Table Of Contents
Our roundup of date ideas gives you inspiration for a great first date, as well as ideas for couples who are getting stuck in a rut with their date plans. Here are some great date places and activities for you and your partner to enjoy the charms of Tokyo together.
Museums in Tokyo that are perfect for dates
A museum date is a low-pressure, culture-filled way to spend an afternoon, and these Tokyo museums are amongst our favourites.
1. Sumida Hokusai Museum
The museum mainly exhibits the works of Katsushika Hokusai, who is highly regarded as one of the world’s greatest painters. Katsushika Hokusai spent most of his 90-year life in Sumida Ward, where this museum is located. The striking building designed by Kazuyo Sejima, an architect active in Japan and abroad, is also noteworthy.
2-7-2 Kamezawa, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
👉 Sumida Hokusai Museum website
2. Suntory Museum of Art
The Suntory Museum of Art, which has been enhancing its collection in parallel with its exhibition activities based on the basic philosophy of “beauty in daily life“, focuses on special exhibitions. The museum has a collection of approximately 3,000 works ranging from Japanese antiques such as paintings, ceramics, lacquer works, and dyed textiles, to glass from the East and West.
3F Galleria, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
👉 Suntory Museum of Art website
3. Nezu Museum
The Nezu Museum was created to preserve and exhibit the collection of Japanese and Oriental antiques collected by Kaichiro Nezu I, a businessman who served as the president of Tobu Railway. When you enjoy the exhibition, please take note of the view of the garden changing through the seasons through the glass of the museum’s café, NEZUCAFÉ.
6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
4. Yamatane Museum of Art
Opened in 1966 as the nation’s first art museum specializing in Japanese painting. The museum’s collection consists of approximately 1,800 works of modern and contemporary Japanese painting from the Meiji period to the present, including old paintings, ukiyo-e woodblock prints, and oil paintings.
3-12-36 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
👉 Yamatane Museum of Art website
5. Ōta Memorial Art Museum
One of the few museums in central Tokyo specializing in ukiyo-e (woodblock) prints. Each month has a different theme, and ukiyo-e works are exhibited accordingly. It is only a 5-minute walk from Harajuku.
1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
👉 Ota Memorial Museum of Art website
6. Tokyo National Museum
The Tokyo National Museum has a total of six exhibition halls. The main building, which opened in 1938 and is representative of the “Imperial Crown Style” architecture, was designated as an Important Cultural Property. The “Comprehensive Cultural Exhibition” changes exhibits almost every week in one of the exhibition rooms, so there is always something new to discover no matter how many times you visit.
13-9 Ueno Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo
👉 Tokyo National Museum website
7. Mori Art Museum
The Museum of Contemporary Art is located on the top level of Mori Tower. During exhibition times, the museum is open until 22:00 on Mondays, and Wednesdays through Sundays, making it a great place to visit after work on weekdays. Art-loving couples should also attend regularly scheduled gallery talks and other learning programs.
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
👉Mori Art Museum official website
8. teamLab Planets
A very different, less traditional kind of cultural experience, teamLab’s works have been exhibited in museums around the world. Their two Tokyo venues draw the crowds, too; located just a minute’s walk from Shin Toyosu Station, visitors to this huge museum go barefoot and immerse themselves in the artwork along with other visitors. Only at teamLab Planets can the work change in tandem with the user’s own movements. Your alternative is the equally stunning teamLab Borderless in Azabudai Hills, which reopened in February.
6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Date ideas involving live music and performances
Music makes any date better, and a live performance is the cherry on top. We’ve got you covered with these date ideas.
1. Candlelight Concert
Held regularly across Tokyo, these social media-famous concerts allow visitors to listen to music in the light of more than 1,000 LED candles that envelop the venue. To date, concerts have been held at venues around the city, playing not only classical music, but also jazz, soul, blues, and the latest pop music, creating a unique experience that even those unfamiliar with music appreciation can enjoy.
🎫 See the full lineup of upcoming Candlelight Concerts here
2. Authentic Flamenco
A limited-time event but special nonetheless, Authentic Flamenco, which has drawn audiences of more than 50,000 people in cities in the U.S. and Brazil, will make its return to Tokyo in 2024. The venue is Kamijo Hall in Shinagawa, where Spanish artists, led by renowned flamenco artist Ángeles Gabaldón, will perform works from the Royal Theatre of Madrid, Spain’s most important performing arts institution and the 2019 World’s Best Opera Company at the International Opera Awards. Two dates are available, on July 14 & 15.
3. Blue Note Place
Blue Note Japan’s new dining format opened in Yebisu Garden Place in 2022. Located on the site of the former Beer Station Ebisu, the large two-story atrium with more than 200 seats is equipped with a dining room, bar, lounge, private rooms, and terrace. Live music and DJ performances can be enjoyed along with modern American-themed food.
4-20-4 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
4. Cotton Club
Tokyo’s own Cotton Club pays homage to the legendary club in Harlem, N.Y., that launched the careers of stars such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, way back in the 1920s. Here, a la carte as well as dinner courses are served along with live performances by talented international artists.
2F Tokyo Building TOKIA, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
5. Billboard Live Tokyo
Top-class artists from around the world and Japan perform here, lured by arguably the world’s most trusted music brand. The service area on the 3rd and 4th floors offers food with staff service, whilst casual areas on the 4th and 5th floors offer counter seating with one drink.
Tokyo Midtown Garden Terrace 4F, 9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
👉 Billboard Live Tokyo website
6. Bar & Jazz Lounge Maduro (Grand Hyatt Tokyo)
A bar where you can enjoy live music and cigars by artists from abroad. In addition to a variety of cocktails, including the signature Mojito cocktail, and rare whiskeys, the restaurant offers a variety of tapas dishes and desserts.
4F Grand Hyatt Tokyo, 6-10-3 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
👉 Bar & Jazz Lounge Maduro website
7, JZ Brat SOUND OF TOKYO
A jazz bar located on the tower side terrace on the second floor of the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, about a 5-minute walk from Shibuya Station. While listening to live music, mainly by Japanese musicians, you can enjoy French-inspired dishes using seasonal vegetables, fish and meat dishes, and desserts prepared by the pâtissier.
2F Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
👉 JZ Brat SOUND OF TOKYO website
Activity dates & even more date ideas in Tokyo
An activity date could be the key to connecting with a new crush, or something different for long-term couples to enjoy together.
1. Tokyo Bay Symphony Cruise
This is the only cruise in Tokyo where you can experience a route that passes under two bridges, the Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo Gate Bridge. Lunch cruise, afternoon cruise, sunset cruise, and dinner cruise are available at different times of day, so there’s a meal to suit you.
👉 Tokyo Bay Symphony Cruise website
2. Neon Brush
For those who want to make their own art, rather than just admire it, here is a good place to start. Neon Brush uses fluorescent paints to create glow-in-the-dark masterpieces, and the venue has everything you need to let your creativity flow: a variety of paints, unique decorations, and uplifting music. You can bring your own drinks, including alcoholic beverages, to the venue, so why not bring a little luxury and try a unique experience?
📍Harajuku Space B1F (1-9-12 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
3. Meiji Shrine
A shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Dowager Shoken. It is also known for attracting the largest number of worshippers in Japan every year for Hatsumode (New Year’s visit). The vast 700,000-square-meter Chinju-no-mori forest is a man-made forest created with the aim of creating an “eternal forest” by planting approximately 100,000 trees donated from all over Japan for the founding of Meiji Jingu Shrine. The on-site café is also recommended.
1-1 Yoyogi-Kamizonocho, Shibuyaku, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
4. Shinjuku Gyoen
After the Meiji Restoration, a state-run agricultural experiment station was established, and after serving as the imperial estate of the Ministry of the Imperial Household, this garden was designated an imperial garden in 1906. Designed by a French landscape architect, the garden skillfully combines a European-style formal garden, a landscape garden, and a Japanese garden, and is one of the few masterpieces of landscape gardens in Japan.
11 Naito-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
👉Shinjuku Gyoen official website
5. Kasai Rinkai Park
Located a short distance from the city centre, it is recommended for couples who want to avoid the crowds, and features five zones on the theme of interaction among greenery, water, and people in Tokyo Bay. The Ferris wheel, which is 117 meters high and offers a 17-minute walk in the air, is particularly favoured by couples.
6 Rinkai-cho, Edogawa-ku, Tokyo
6. Cosmo Planetarium Shibuya
A wide variety of projection programs are available, including the “Starry Music Series,” a healing program, and “Tonight’s Star Tour,” in which visitors can enjoy a commentary on the constellations of the night sky. Eight starry sky interpreters will be in charge of random daily projections.
23-21 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku
Cosmo Planetarium Shibuya website
7. Sumida Aquarium
This aquarium is located in Tokyo Skytree, and includes the “Ogasawara Large Aquarium,” where colourful fish swim in schools, one of the largest open tanks in Japan, where visitors can see penguins and fur seals up close, and the “Big Petri dish,” a fantastic basin-shaped tank where about 500 water jellyfish float in the water. It’s recommended to purchase tickets in advance via the web.
Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi 5F, 6F, 1-1-2 Oshiage, Sumida-ku, Tokyo, Japan
8. Akasaka Palace
Built in 1909, this is the only neo-baroque palace building in Japan. After a major renovation in 2009, the building was designated a National Treasure as one of the best examples of Japanese architecture. It has hosted many kings, presidents, and prime ministers, and has been used as a venue for international conferences such as major country summits. There are four different tours you can take to explore this impressive space.
2-1-1 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
9. SHIBUYA SKY
The city’s Instagram-famous observation deck is found 229m above Shibuya. It consists of three zones: the “SKY GATE” transitional space on the 14th to 45th floors, the “SKY GALLERY” indoor observation corridor on the 46th floor, and the “SKY STAGE” rooftop observation space. There is also a rooftop bar on the 46th floor that is open for a limited time between May and December.
2-24-12, Shibuya 2-chome, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
10. Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building Observation Deck
Located in Nishi-Shinjuku, the observation deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building offers a panoramic view of the city of Tokyo from a height of 202 meters above the ground. Yayoi Kusama supervised the decoration of the “Tokyo Metropolitan Government Omoide Piano” in the South Observation Deck. Admission is free.
2-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
11. Tokyo Tower Observation Deck
Why don’t you take the opportunity of your date to visit Tokyo Tower, and marvel at the beauty of the city? Climb to the main deck, located 150 meters above the ground, to enjoy a 360° panoramic view of the city of Tokyo. Outdoor events are regularly held in “Foot Town,” so don’t forget to look around at ground level too.
4-2-8 Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo
👉 Tokyo Tower Observation Deck admission tickets are available here