This Week in Tokyo – 26 November 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: Unbeatable!; Raking it in; Autumn in Marunouchi; World Diabetes Day Hachiko and Maction Planet TeamLab Santa! 

Unbeatable!: Tokyo Comic Con 2019 took place from 22-24 November and I was there on the Friday and Saturday. My favourite bits are in the video below as I showcase the entirety of Day 1 and the morning of Day 2. You can watch the Opening Ceremony from the con featuring stars such as Jude Law, Chris Hemsworth, Rupert Grint and Zachary Levi and enjoy merch from the world’s biggest franchises such as Marvel, DC and Star Wars. Thanks to my connections and friendship with some of the world’s top comic book artists you can watch an interview with Juan Doe, sketching from Kia Asamiya and Ninsai, chats with the Kaiju King Matt Frank and camaraderie with Chip Zdarsky and Transformers artists Livio Ramondelli and Andrew Griffith! We also posted two other videos from the con – a full ‘Tokyo Comic Con 2019 walkthrough‘ and a video showcasing the ‘Amazing Cosplay at Tokyo Comic Con 2019‘.

Raking it in: 20 November was the date of the second ‘Tori no Ichi’ of 2019. In the video below join me on my journey as I experience Tori no Ichi at 5 different shrines in one day in my quest to find the perfect kumade for the 2020 Business Year. Tori no Ichi is a unique annual Japanese festival where, kumade, stylised lucky rakes, are sold at shrines on the rooster days in November of that year. In November 2019 these fell on 8 and 20 November. I visit Hanazono Jinja, Suga Jinja, Namiyoke Inari Jinja, Namiyoke Inari Jinja and Otori Jinja. The atmosphere at each is very different. The shrines also feature some phenomenal street food and festival food which we showcase in this video. This was a very personal journey and I really hope you enjoy watch this documentary.

Autumn in Marunouchi: I snapped this candid shot as I was taking my guests Jennifer, Chris, Violet and Garrett back to the Tokyo Station Hotel after visiting the Imperial Palace. There is beauty wherever you look in Tokyo.

World Diabetes Day Hachiko: We are big fans of Hachiko at Maction Planet and that respect is partly driven by his exemplary public service work. Here he is increasing diabetes awareness. Although World Diabetes Day was on 14 November, Hachiko was making sure that everyone understands it is not just about the day by wearing this on 19 November.

And finally…  Maction Planet TeamLab Santa:  TeamLab Borderless is always evolving with the seasons and, with Christmas coming up, you can colour your own Santa, reindeer and sleigh and get it scanned in to become part of the digital ecosystem. Here’s a Maction Planet sleigh bringing presents of gratitude to all out 2019 guests from around the world. Thank you all for your support. We continue…

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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