This Week in Tokyo and Nagoya – 24 January 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: The LOVOTs are watching; Happy Lunar New Year 2023; Sakamichi Celebrations; Whisky Lovers Nagoya 2023 and Momotaro Narasake.

Featured image -The LOVOTs are watching: “HELLO, LOVOT. A new home robot that stirs your instinct to love. Would you like to welcome a LOVOT into your life?” says the website. LOVOT was publicly unveiled in December 2018. I first encountered LOVOTs at an Art x Tech exhibition in Roppongi Hills 4 years ago. Now they are for sale… only in Japan. They are designed by GROOVE X, whose mission is to bring out humanity’s full potential through robotics. They certainly bring out oohs and aahs wherever they are.

Happy Lunar New Year 2023: I was in Yokohama Chinatown on Saturday with guests who wanted to experience some LNYE action. As you can see, this gate still displayed the Tiger, not the Rabbit. Talk about a last-minute switch!

Sakamichi Celebrations: Congratulations to my friends at Sakamichi Brewing. Their first two beers brewed in-house are now on sale in their Taproom (and now Brewery) in Tachikawa. You can spot them numbered 5 and 6 in the top right of the photo.

In my hand is their third iteration of Tama’s Chocolate Orange, one of my favourite beverages of all time! They were down to the last keg by the time I was able to make it out there, and after I finished my session there, they were significantly closer to the bottom of it!

Whisky Lovers Nagoya 2023: On Sunday, I headed down to Nagoya for an epic whisky festival – Whisky Lovers Nagoya 2023. I spent an absolutely fantastic day in the company of makers, distributions, exporters, bars and fans who enjoyed samples, paid tasting, talks, and much more.

A large KANPAI to everyone who came up to me and said hello. I feel honoured to be part of such an incredible community.

Meeting Kirin Master Blender Jota Tanaka (pictured) was one of many highlights. The icing on the cake was finding out that he is a big fan of our sister platform Kanpai Planet!

Momotaro Narasake: Join me on this journey to the birthplace of Japanese Sake as I taste test 5 sake from Nara Prefecture in the latest video on Kanpai Planet. The sake were sent to me by Momotaro, an online Narasake retailer. Check out their website and order the sake I review, and much more!

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

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