This Week in Tokyo – 18 April 2023

Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the World’s Greatest Metropolis, and beyond! This week: Mac and Wes-P; Mac and Milton and Norma; The Peninsula Komagatake; Cat’s Talk TV and Ghibli memories.

Featured image – Mac and Wes-P: Kazuhisa Uekusa [植草和久] is better known by his stage names of Wes-P and Mr Uekusa. He is one of Japan’s biggest Tiktok stars. I met him after a performance at Tokyo Comedy Bar alongside his troopmates from Yoshimoto Comedy Squad, during which he showcased some of his hilarious tablecloth tricks. He’s a masterful performer with incredible success overseas. I wish him all the best in building his platform (pun intended) in Japan.

Mac and Milton and Norma: Maction Planet hosted these legends, 85 and 83 years young respectively, for three days of Tokyo touring. Never a dull moment. Here we are at TeamLab Planets. What an honour to be a part of this very special trip for them.

The Peninsula Komagatake: The Peninsula Tokyo Single Malt Komagatake – Artist Collaboration Edition #2′, in partnership with renowned embroiderer Satoru Aoyama was released in January 2023. I finally got a chance to try this three-year-old whisky at Peter: The Bar courtesy of some lovely tour guests. Distilled in 2019 at Mars Shinshu Distillery and aged in American oak ex-Bourbon casks, it oozes vanilla, peaches and cream, well into a medium-long finish. Shame about the ¥14,500 per glass price-point!

Cat’s Talk TV: The male calico cat continues to entertain at Shinjuku Station’s East Exit. The ‘room’ the cat lives in is meticulously designed so as to make it look 3D when viewed from the square in front of the Shinjuku Station’s East Exit. The cat’s ears, tail, etc., protrude outside the background white room forcing the brain to perceive the depth, and voila. Now you know!

Ghibli memories: I’ve been a frequent visitor to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka over the last 6 weeks. It’s much beloved by Tokyo tourists and has become a must-see attraction, even for people who haven’t watched any of the movies!

My first visit to the Ghibli Museum was in 2009. I woke up late on a Saturday morning and decided to go that day. I bought tickets from the pictured [now former] ticket booth and went in. That’s right – a far cry from today’s advance online purchases needed to get tickets, which sell out almost immediately. I think Totoro misses those days!

Maction Planet runs bespoke Private Tours and Experiences in Tokyo, and beyond. To book yours, or to purchase a gift card, contact us at info@mactionplanet.com

You can subscribe to the Maction Planet newsletter below, and follow all our adventures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Mixcloud and YouTube.