This Week in Tokyo – 19 November 2019

The latest edition of This Week in Tokyo – a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in and beyond the city. 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’s edition is hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide. This week: Sayonara Anata no Warehouse; Tokyo 2020 shoes; Whisky Festival 2019 in TOKYO; Premier12 Baseball 2019 and Peninsula Christmas in progress! 

Featured image – Sayonara Anata no Warehouse: Anata No Warehouse in Kawasaki closed its doors on 17 November 2019. Anata No Warehouse (‘Your Warehouse’) was a video arcade designed to look like the back alleys of Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City. The builders created a dystopian version of this den of iniquity. Entering through the sliding doors takes you into this world of authentically recreated trash, hand-painted signs, adverts and other aspects of the Walled City’s salubrious past. Sadly this incredible place is no more but my arcade-loving guests Renata and Jaime (who toured with Maction Planet last year too) got to experience it on Sunday 10 November. They suggested a video be made for the Maction Planet YouTube to document the place for posterity and we made the movie which you can watch below:

Tokyo 2020 shoes: “If you buy them, I’ll buy them” I said to my guest Renata as we were browsing around the Asics store in Harajuku. So we bought them! Then we took them on a photoshoot around Tokyo. ‘Nuff said!

Whisky Festival 2019 in TOKYO: I attended Day 1 of Whisky Festival 2019 in TOKYO (ウイスキーフェスティバル2019 in TOKYO) on Saturday, sampling delicious beverages and networking with industry illuminati from around the world. It was great to see many new Japanese distilleries at the event, in many cases upstaging the presence of the big guns such as Suntory and Nikka. We made a video showcasing the best of the event. You can watch me sampling whiskies from around the world and enjoy walkabout performances from bagpiper Atsushi Yamane (山根篤), who we have featured on the Maction Planet YouTube before. Watch below:

Premier12 Baseball 2019: On Tuesday 12 November I took Emily and DeAnne to the Tokyo Dome for Japan vs USA in the WBSC Premier12 2019 Super Round.  The 2019 WBSC Premier12 is an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world. It was held from November 2 to 17, 2019, in Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. On Sunday, Samurai Japan overcame an early deficit to defeat Korea 5-3 in the final and become WBSC Premier12 2019 champions with a three-run homer by Tokyo Yakult Swallows superstar Yamada Tetsuto. We made a video of the fun we had at the Japan vs USA game, starting with a journey through the extensive merchandising and then into the stadium to showcase incredible fan atmosphere which is what makes Japanese Baseball a must-experience… err… experience! Enjoy!:

Peninsula Christmas in progress: I am honoured that Maction Planet has been chosen by the Peninsula Tokyo as one of their premier tour and experience providers in Tokyo and it is always a privilege to pick up guests from there. The hotel is also a great destination of both visitors and residents to enjoy some festive atmosphere. It takes work to craft this experience, and I caught the team hard at work making sure that everything was just right as they put up the tree outside the hotel on 14 November.

Maction Planet runs bespoke Private Tours and Experiences in Tokyo, and beyond. To book yours, contact us at info@mactionplanet.com

You can subscribe to the Maction Planet newsletter below, and follow all our adventures on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Mixcloud and YouTube.