This Week in Tokyo – 2 October 2018

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. Mac, Founder and Lead Guide of Maction Planet, talks us through his favourite shots. This week: Enter (under) the Dragon, Road to nowhere, Bape XXV, Cut the Crape and God Sigma! 

Featured image – Enter (under) the Dragon: There are only a few occasions when you are going to see the giant red chōchin at the Kaminarimon in Sensoji collapsed. One is during the Sanja Matsuri, to allow mikoshi and tall objects to pass through the gate. The other is during a typhoon, when it is hoisted up to prevent potential damage. This is understandable as the lantern is 4 meters tall, 3.4 meters in circumference and weighs 670 kilograms. We definitely do not want the swinging about uncontrollably in strong winds, like those experienced last weekend during Typhoon 24. One advantage is that it allows you an amazing view of the dragon carved underneath, and my guests and I did not miss this unique opportunity! 

Road to nowhere: After finishing a Tokyo Whisky Tour on Sunday, just before Typhoon 24 hit, I headed home via the underground shopping passages leading from Yasukuni Dori to Shinjuku Station. Shinjuku is the world’s busiest railway station with 3.5 million passenger throughput every day. Seeing any part of its spralling complex empty, at 10pm on a Sunday no less, hardly ever happens, so I had to snap a shot of this rare occurrence.

Bape XXV: Congratulations to clothing brand Bathing Ape on their 25th Anniversary. To celebrate, they took over Omotesando Hills on 29 and 30 September. Part of the fun involved Baby Milo and his friends hanging over the central plaza of Tadao Ando’s futuristic mall. Cute and consumerist!

Cut the Crape: The Japanese Crape (or Crepe) Myrtle is in full bloom on the streets of Tokyo. Yayu Wang snapped this shot near Onarimon Station after finishing a Maction Planet Tokyo Photography Tour.

And finally… God Sigma: Earlier this year Bandai released the SOUL OF CHOGOKIN – GX-60R GOD SIGMA (RENEWAL VERSION), and the world is a better place for it… especially when it is exactly what you have been looking for to bring back for your son after a business trip, as our guest Alan wanted to do! All part of the service at Maction Planet!

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