Tag - shibuya

 
 

SHIBUYA

The second edition of the Tokyo International Comedy Festival will feature 60 shows across eight venues with a diverse array of talent on stage.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 11, 2025
Tokyo International Comedy Festival doubles down on diversity and scale
The second edition of Tokyo’s stand-up festival has leveled up with even more bilingual sets, international guests and comedy specials than before.
Sega's first brick-and-mortar store in Japan is an example of how the country's video game industry is thinking of its digital products as tangible experiences.
LIFE / Digital
Jul 18, 2025
Sega’s first Japan store signals ‘immersive entertainment’ push
Opened on July 18 in the Shibuya Parco building, the video game company’s brick-and-mortar venture hints at a broader trend in Japan’s gaming landscape.
A group of tourists drive go-karts in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on April 18, 2024. The ward will introduce new regulations on go-kart rental operators starting July 1.
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Shibuya to regulate popular street kart rentals amid tourist boom
Go-kart-style vehicles have become a staple part of Tokyo’s inbound tourism scene, but they have also drawn complaints from locals.
Shibuya’s iconic scramble crossing has helped put the district on the map globally.
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2025
Shibuya, Tokyo's coolest ward, offers startups a leg up in Japan
It's offering international entrepreneurs free space, a good address and a wide range of support services.
"In My Closet" by the artist Noumra is on display at Tokyu Plaza Harajuku's Harakado space until June 18.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2025
At Tokyo Pride’s first queer art exhibition, intimacy and resistance share the wall
A vibrant, community-sourced exhibition in Harajuku showcases queer art that spans the political, absurd and deeply personal.
Akihiko Ogino, president and CEO of Daiwa Securities Group, says Japan should press ahead with diversity initiatives as he attends the Tokyo Pride parade in the capital's Shibuya area on Sunday.
BUSINESS
Jun 8, 2025
Top banker vows loyalty to DEI at Tokyo Pride Parade as Trump’s pushback rages
Few Japanese executives have spoken out on U.S. backlash to DEI, though many firms seem to be quietly maintaining their initiatives.
Atsuko Okatsuka tries out some of the jokes from her new special, “Father,”  at the Tokyo Comedy Bar in Shibuya in January.
CULTURE / Stage
May 30, 2025
Atsuko Okatsuka brings big 'dad' energy to new special
The comedian’s upcoming special, titled “Father,” blends whimsical comedy and family drama — just in time for Father's Day.
Sales of luxury properties in Tokyo, like Azabudai Hills’ Aman Residences, have pushed up average real estate prices in the capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2025
Luxury Tokyo penthouse sold for over $65 million in new record
Home prices in Tokyo have been on a broad upward trend, driven by rising construction costs and a limited supply of new buildings.
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2025
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Streaming numbers are up, world tours are growing, and now, Tokyo has a new studio aimed at amplifying Japan’s voice.
Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 13, 2025
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave
A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Margot Magniere and Theo Poyer returned to Japan after pandemic-era restrictions were lifted and decided to stay for a while.
CULTURE / Music
Apr 11, 2025
The band that turned a pandemic lockdown into a Tokyo dream
On “Grand Voyage,” French pop act Tapeworms tap into Japanese cultural nostalgia and picopop.
As the founder of Z Rakugo, Edanoshin Katsura is introducing the traditional storytelling form to younger audiences by blending it with club visuals and electronic music.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 22, 2025
Edanoshin Katsura: ‘Rakugo and techno are both about rhythm and groove’
A 23-year-old entertainer is redefining the Japanese comedic storytelling tradition for Gen Z by introducing elements of techno and underground youth culture.
Toyohara Kunichika experimented with established norms of composition and began spreading a single figure over three full sheets, as seen in this “Kabuki Play 'Kagamiyama Gonichi no Iwafuji'” triptych.
CULTURE / Art
Feb 15, 2025
Kunichika's vibrant ukiyo-e gets a chance to shine at anniversary exhibit
An underappreciated ukiyo-e master is the focus of the largest-ever retrospective of his work in Japan, marking the 190th anniversary of his birth.
Dig Shibuya 2025 spotlights tech in art and high-tech experiences such as “Around the Corner,” an interactive piece by the Hong Kong-based technology-driven artist group XRT (extended reality art).
CULTURE / Art
Feb 7, 2025
Shibuya becomes the canvas for tech-infused art during Dig 2025
Now in its sophomore year, the Dig Shibuya digital art festival runs from Feb. 8 to 11, with activities and exhibitions popping up across Tokyo’s trendiest neighborhood.
New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2025
Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’
The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.
Hirohito Shibuya was arrested on suspicion of constructive forcible sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 20 in February 2023, when he was living with his wife, eight former wives and three children.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2025
Man who lived with many women dies before ruling on sexual assault
According to the indictment, Shibuya, 76, sexually assaulted a girl at his home by telling her that she would be eaten by aliens, weakening her resistance.
Looking for LGBTQ+ events this holiday season? Tokyo is chockful of a variety of ways to spread cheer in the way that suits you best.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 20, 2024
Make the Yuletide gay: Tokyo’s LGBTQ+ Christmas events
Drag shows and lip-sync karaoke may not be traditional holiday get-togethers, but they deck the halls just the same.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024
Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant
“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Every Tokyo transplant has their favorite comfort food spot, and it seems Kanye West has found his at Good Wood Terrace.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024
Did Kanye West really discover Tokyo’s best jerk chicken spot?
Social media in Japan has become fascinated with Good Wood Terrace after Ye’s visit, with many visiting to try it out themselves.
Ten people are suspected of forcibly entering a club in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Dec. 17 last year and assaulting a male security guard.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2024
Alleged operator of anonymous X account arrested over club assault
Z-Ri, a pun on the name of the kung-fu actor Jet Li, is an influential account that posts about the inner workings of Japan's underworld.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’