It's most rude of me to spend lots of evenings at book clubs, drinks, dinner parties and the like over the past week, but panic not: I did manage to squeeze in some fun activities in Tokyo.

Spoken word
The spoken word event of the week was without question the English language rakugo performance at the Footnik pub in Ebisu. A British pub might have felt an unlikely venue for a funny, subtle, fascinating and entirely charming rakugo performance, but the place was full to bursting, and the performance was amazing. Rakugo is the Japanese traditional form of storytelling and if you haven't seen it yet, keep an eye out for more shows. If your Japanese is up to it, there are performance halls in Asakusa, Shinjuku and Ueno. I also went to another Comedy Sumo Slam, which was fun as always. Note, I also had a meeting with someone about bringing the Washington DC space cafe to Tokyo. Space fans, watch this space!*
* Inadvertent but excellent pun. Thank you.

Theatre
I haven't managed to go to much theatre in Tokyo so far thanks to my inadequate language skills, but last week the Tokyo International Players performed Big River, the Huckleberry Finn musical, and it was really worth seeing. Great performances, engaging story, and a much-needed balm for my theatre withdrawal symptoms. They're holding auditions for Macbeth in June.

Day tripping
I had a lovely day in Kamakura. Our route: got off the train at Kita-Kamakura, and did an 80-minute walk/hike through surprisingly woody woods to the big Buddha. It was big. From there was a stroll down to the seaside, a walk/paddle along the beach, and back to the station past some charming shops and cafes. Very nice indeed.

What's on in the coming week: Brit About Town picks for 27 May - 3 June


Fri 27 - Two fun events tonight. Your only decision is whether to go to Improvazilla (which I love!) or Dr Sketchy's alternative art burlesque drawing session (which I haven't been to yet, but plan to!). Both excellent choices...

Sat 28 - There's a free comedy night at Vega Wine Bar in Ebisu. Never been there. Might check it out.

Sun 29 - If you foolishly missed Wednesday's stand up comedy visiting headliners, looks like there's still tickets to see a double header of Phil Nichol and Yuriko Kotani. I am extremely excited about this.

Mon 30 - This appears to be your night of rest. Though if anyone knows of a cool event I've missed, email me!

Tue 31 - It's stand up comedy new material night in Shibuya

Wed 1 - If you're really in the mood for brand new stand up comedy, come to a new comedy night at Good Heavens in Shimokitazawa where your very own Brit About Town, Layla, will be doing her very first ever stand up set. It's only three minutes.  You can laugh encouragingly for that long, can't you? And I'm sure the others will be great. 

Thu 2 - Pecha Kucha night is probably the coolest night I've been to in Tokyo so far (maybe). Arty people talking about cool projects they're doing to change/beautify the world. Get there early if you want a seat, but if you don't mind standing, they'll squeeze you in.

Fri 3 - Excited that Washington DC's Nerd Night is coming to Tokyo! For fun talks about physics and space in a cabaret setting, don't miss it.

It's been another fun week in Tokyo for this Brit About Town.

Spoken Word
The top spoken word event of the week was Apocrypha, a storytelling show in English that is modeled on the US show RISK! - people tell personal, rather intimate stories about things that have happened to them, followed by discussion. I performed my infamous first date story and it was fun. Bar Gari Gari is a cool venue too.

Other shows
I saw Cirque de Soleil's Totem in Odaiba's Big Top at the weekend. Cirque de Soleil is always spectacular but I suspect Totem isn't their best show. Definitely worth seeing for the aerial acrobatics but there were only about four really spectacular pieces - lots of the rest of it was sort of confused clowning, an inexplicable semi-storyline, and weird cultural appropriation.

Films
I saw Hail Caesar this week, at the Shibuya Humax. It's an excellent Cohen Brothers film, and if you have any fondness for old films, this will likely appeal.

Active things
It was back to Odaiba again last weekend, this time to figure out how to rent paddleboards (SUP) and get out on the water (as opposed to accidentally going on a Children's Day free class like last time...). The rental shop is called RealBVoice and there's a nice sit-in bakery next door for lunch. While the area where you can paddleboard isn't huge, it's nice. Stretching the definition of watersports, we also went rowing this weekend, on the pond in the lovely park at Kichijoji (potentially my new favourite neighbourhood). I finally got our bikes fixed after their long journey across the sea, and my lovely wife and I finished the week by heading out along the Meguro River and then that pretty walking/bike path that extends for miles from there but weirdly is never mentioned in any English-language guides that I've seen. If you look on Google maps at the Meguro river, then trace the little creek continuing to the west, that's where the path starts. Feels like cycling through little villages in the south of France, bizarrely.

Art
I only went to one exhibition this week, Magnum's First at the Hillside Forum in Daikanyama. Since it's finished now, I won't spend too long talking about it. It was a quite interesting selection of photos first exhibited in the 50s. Cool.

Bars (and cheese)
Pick of the week was Workers Coffee/Bar halfway between Nakameguro and Ikejiri-Ohashi stations on the river. The best wine AND the best cheeseboard I've had in Tokyo in a charming hipster-ish surrounding, overlooking the riverside walk. Though if you want to buy cheese, we also found our favourite-so-far cheese shop in the Atre basement of Kichijoji. Excellent selection.

Restaurants
Top restaurant of the week was Cicada in Aoyama. Given my delight at Ivy Place, it should be no surprise that her sister restaurant is equally delicious. Similar look, but this restaurant has a sort of Spanish/Middle Eastern food mix. Special shout out to the delicious red pepper dip. I swooned. I also had dinner at El Salvatore, a pizza place in Daikanyama which was surprisingly tasty and cheery. And a shout out for the amazing oatmeal scone I devoured in Margaret Howell Cafe in Kichijoji.

Brit About Town Picks of the Week for 20th - 26th May

Fri 20th - Today until Sunday, catch the Tokyo Players' production of the Huckleberry Finn musical Big River. It's at Theatre Sun Mall in Shinjuku.

Sat 21st - My favourite (so far) comedy night in Tokyo, Comedy Sumo Slam, is on in Roppongi at 6pm. It's followed by more comedy at 8. Or go off to participate in a crazy nocturnal city-wide street game called Journey to the End of the Night.

Sun 22nd - And my favourite (so far) art event in Tokyo, Pause Draw is on this afternoon in Shibuya.

Mon 23rd - Have you heard of rakugo? It's the traditional Japanese form of comic storytelling. One man, on a cushion, and it's in English. A rare opportunity to experience this, I think. It's at Footnik in Ebisu.

Tue 24th - It's new stand-up comedy material night at the Double Tall Cafe in Shibuya. Or if you're LGBT and interested in joining a new LGBT book group, it starts tonight, discussing Patrick Gayle's A Place Called Winter.

Wed 25th - If you like comedy don't miss the double headliner show at Good Heavens - it's the rather famous Phil Nichol and Yuriko Kotani! (well, okay you can miss it, but only because it's on a second time on Sunday)

Thu 26th - This had better be your cinema night. Hail Caesar or Zootopia? 45 Years? Carol? Check out the listings.

This week has seen your Brit About Town posting a live feed of her life on the @beingtokyo Twitter account where each week a different Tokyo dweller tweets about their week. (You can do it too - just tweet @tokyorich). But other than that, lots of fun events in the last week, and even more coming up:

Spoken word
Top spoken word event of last week was the Comedy Sumo Slamdown in Roppongi. I love comedy but my over-enthusiasm means that already I sometimes end up hearing the same sets in different venues around town. It's just inevitable. But the beauty of Comedy Sumo Slamdown is that it's all new, impromptu stuff, and I found much of it hilarious. Not to mention the tasty pizza and really interesting beer at the Two Dogs Taproom while I watched. The next one's on 21st May.

Social things
It was a big gay weekend last week because Tokyo Rainbow Pride was in town. I staffed a booth, I went to a picnic, I took silly photos, and had a lot of fun. This event had such a nice, friendly, festive atmosphere. I also went to my first meetup.com language exchange last week. It was quite friendly and cheerful - other than the misery of being not very good at Japanese... but I'm sure I impressed them all with my English...

Active things
Hilarious activity of the week was aerial yoga! Have you ever tried it? It didn't feel much like yoga - more like a relaxing, bendy class interspersed with basic acrobatic type moves, all done while draped across/hanging from silk hammocks hung from the ceiling. I had a fabulous time. Though I understood 5% of what the teacher said and I was too ungainly to achieve the upside down swinging thing that everyone else did with infuriating ease...

Restaurant reviews
I went to Ivy Place again, at the T Site in Daikanyama (on a tangent, did you know that Tsutaya books  has a random taxidermy display, complete with massive polar bear? I digress...). This restaurant is a little spendy, but probably has some of the nicest Italian food we've had in Tokyo. It has a relaxed but upscale atmosphere and was a little end-of-Golden-Week treat for us.

But if you're feeling particularly vegan, this is where to pay attention: friends took us to Ain Soph in Shinjuku and it was lovely. A combination tatty chic/hipster vibe, bright yet cosy, bustling yet relaxing, and the food was delicious.

As for less fancy food, I crowdsourced the recommendation of Shanti Curry Soup in Shibuya and while a little more expensive than I'd have expected for a pretty basic bowl of food, my vegetable and egg bowl was surprisingly tasty. And en route to language exchange, I went to Karabishi Miso Ramen Kikanbo in Kanda, having found the place getting top reviews all over the 'restaurants near here' internet. It was not as vegetarian as I'd hoped... but clearly if you like spicy ramen bowls, you're probably going to love this. I chose 'mild'. It was a good level of spice for me, but it had a kick! Really tasty.

Bar reviews
As I mentioned, I was at the Two Dogs Taproom in Roppongi to see comedy. I was really impressed by their house IPA. Interesting, complex, tasty. In a craft beer extravaganza this week, I went to Craftheads in Shibuya. Really nice ambience, great beer selection, and friendly staff.


BRIT ABOUT TOWN PICKS OF THE WEEK : 13th - 19th May

What's on in Tokyo in the coming week? Your trusty Brit About Town has joined forces with the followers of the @beingtokyo Twitter feed, so this week's guide is partly crowdsourced via @beingtokyo - thanks, Tokyo people! If you have more suggestions, please email us.

Fri 13th - If you're an entrepreneur you'll be at Slush Asia during the day. By night, it's time for Apocrypha, a fairly new storytelling show at Bar Gari Gari. And as an added treat, your very own Brit About Town and Perfect Liars Club director will be making her storytelling debut, performing a story that won the Moth StorySLAM in the US. Prepare for laughs, heartbreak and romantic encounters, all in the space of 10 minutes.

Sat 14th - This is the second day of the big event for young entrepreneurs and startup people, Slush Asia. Check out the cool speakers they have lined up.

Sun 15th - Gamuso comedy show is on tonight. Or the Tokyo Art Fair Closing Party.

Weekend festivals - There's a paella-eating festival at Toyosu Park with Spanish food, dancing, etc, which should be fun (I notice it's next to the Gas Science Museum which I hear surprisingly good things about). And several people have alerted me to nearby Chuo's Keyaki Beer Festival in Zelkova Square. Plus everyone's talking about the big Sanja Matsuri festival in Asakusa with parades and all sorts of interesting goings on. 

Mon 16th - Nothing specific? Hmmm, maybe it's time you head to see Zootopia at the cinema.

Tue 17th - There's a new material night comedy show at Double Tall Cafe in Shibuya.

Wed 18th - Open mic comedy at Good Heavens Bar in Shimokitazawa.

Thu 19th - Stand-up comedy at the Hobgoblin in Shibuya tonight. It's also the first night of Tokyo International Players production of Big Fish, the Huckleberry Finn musical. We saw a sneak preview of a scene from it and it looks good! It's in English.

Oh, and if you're feeling cinema-ish at 10am, apparently Toho Shinjuku is showing My Fair Lady every day this week.

PLANNING AHEAD
If you're planning to do the Tokyo Yamathon, it's on the 21st, so sign up asap.
If you're into comedy, make sure you've got tickets for the Yuriko Kotani/Phil Nichol double bill on 25th and 29th May.

Your trusty Brit About Town ordinarily only has the evenings and weekends for her Tokyo fun… but Golden Week has meant a bumper helping of Tokyo adventures (and at lot of eating…) If you’d rather look to my recommendations for next week, just scroll straight down to the bottom of this post. But if you want reviews and inspiration from what I got up to in Tokyo, read on!
 
Evening events
My lovely wife and I went to our first Tokyo Comedy Store Improvazilla night at the Crocodile in Shibuya and it was really great. Such a fun atmosphere, clever performers, and lots of laughs. It’s in English too. Looking forward to returning next month. I also went to see The Danish Girl film and thought it was far better than the reviews I read suggested. Hooray.
 
Parks
It's been a week of park explorations, and the pick of the bunch was probably the Meguro Institute for Nature Study. Completely unlike any gardens we have visited so far in Japan, this place feels like a proper forest! (albeit one with a nice clear path going round it). What a beautiful morning out! There’s a fancy-looking coffeeshop opposite but sadly it was closed the day we went… We also visited Koishikawa Korakuen near Iidabashi which was quite lovely, Hama Rikyu Gardens which were nice but big and busy and perhaps a bit overrated… and finally Kyushiba Gardens, about 500 metres south of Hama Rikyu, and small and charming and lovely.
 
Art (seeing and doing)
As for art, this week’s highlight was the National Museum of Modern Art. The building is rather staid for a modern art museum, but some of the art was really great – certainly worth a visit. We also inordinately enjoyed a charming little photo exhibition at Ricoh Imaging Square in Ginza of romantic couples from classic films. It's on til Sunday. Though my favourite art thing of all was PauseDraw where a group of about 30 people gathered with their sketchbooks in the park in Daikanyama for two and a half hours of drawing and fun – what a delight! Note: this is a monthly thing.
 
Cocktail bars reviews
We tried two this week, with very different experiences:
 
Bar Trench in Ebisu feels like it has been lifted from the ‘So You’re Designing a Hipster Bar’ book. From exposed brick to moustachioed bartender, I loved this place before I even took my first sip. These cocktails were outstanding: balanced, imaginative, delicious. What a treat. The only downside was the smoking.
 
Gen Yamamoto in Azabu Juban is listed in many must-go cocktail bar lists but having scored a reservation, I was personally underwhelmed. The bar seats up to eight people, and serves either four or six cocktail sets. There is no music and the ambience veers between awkward silence and crassly loud conversations echoing around the otherwise silent room. What an odd experience! We were there to see several groups come and go, and everyone was a tourist, which again created an odd atmosphere. But to the important thing: the cocktails. Beautifully, meticulously created with fresh, locally sourced ingredients… but the cocktails just didn’t do it for me. The best way I can describe them is as rather tasty fruit juices in little glasses. A real let down.
 
Restaurants Reviews
Quick reviews from most to least favourite of those we tried this week:
 
Rose Bakery has a few branches in Tokyo. We went to the Marunouchi one, inside a clothes shop on a charming French-style avenue. And the food was amazing! Lunch/ café style, and apparently all vegetarian, I loved their vegetable tart with salad, their avocado toast with egg was also delicious (though not as good as Dominique Ansel’s), the cake selection was a treat but what made me really swoon was the sourdough bread.
 
La Bretagne is a French-style galette/crepe restaurant in Kagurazaka, down a charming alley in this French area. Reminded me of other French bistros around the world with the classic décor and ambience, but the galettes were particularly delicious, and it was all very convivial. 
 
Teyandei is a nice izakaya in Nishiazabu. Despite their disappointment at us being vegetarians, they rustled up quite a few really delicious plates. The sesame tofu was unlike anything I’ve had before: outstanding. The fried yam was super. And the ice cream baguette made a perfect dessert.
 
Bill’s is the famed, long-queue breakfast venue perched on top of Tokyu Plaza between Harajuku and Omotesando. We turned up at 9:30am and only had a 20 minute wait. The avocado toast was excellent (though not as good as DA’s!) and the pancakes were delightfully fluffy, though the star of the show for me was the honey/toffee-infused butter on top. Amazing.

Crisp Salad Works is a fresh custom salad café based on the US chains Sweetgreen and Chop’d. Not seen many places like this in Tokyo so I loved my salad bowl fix! We were in the Ebisu branch, which is small but bright and attractive in a US hipster style.
 
Lauderdale is an American-style fairly ritzy brunch venue in Roppongi. All rather posh and elegant, and the food was good, with a very vegetarian-friendly Eggs Benedict-type menu. 
 
And Khumbila is a Nepalese restaurant in Ebisu which lacked both ambience and taste.
 
Expeditions
 
We really only had one out of town adventure this week because we were overwhelmed with how busy it was. Mount Takao was beautiful but my first experience of queuing to walk up a mountain trail! It was unfeasibly busy. Veering off Trail 1 helped a lot though, and we had a lovely little hike for a couple of hours. And I was a big fan of the chairlift too. Later in the week, we went to Odaiba. While technically not out of town, it felt like a seaside resort. Perhaps Children’s Day was the wrong day to venture there… it was extremely busy. But also cheerful and nice, with all sorts of activities. And we got to do our main motivation for going: stand up paddleboarding! Our very favourite activity. It was so lovely to be out on the water on our paddleboards. It was also really nice to walk around the little green park with the fortress ruins. And afterwards we walked across Rainbow Bridge which was entirely fun!
 
Brit About Town picks of the week 6th – 12th May
 
English-language cinema picks out in Tokyo this week:
 
The Danish Girl, The Lobster and Hail Cesar are three quality, quirky, star-studded films that will make you think.

• The Danish Girl is the most interesting and complex, about relationships and love and identity as a husband struggles with gender identity.
• Hail Cesar is the jolliest, a Cohen Brothers film, with an impressive all-star cast, about the golden age of filmmaking… and disgruntled screenwriters.
• The Lobster is a bit darker, and loses its way in the second half, I thought… but it’s an interesting dystopia about what happens when you don’t find love in time.
  

Find the times and venues.
 
Fri 6th – Tonight there’s Gamuso comedy at 8pm.
 
Sat 7th – Two Dogs Taproom in Roppongi hosts the Comedy Sumo Slam at 6, then Craft Beer and Comedy at 8. I can’t wait, especially for the first one.
 
Sun 8th – It’s Tokyo Rainbow Pride, so watch the parade then head to Yoyogi Park for all sorts of Pride fun!
 
Tue 10th – It’s stand-up comedy new material night at Double Tall Café in Shibuya.
 
Wed 11th – Your very own Brit About Town, Layla, takes control of the @beingtokyo Twitter feed for a week. Tune in to hear about a week in the life of, well, me. Oh, and there’s a Stand Up Tokyo open mic comedy night at Good Heaven’s bar in Shimokitazawa.
 
 Any other great events on this week or in the future? Let me know!