This Week in Tokyo – 20 August 2019

The latest edition of This Week in Tokyo – a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in and beyond the city. 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’s edition is hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide. This week: All roads lead to Domo; The Longs in Tokyo; Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioichi Sunflowers; Apple under renovation and Welcome to Tokyo 2020! 

Featured image – All roads lead to Domo: We are huge Domo-kun fans here at Maction Planet. Domo (どーも くん) is the official mascot of NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. He first appeared on 22 December 1998 to mark the 10th anniversary of NHK’s satellite transmissions. The brown furry creature’s popularity partly resides in his ambiguity of expression – is he playful, angry, surprised, troubled or just happy to be alive and feeling? This blank canvas allows you to bring whatever you want to a character who, from humble beginnings in interstitial sketches between programming, has gone on to become an international superstar! Here he is at Tokyo Station… next stop, DOMO!

The Longs in Tokyo: Off the back of their Adventures By Disney trip to China the Longs came to Tokyo to enjoy the House of Mouse here. They also wanted to experience as much of the World’s Greatest Metropolis as possible in their limited time outside the parks. Enter Maction Planet! It was Megan’s 17th birthday and I really wanted her to have one to remember. Julie has even been kind enough to write a review of their Tokyo Private Tours on TripAdvisor, which she described as exceeding every expectation. What an honour!

Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioichi Sunflowers: This photo does what it says on the tin! I spotted them as I went to pick up the Longs from their hotel. We wrote about the significance of sunflowers in Japanese culture in a recent ‘This Week in Tokyo‘.

Apple under renovation: This what the Apple Store on Omotesando looks like right now. The team there are making some creative updates which we look forward to seeing.

Welcome to Tokyo 2020: We are already getting bookings for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. In fact, 2020 is already filling up with several guests taking advantage of availability to lock in multi-week Pan-Japan Tours. Our furthest out booking is currently November 2020. This is a reminder from me and mascots Miraitowa and Someity that you should book early to avoid disappointment!

Maction Planet runs bespoke Private Tours and Experiences in Tokyo, and beyond. To book yours, contact us at info@mactionplanet.com

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