Season's Hints 2012

Discover how to make this holiday season even more special with our suggestions from gift giving to enjoying a night out

The newly renovated Tokyo Station will shine with a spectacular musical light display from Dec. 21 to 28. TOKYO MICHITERASU 2012

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Gifts

Taking home cutting-edge contemporary art

Lammfromm offers various original products from internationally recognized artists, as well as designer items from around the world. It has an online shop and a physical one in Tokyo at ShinQs in Shibuya Hikarie.

Kyoto-style items make waves in Tokyo

Kyoto-based Japanese fan maker Maisendo opened its new Tokyo shop, Sakira Maisendo, at Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs last April, featuring selected Japanese products from Kyoto and other areas of western Japan.

Ginza galleries offer special deals

For someone special, how about giving a work of art from Ginza?

Picture books, toys for children and adults

Established in 1976 by author Keiko Ochiai, Crayonhouse specializes in books for children, with a selection also catering to women, and sells toys and organic food items.

Daily use, personalized touch

The Kappabashi district in Taito Ward, Tokyo, has become one of the most famous tourist destinations in the capital in recent years.

Christmas markets add to winter fun

European-style Christmas markets have already taken root in Japan as part of the winter events, such as at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills, the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse and Osaka's Shin Umeda City complex.

Oriental Bazaar has wide variety of gifts

Located in the Harajuku-Omotesando area famous as a hangout for youths and fashionable types alike, Oriental Bazaar has been a major stop for foreign tourists to buy souvenirs.

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Food

Meidi-Ya holiday goods ready for all comers

Meidi-Ya supermarket, founded in 1885, has long been known for imported foods.

Tokyo's gourmet food stores are ready for Xmas

The Tokyo area has many other supermarkets with a focus on providing food items that cater to Western tastes. They are also preparing to attract Christmas shoppers with whole chickens, holiday cakes and other delights.

On its 50th anniversary, National Azabu reopens in time for the holidays

For 50 years, National Azabu has been serving foreign communities craving the foods and goods they grew up with.

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Hotels and Restaurants

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Events

Sewing the past into a bright future

On Aug. 17, when a special concert by 126 students from disaster-hit Miyagi Prefecture was performed at Suntory Hall, an impressive tapestry made of kimono from the prefecture's city of Ishinomaki hung in the lobby of the Tokyo concert hall.

Enjoy ice skating in the heart of the illuminated metropolis

Akasaka Sacas, a complex including theaters, shops and restaurants around the TBS Broadcasting Center, is home to one of the biggest outdoor ice skating rinks in Tokyo during the winter.

Colin Currie Group drums up rapturous masterpiece

Colin Currie Group, a new-generation percussion ensemble led by Edinburgh-born solo percussionist Colin Currie, will perform Steve Reich's "Drumming" in Tokyo.

Charity art auction for young artists returns for 17th time to Tokyo

Artworks by young artists will be auctioned on Dec. 8 at Mitsubishi Corp. headquarters in Tokyo.

Pipe organ baroque dance at Suntory Hall

Suntory Hall in Tokyo presents its annual organ concert on Dec. 23, featuring Japanese organist Hiroko Takahashi. Highlights of this year are performances of baroque dance by the group Scenes et Salons, led by Japanese dancer-director Yoko Ichise. The program includes the 14th-century carol "Angelus ad Virginem" and Marcel Dupre's "Variations sur un vieux Noel."

Mezzo-soprano Yanagi sings Spanish Christmas folk songs

Japanese mezzo-soprano Teiko Yanagi, a leading authority on Spanish vocal music, will perform her 27th annual Christmas concert, in collaboration with Japanese musicians including pianist Haruki Mino and guitarist Anri Shibata.

Federico Mompou's resonance of silence

Japanese pianist Shizuka Shimoyama performs a concert that sheds light on Catalan-Spanish composer Federico Mompou (1893-1987), in collaboration with Japanese musicians soprano Eri Unoki, violinist Mutsuko Imai and cellist Yosuke Ozawa.

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Travel

Step by step, seeing the positive in Japan

The documentary film "Negative: Nothing" on a Swiss man's amazing journey on foot across the length of Japan is being screened in Japan.

Tokyo through designer eyes

Japanese design company D&Department Inc. has released this autumn its eighth travel guidebook, this time featuring Tokyo, as part of its D&Department Project activities to promote "long-life design."

Takayama is the place to visit this winter!

Have you been to Takayama, where historical Japanese culture still remains? If you haven't, we strongly recommend a visit to this area of Gifu Prefecture, especially in wintertime.

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