This Week in Tokyo – 18 May 2021

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: DA Fruit Sandwich; Playbow; Still time for Dorayaki; Adult Oriented Disco and World Whisky Day on Kanpai Planet.

Featured image – DA Fruit Sandwich: Fruit sandwiches are much more than just an Instagrammable snack. Like many aspects of Japanese food and drink culture, they’ve been elevated to gourmet levels through an artisanal dedication to the slicing of the fruit, the choice of cream and the selection of the bread. One of my favourite new spots for this fruity treat is DA Cafe at the Prince Smart Inn Ebisu. Over time I have tried each of the choices in this fridge and they are absolutely delicious. Just like a good mother can’t pick her favourite child, so I would struggle to choose etc, but the answer is Pineapple!

Playbow: It’s a Puppy Nursery and Dog Hotel, located in Nakameguro, called Playbow. ‘Nuff said.

Still time for Dorayaki: There’s still time to sign up for our DORAYAKI online interactive cooking class, held on 23 May JST (evening of 22 May for the Americas).

Dorayaki is a traditional Japanese sweet snack which has recently come back into fashion. Plus, it’s a favourite of robot cat Doraemon! I’m smiling in this photo as I’m about to taste test the signed-off recipe for our class. SPOILER ALERT: Chef Nahoko delivered another classic!

More info here: mactionplanet.com/blog/dorayaki-online-cooking-class

Email info@mactionplanet.com to sign up!

Adult Oriented Disco: One of the Maction Planet portfolio projects I am most proud of is Maction Planet Radio. Resident DJ Royce Leong dropped another classic mix there this week: Adult Oriented Disco Volume 2 – another volume of modern Japanese soul and funk for discerning listeners featuring tracks by Softsoul, Q.A.S.B, EOW, Kroi, I Don’t Like Mondays and more. Whether you’re young or old, this diverse mix is guaranteed to make you get up and dance!

World Whisky Day on Kanpai Planet: World Whisky Day 2021 was on Saturday 15 May, and to celebrate I pitted Suntory and Nikka’s flagship World Whiskies head-to-head! How does Suntory Ao stack up against Nikka Session? Watch to find out! As per the usual, expect lots of historic tidbits and other edutainment in true Kanpai Planet fashion. It’s a whisky review like no other!

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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