickback pre-party at Shin-Kiba Garden Factory — the night-before warm-up to their Spring Shakedown at Tsukuba Circuit the following day. Founded in Tokyo in 2022 by Cameron Hurd, Katerina Grusheva and Shion Shibuya, Clutch Kickback has built a serious name for itself blending car culture, music and nightlife into something that feels less like an event and more like a movement. The Nissan Skyline R34 in the foreground and lights in the background give you a great indication of the general vibe.

On 25 April, I reunited with Maction Planet Resident DJ Royce Leong at Takanawa Gateway Station for one of the events of EKINAKA DJ Spring ’26 – a seven-night free series held on the third-floor terrace of the station as part of the grand opening celebrations for Takanawa Gateway City. The concept, ‘PLAY at the station,’ transforms a part of the Kengo Kuma-designed station interior into a dance floor, where DJ sets play out above live train tracks. That evening’s headliner was the legendary Tomoyuki Tanaka, the Fantastic Plastic Machine himself, delivering a 120-minute set. Large.

On 27 April I was invited to see The Umbilical Brothers perform The Distraction at Theater G Rosso in Tokyo. David Collins and Shane Dundas have been at it since 1988 – an Australian comedy duo who have performed in 40 countries, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and been named by Entertainment Weekly as two of the 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment. The Distraction is their newest creation: a show performed simultaneously on stage and on screen, using green screens, live cameras and special effects to blend physical comedy with cinematic spectacle in ways that shouldn’t work but absolutely do. Winner of Best Comedy at Adelaide Fringe, and every bit as sharp in Tokyo. An excellent evening.

The musical month continued on 28 April at SHIBUYA SKY, the observation deck on the 46th floor of Shibuya Scramble Square, for The Shibuya Week 2026 PROLOGUE. Here I am with Tomoyuki Tanaka, AKA FPM, between his first and second sets of the evening in the Paradise Lounge. Three nights after his Takanawa Gateway sets, two very different Tokyo backdrops, one legendary DJ.

Wonderful to catch up with Jonelle Patrick on 29 April. Her latest book, The Samurai’s Octopus, was published on 21 April 2006 and is set in Yoshiwara, Edo’s famous pleasure quarter, in 1784, a world where samurai law stops at the gate and the women inside hold the real power. I proofread the book and it is awesome. Buy it!

30 April brought the first of twelve days together with Glenn, Alyssa, Leah and Mark. We rounded it off at Meiji Jingu Stadium to watch the Swallows take on the Hanshin Tigers. The Swallows lost 10–2, which was not ideal, but a great time was had by all regardless. You’ll have to wait for next month’s edition of This Month on Maction Planet to find out what the next eleven days have in store

And finally… this month’s Kanpai Planet video! In this special Ask Me Anything episode, I answer your questions about the future of Kanpai Planet: where the channel is going, what kind of videos you want me to make next, and how I’m thinking about the wider world of Japan’s drinks. I touch on Japanese whisky, sake, shochu, beer, bars, travel, possible collaborations, behind-the-scenes plans, and the challenges within all this. Most of all, it’s a chance to speak directly and honestly about what Kanpai Planet is, what it could become, and why I’m still so excited about sharing these stories with you. Plus – we finally have a Kanpai Planet Membership program! Please consider supporting the channel at https://kanpaiplanet.com/join

We continue… and Kanpai!

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