Tokyo Community Radio (TCR), an online radio platform run by Licaxxx, has announced a new event titled communities. The event will be held at Daikanyama UNIT / Saloon in Tokyo on June 30 and at Osaka JOULE on July 1.

The guest lineup includes re:ni and Laksa, two hot up-and-coming DJs and producers reshaping the UK music scene. The duo has a monthly program on NTS Radio titled re;lax, along with a party series of the same name. In February 2023, they released a new EP, Body Score, on their new label founded to explore music with faster tempos and to carry the torch of UK techno, jungle, dubstep, and grime. Each DJ is also active individually and the two have constantly been in the spotlight.

Music fans are invited to partake in this stunning musical event led by Licaxxx and targeted at the current generation of music makers as they extend beyond Asia and take their activities around the world.

re:lax (re:ni & Laksa)

Licaxxx

ZEROTOKYO, an entertainment mecca known for heating up Tokyo nights, is teaming up with ASOBISYSTEM to create an exciting new party! ASOBIZA, named after the origin of Kabukicho, will be held on April 28.

The lineup includes music artists as well as charismatic figures at the top of their fields in fashion, beauty, and art. Transcending musical genres and generations, this night will embody ZEROTOKYO’s concept of being a true “Entertainment Junction.”

Additional performers may be announced in the future.

Hoshinoya Tokyo, a traditional ryokan in Otemachi, has announced the New Year’s Kabuki Plan, a two-day, one-night stay from January 5 until January 7, 2023. During the Edo Period, citizens enjoyed watching Kabuki plays during the New Year’s holidays, often sipping tea at connected teahouses. This event will invite visitors to experience what this was like, complete with traditional food and decorations.

Watching Kabuki was a chic way for those in Edo to ring in the new year. Theater teahouses were also a popular gathering place–along with arranging tickets, the teahouses offered plot notes, tea, sweets, boxed lunches, snacks, and other drinks.*

*Hiroshi Fujita, Yoshihide Tomizawa (2012) / The Updated Kabuki Dictionary, Kashiwa Shobo

Relax Before Enjoying Tea and a Play

Guests are invited to relax in the Ochanoma (Living Room) Lounge, decorated to look like a traditional teahouse with fans, ukiyo-e prints, and formal curtains. Hanabiramochi, or rice cakes with flower petals, will be served with green tea. These rice cakes are said to date back to the New Year’s tradition of eating hard foods like daikon and rice cakes in the hopes of prolonging one’s life. Characterized by its curious burdock root aroma, the cakes are sweetened with white miso bean paste. 

Enjoy a Post-Viewing Mont Blanc Shaped like Soba with Sweet Dessert Wine

At theater teahouses in the Edo period, sake, snacks, and desserts were served one after another. During this special event, a menu inspired by this practice and prepared by Hoshinoya Tokyo Executive Chef Noriyuki Hamada will be served! Soba noodles were often served after a play in the past. Inspired by this tradition, Mont Blanc made with chestnut paste and sponge cake will be served up to look like this popular dish. Paired with a dessert wine aged in oak barrels, the sweet will be served in a traditional lacquerware basket. In addition, the dish will be paired with Wasabi Pralines, Shichimi Meringue, and Ginger Pate de Fruits. 

Take a Rickshaw to the Kabuki-za Theater

Guests will be taken on an Edo-style tour on their way to the Kabuki-za Theater. Passing through the Nihonbashi area, the first stop will be the Fukutoku Shrine. It’s said that Hidetada Tokugawa paid a visit to and praised the shrine on New Year’s Day in 1614. The next shrine on the docket, Hodo Inari Jinja, was enshrined in Edo Castle during the Edo period to protect the heir to the Tokugawa family. It’s said that the shrine provides blessings for child rearing, matchmaking, and business prosperity. 

This tour will provide a more elegant way to explore Tokyo as guests enjoy exposition from their chauffeur. To make the rickshaw ride even more enjoyable, guests can rent kimonos for an extra charge.

Would you like to take a step back in time this New Year?

The Mine City Tourism Association has announced a Christmas & Valentine’s Day event at Akiyoshido Cave, one of the largest limestone caves in Japan. The event will see the natural wonder illuminated by a number of colorful lights. The Christmas event will run from December 21 to 25, 2022, while the Valentine’s Day event will run from February 10 to 14, 2023.

Akiyoshido Cave is one of Yamaguchi Prefecture’s most popular tourist attractions. The interior will be decorated with colorful lights and unique soundscapes, creating a once-in-a-lifetime setting for visitors. These illuminations and sounds were directed by world-renowned lighting designer Motoko Ishii, known for her work on Tokyo Tower and the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge.

A story-based digital GPS rally inspired by Chainsaw Man will be held within Tokyo’s subway system from November 1 until November 28. Fans of the anime series won’t want to miss it!

Participants will be tasked with one vital mission: to find five senior devil hunters who are currently undercover at subway stations around the city.

Participants will download an app from the special website and follow the instructions within to find stamp locations at stations throughout Tokyo. When they reach the designated location, they’ll find a special poster, and they’ll just need to press a button in the app to earn a stamp. By collecting stamps in all six locations, fans will receive a unique key visual which can only be obtained through this event. 

Pop-Up Shop

During the event period, fans will also find a limited-time pop-up shop inside Ikebukuro Sunshine City. Original collaboration items will be on sale, and a game will be set up with winners able to walk away with unique prizes. From November 1 to November 20, admission to the shop will be by advance reservation only on a first-come, first-served basis to reduce crowding. Reservations can be made through the official website.

©藤本タツキ／集英社・ＭＡＰＰＡ

HELLO KITTY SHOW BOX, a theater and restaurant offering Hello Kitty-themed shows and meals on Awaji Island, and HELLO KITTY APPLE HOUSE, an apple-shaped observation theater based on the popular character’s home, are both currently holding the Apple Halloween 2022 event until October 31! 

Guests can enjoy a mystery-solving event and some adorable photo spots inspired by apples and the Halloween season. By solving certain riddles, visitors will be rewarded with candy!

Come have fun this Halloween with Hello Kitty, friends, and family!

Started in October, the New Show ‘HELLO KITTY THE PARTIES’ Gets Rave Reviews

HELLO KITTY THE PARTIES, a new show at the theater and restaurant HELLO KITTY SHOW BOX, will run until December 30, 2022. The show features a new theme each month and currently features a jazz band.

October’s theme is Happy Halloween Party, and visitors can listen to a number of famous songs while enjoying tasty and healthy dishes packed with autumn flavors. At the end of the performance, a meet and greet with Hello Kitty will be held. November’s theme will be Hello Kitty’s Birthday Party, while December will focus on a Christmas Party!

The popular anime series Free! will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a special event at Saitama Super Arena on August 13, 2023. Cast members from the series, including Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Mamoru Miyano, Tsubasa Yonaga, and Daisuke Hirakawa, will be in attendance. Free! -the Final Stroke- The Second Volume will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 5, 2023, and will include a priority purchase application ticket for the special event. Check out the official website for details!

The Free! anime franchise, which is loosely based on the High Speed! light novels by Kouji Ooji, began in 2013 and includes three TV series and multiple films produced by Kyoto Animation. The three anime series–Free!, Free! Eternal Summer, and Free! Dive to the Future–have been incredibly popular around the world. The first part of Free! The Final Stroke was released in theaters last year, with the second part hitting theaters in April 2022. Fans won’t want to miss out on the exciting 10th-anniversary activities in 2023!

©おおじこうじ・京都アニメーション／岩鳶町後援会2021

Shin Yokohama Prince Hotel will be offering a special room and collaboration menu inspired by the popular anime series The Vampire Dies in No Time from September 22 until November 30, 2022. Reservations will open on the hotel’s official website starting September 12 at 1:00 PM. 

The Vampire Dies in No Time follows the hilarious adventures of the vampire Draluc and the vampire hunter Ronaldo. Set in the city of Shin-Yokohama, it makes sense that this collaboration would be taking place!

Original Goods

Collaboration Menu

Guests and fans of the series will be able to enjoy a fully-decorated room and collaboration menu inspired by characters from the popular anime series.

The concept room, located on an upper floor overlooking the Shin-Yokohama cityscape, is decorated with illustrations of Draluc, Ronaldo, and other characters. The guest-only goods feature newly-drawn illustrations. 

Sweets plates and drinks will be served at the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Guests can enjoy desserts shaped like Ronaldo’s red hat and Draluc’s ashes, so don’t miss it!

©盆ノ木至（秋田書店）／製作委員会すぐ死ぬ

Art subscription service Casie is collaborating with HOTEL SHE, KYOTO! A special art exhibition titled GALLERY HOTEL SHE, will be held from September 17 until October 16, inviting guests to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of staying in a gallery overnight!

During the event period, guests of HOTEL SHE, KYOTO will be able to select their favorite piece of artwork from an on-site gallery. The piece will then be hung in their guestroom, and visitors can spend the night appreciating it at their own pace. This is a great way to learn more about art appreciation, and guests can enjoy discussing the art world with their friends and family. 

“Although we may view art in museums and other venues, it is rare to have the opportunity to select and display a work of art of our own choice,” the project description reads. “Through this unique experience, we aim to provide guests the chance to actively engage with art and inspire them to make art a part of their daily life going forward.”

A special event is coming to Tokyo and Osaka this summer to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Kuroko’s Basketball anime series. Fans will want to visit Tokyo in July and Osaka in September.

Kuroko’s Basketball is a manga series by Tadatoshi Fujimaki which was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump until 2014 and tells the story of a high school basketball team trying to make it to the national tournament. The anime adaptation began airing in April 2012.

Kuroko’s Basketball ~A Miracle One Day in the City~

Kuroko’s Basketball ~ Kyoto Exhibition

Gallery Corner

Voice Guide

Admission Bonus – Invitation Card (9 varieties)

Exclusive Goods – F6 Character Board

Goods

Acrylic Stand (9 varieties)

Mini Acrylic Charms 1 (Random)

Mini Acrylic Charms 2 (Random)

Pin (9 varieties, random)

Purchase Bonus – Shopping Bag

The event will feature exhibits highlighting the history of the series and will feature a special voiceover. Exclusive merchandise will be on sale and guests will be welcomed by Kuroko and his friends at the entrance, all wearing special costumes drawn for the event.

Are you a Kuroko’s Basketball fan?

© 藤巻忠俊／集英社・黒子のバスケ製作委員会
© 「黒子のバスケ」アニメ10周年プロジェクト

Aniplex Online Fest 2022 will be available to stream worldwide on September 24, 2022! This is the third such event, with the first streaming in 2020. The large-scale online festival will share the latest information on Aniplex’s anime works and a number of live performances are planned. Participating artists will be announced soon, so keep an eye out for more information. 

Last year’s Aniplex Online Fest featured information on 11 anime series and had a lineup of incredible musical artists, DJs, and live drawing events. The festival was streamed on YouTube worldwide in both English and Japanese for over six hours and recorded a total of 850,000 viewers.

To commemorate the upcoming event, the main visual has been revealed. The illustration was done by Kerorira, the character designer for Bocchi the Rock!

Comment from Kerorira

“It’s not often I get to create an original image from scratch, so I’ve been given a very rare opportunity! Please enjoy it!”

Stay tuned for more Aniplex Online Fest 2022 information!

The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in Tokyo will offer a special suite inspired by the upcoming Toshio Suzuki Studio Ghibli Exhibition from July 1 until August 31, 2022. This will include tickets to the exhibition, which will take place at Warehouse Terrada in Shinagawa from July 1 until September 7. 

Toshio Suzuki, a producer at Studio Ghibli, has worked with both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata on a number of beloved masterpieces. The exhibition will feature a large bookshelf housing 8,800 of Suzuki’s publications and favorite tomes. Many of these were published before Suzuki joined Studio Ghibli, and guests are invited to see how the producer was inspired to join the legendary studio after working as an editor at a manga magazine. To commemorate the exhibition’s opening, this special suite is filled with books written by Suzuki along with other books that visitors may enjoy during their relaxing stay. 

In the suite, guests will find a list of 106 books that influenced Suzuki the most. This list will be available to take home. Visitors will also find reproductions of Suzuki’s calligraphy. 

©TS ©Studio Ghibli