Truly Tokyo

A Tokyo Travel Guide

Tokyo Events January 2025

January in Tokyo can be pretty dreary, with cold weather and all-too-short spells of sunlight. Then again, it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy the dreamy winter illuminations and hot street food at antique markets around town. Ring in the new year with hatsumode at the nearest shrine, watch flocks of young Japanese in gorgeous furisode for their Coming of Age celebrations, and paint the town red at any of the events below. Winter in Tokyo is just fabulous!

People walk amidst the trees wrapped in Christmas lights at night as part of the Yebisu Garden Place Winter Illuminations in Tokyo, Japan
Illuminations at Yebisu Garden Palace © ajari

1-3 January 2025

Event: Hatsumode
Location: Various
Time: 24 hours
Admission: Free
Website: N/A

Augment those New Year’s resolutions and start 2025 on the right foot by visiting a shrine for hatsumode - the first shrine visit and prayers of the new year over the first 3 days of January. Meiji Jingu Shrine in Harajuku and Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa are two of the most popular spots in Tokyo, but they’re also the most crowded. You’ll see long queues and food stalls at these places, so it’s not all that different from your average festival! Head to any local shrine for hatsumode and you’ll have a good time.

9 November-13 January 2025

Event: Baccarat ETERNAL Lights - Yebisu Garden Place Winter Illumination
Location: Yebisu Garden Place
Time: Varies by event - see website
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Winter illuminations abound all over Tokyo as soon as the temperature begins to dip, but the annual glow-up at Yebisu Garden Place must be one of the most impressive. Besides the glitzy Christmas tree, the illuminations include one of the world’s largest chandeliers - from renowned crystal manufacturer Baccarat, no less. With almost 100,000 lights around, it’s sure to brighten any dreary winter’s day.

Looking up through the trees wrapped in festive lights of the Marunouchi Illuminations against the night sky and surrounding buildings in Tokyo, Japan
Marunouchi Illuminations © Dick Thomas Johnson

14 November 2024-16 February 2025

Event: Marunouchi Illumination
Location: Marunouchi Illumination
Time: 5:30pm-11:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Clocking in at 23 consecutive years, the annual Marunouchi Illuminations is one of the longest-running Tokyo light-ups of its kind. Naturally, it's a favourite with many Tokyo residents. Walking down the champagne-coloured, fairy light-strewn, gently glittering Naka-dori never fails to induce starry-eyed Christmassy feelings in us. Sometimes literally. Naka-dori stretches for around 500 meters, from near Tokyo Station to the vicinity of the Peninsula Hotel.

1 January-2 February 2025

Event: Pokémon x Crafts Exhibition
Location: Azabudai Hills Gallery, Azabudai Hills
Time: 10:00am–7:00pm (8:00pm on Fridays)
Admission: ¥1800
Website: Official website (English)

Pokémon isn’t just for kids anymore — the fanbase now includes an entire generation of Millennials who grew up with the iconic Japanese franchise. Whatever your age, though, this exhibition is perfect if you love Pokémon but also enjoy sophisticated Japanese craftsmanship. This exhibition showcases 70 items across a range of crafts, all themed around Pokémon. Think Pikachu-themed tea bowls and cups, a ceramic Venusaur, and a Jolteon in shiny wrought metal and gold.

1 January-24 February 2025

Event: Hello Kitty 50th Anniversary Exhibition
Location: Tokyo National Museum
Time: 9:30am–5:00pm
Admission: ¥2000
Website: Official website (English)

It’s been a whole half-century since Yuko Shimizu introduced her iconic white kitty to the world. This sprawling exhibition traces the evolution of Hello Kitty across the decades, showcasing a huge range of artworks featuring this cat. Of particular note are the pieces already in the National Museum’s collection, such as Hello Kitty making an appearance in an interpretation of a folding screen of the Wind and Thunder gods, or the cat reinterpreted as an Edo period-style woodblock print of a kabuki actor. Naturally, fans won’t want to miss the gift shop full of fabulous feline merchandise.

5 January 2025

Event: Oedo Antique Market
Location: Tokyo International Forum (Tokyo Station Area/Marunouchi Area)
Time: 9:00am-4:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (English)

Billed as the largest outdoor antique market in Japan, the event attracts shoppers from all walks of life. There is quite literally everything and anything old here: Taisho-period glassware, ceramics, rusty coins, gorgeous jewelry, secondhand kimono ranging from dirt cheap to a few hundred dollars… Whether you’re looking for a cheap bargain or a rare gem from the 1880s, you’re sure to find something for your budget. Haggling is best very early in the morning or towards the end of the day, though you can spend the whole day browsing.

The market is closed in case of rain, but this market is held twice or thrice a month. So, if that happens, you can try your luck again on 19 January.

5 January 2025

Event: Hanazono Shrine Antique Market
Location: Hanazono Shrine
Time: 6:30am-3:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Here's another fun reason to visit Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku: there's a small but regular antique fair happening there almost every Sunday. The Hanazono Shrine Blue Sky Antique Fair - which is the full name in Japanese, roughly translated - is not exactly endless sprawl and shopping, since there are only 25~30 stalls maximum at any given time. Smaller items are the focus here, rather than large furniture or statement pieces.

The market runs from sunrise to sunset, though visiting in the morning is best since many stalls tend to close around 3pm. (Come around then for the best bargains.) Check the calendar above before you go. If it rains, expect it not to run.

12 January 2025

Event: Winter Bathing Tournament
Location: Teppozu Inari Shrine
Time: 11:00am
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

An ice-cold bath sounds like the last thing anyone wants in winter. However, the Winter Bathing Tournament is an annual exception to the rule. Taking place at Teppozu Inari Shrine on the second Sunday of January every year, participants (both men and women) hop into a large icy bath after the priests conduct some rituals — the men only have loincloths for their modesty; the women get to cover up a bit more. Whether you participate (sign up in advance at the website) or watch, it’s a fascinating event.

A gargoyle with wings, horns, and tongue sticking out amongst other bric-a-brac on a stall display at Setagaya Boroichi flea market in Tokyo, Japan
A stall display at Setagaya Boroichi © Hetarllen Mumriken

15-16 January 2025

Event: Setagaya Boroichi
Location: Boroichi-dori, Setagaya
Time: 9:00am-8:00pm
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Running annually for more than 430 years now, the Boroichi is Tokyo’s largest and oldest flea market. It’s huge: you’ll find around 700 stalls crammed into a narrow strip of road, selling anything from secondhand kimono to antique ceramics to woodblock prints. You’ll probably find everything you’re looking for, and even more that you’re not. Don’t worry about the cold, since you’ll be jostling along with 200,000 other market-goers - it adds to the spirit of the event. Just eat some of the market’s famous daikan mochi rice cakes and you’ll be good to go.

Boroichi runs twice a year, once in December and once in January. So if you can’t make it this year, you’ll have to wait till December 2025.

29 January-12 February 2025

Event: Chinese Spring Festival
Location: Yokohama Chinatown
Time: Various - see website
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

Chinese New Year is easily one of the best festivals around by virtue of its length - it lasts 15 days, with a variety of rituals and celebrations taking place over 2 weeks. Yokohama’s Chinatown is the place to be at this time of the year. Even strolling around and snacking on Chinese food takes on an extra pizzazz when there are thousands of paper lanterns lining the streets. Check out the New Year Countdown in Yamashita-cho Park, auspicious lion dance performances, traditional music concerts, and firecrackers in the streets.

17-19 January 2025

Event: Daikoku Festival
Location: Kanda Myojin Shrine
Time: 10:00am (Purification, 18 January); 12:00pm (Fish-filleting ritual, 19 January)
Admission: Free
Website: Official website (Japanese)

If you missed the Winter Bathing Tournament at Teppozu Inari Shrine (see above), don’t worry — Kanda Myojin Shrine near Akihabara has you covered with a purification ceremony on 18 January (Saturday), where participants get drenched in ice water. On Sunday at noon, there’ll be a ceremonial filleting of a huge carp, a tradition that dates back to the Heian period.

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