First, a BIG announcement: Perfect Liars Club has a launch date for Tokyo! Put the 6th October into your calendars. It's going to be amazing.
But what else have we been up to?
Film
The joy of the week has been the fabulous Short Shorts festival. I can't believe I haven't seen anyone I know in attendance - if you like film, this festival is unmissable! I've been to three screenings so far. Each screening consists of four short films from around the world that are being considered for an Oscar. Each has English and Japanese subtitles (unless the film is already in one of those languages, obviously!). And they are all free. This has been a major highlight of my Tokyo nightlife so far. And best of all, it's on til the 26th June. So get booking! Here's the schedule.
Spoken word
It was all about nerdery last Friday at Tokyo's first Nerd Night. I've been to these in the US: scientists speak about their science in a jolly way in a bar setting. There were three talks: one that taught me more about recreating jousting in the 21st century than I ever imagined knowing, one about nuclear physics, and the best of all, a brilliant talk about artificial intelligence. After all that I felt slightly more intelligent too. They're planning to do this event monthly.
Art
I was bitter that I missed the art show my lovely wife went to, but I did go and draw with the lovely Pausedraw group. Other than the Short Shorts festival, definitely one of my favourite things in Tokyo.
Food
Restaurant pick of the week is Cafe Olu Olu near Sangenjaya. Really tasty vegan food! My teriyaki tofu was terrific and the coconut milk ramen I stole from my friend's bowl was even better.
Exploring Tokyo
This week I explored a new area: Nakano. Our friends took my lovely wife and me to Nakano Broadway, which they described as an otaku/anime shopping centre wonderland. Extra fun as I'd never have thought to explore it by myself, but really interesting to see all the weird and wonderful things available - and so many people shopping for them! We also had a stroll around Nakano's Central Park, featuring a Hawaii festival - cheery.
PICKS OF THE WEEK FOR 10TH - 16TH JUNE
Well, I will be out of town at a conference in the US, but don't say I'm not good to you, people of Tokyo. Here's a list of my picks of the week, even though I'm not here to enjoy them in person. Actually, it's a pretty quiet week so that you can focus on the short films.
All week
The fabulous Short Shorts festival... Oh, also Tell Me on a Sunday, the stage musical, opens on the 10th. Can't tell what language it's in, but it's all Andrew Lloyd Webber songs so perhaps in English. It's on til the 26th.
Fri 10th - You can see a London production of Hamlet on screen at Bunkamura, Shibuya in English with Japanese subtitles tonight only. Also from now til Tuesday, go see The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Nighttime at Cine Libre Ikebukuro - also from the UK, this National Theatre live screening is the best I've seen. Don't miss it!
Sat 11th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Sun 12th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Mon 13th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Tue 14th - It's the weekly stand up comedy new material night in Shibuya. Or The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Wed 15th - Good Heavens Stand-up Comedy open mic night tonight! Also in Setagaya, Macbeth opens tonight in Japanese with English subtitles.
Thu 16th - From tonight til the 19th, go see Japanese silent comedy Gamarjobat based on Charlie Chaplin's City Lights.
Enjoy!
But what else have we been up to?
Film
The joy of the week has been the fabulous Short Shorts festival. I can't believe I haven't seen anyone I know in attendance - if you like film, this festival is unmissable! I've been to three screenings so far. Each screening consists of four short films from around the world that are being considered for an Oscar. Each has English and Japanese subtitles (unless the film is already in one of those languages, obviously!). And they are all free. This has been a major highlight of my Tokyo nightlife so far. And best of all, it's on til the 26th June. So get booking! Here's the schedule.
Spoken word
It was all about nerdery last Friday at Tokyo's first Nerd Night. I've been to these in the US: scientists speak about their science in a jolly way in a bar setting. There were three talks: one that taught me more about recreating jousting in the 21st century than I ever imagined knowing, one about nuclear physics, and the best of all, a brilliant talk about artificial intelligence. After all that I felt slightly more intelligent too. They're planning to do this event monthly.
Art
I was bitter that I missed the art show my lovely wife went to, but I did go and draw with the lovely Pausedraw group. Other than the Short Shorts festival, definitely one of my favourite things in Tokyo.
Food
Restaurant pick of the week is Cafe Olu Olu near Sangenjaya. Really tasty vegan food! My teriyaki tofu was terrific and the coconut milk ramen I stole from my friend's bowl was even better.
Exploring Tokyo
This week I explored a new area: Nakano. Our friends took my lovely wife and me to Nakano Broadway, which they described as an otaku/anime shopping centre wonderland. Extra fun as I'd never have thought to explore it by myself, but really interesting to see all the weird and wonderful things available - and so many people shopping for them! We also had a stroll around Nakano's Central Park, featuring a Hawaii festival - cheery.
PICKS OF THE WEEK FOR 10TH - 16TH JUNE
Well, I will be out of town at a conference in the US, but don't say I'm not good to you, people of Tokyo. Here's a list of my picks of the week, even though I'm not here to enjoy them in person. Actually, it's a pretty quiet week so that you can focus on the short films.
All week
The fabulous Short Shorts festival... Oh, also Tell Me on a Sunday, the stage musical, opens on the 10th. Can't tell what language it's in, but it's all Andrew Lloyd Webber songs so perhaps in English. It's on til the 26th.
Fri 10th - You can see a London production of Hamlet on screen at Bunkamura, Shibuya in English with Japanese subtitles tonight only. Also from now til Tuesday, go see The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Nighttime at Cine Libre Ikebukuro - also from the UK, this National Theatre live screening is the best I've seen. Don't miss it!
Sat 11th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Sun 12th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Mon 13th - Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Tue 14th - It's the weekly stand up comedy new material night in Shibuya. Or The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Night Time's still on.
Wed 15th - Good Heavens Stand-up Comedy open mic night tonight! Also in Setagaya, Macbeth opens tonight in Japanese with English subtitles.
Thu 16th - From tonight til the 19th, go see Japanese silent comedy Gamarjobat based on Charlie Chaplin's City Lights.
Enjoy!
RSS Feed