In addition to Hatsumode (New Year’s visit to a shrine), there are many other notable events in Tokyo from the beginning of the year in 2026! Here are some of the places we recommend for your first outing this year.
1, Ueno Toshogu Shrine: Winter Peony (January 1 to late February)
Visitors can view 160 winter peonies of 40 varieties, which were produced using suppression cultivation techniques to bloom in the winter when flowers are scarce, as a good luck flower for the New Year. The flowers of winter peonies, which bloom in two seasons (early spring and early winter), are greatly affected by the natural environment, and it is said that the flower-planting rate is low, at less than 20%. Since they are only open to the public for a short period of time, this is a rare opportunity to enjoy the beautiful peony blossoms.
📍 Ueno Toshogu Botan Garden (9-88 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
👉Official website🚇5 min. walk from Ueno Station Park, 10 min. walk from Nezu Station
🎟️ ¥1,000 for junior high school students and older, ¥800 for groups (15 or more people), free for elementary school students and younger
2, New Year’s Celebration at the Museum (January 2 – 25)
A special exhibition on the theme of the Chinese zodiac and a new work, “Waterfall,” by Hiroshi Senju, a world-renowned Japanese-style painter and ambassador of the Tokyo National Museum, will be on display on the grand staircase of the Honkan from January 1 to January 12. and sword and poetry dances will be held on the stage in front of the Honkan on January 1, 2, and 3.
📍 Tokyo National Museum (13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
Official website🚇About 10 minutes walk from Park Exit of Ueno Station or South Exit of Uguisudani Station, about 15 minutes walk from Ueno Station or Nezu Station.
🎟️ Adults ¥1,000, University students ¥500, Free for high school students and younger, under 18 years old, and over 70 years old
3, rockin’on sonic (January 4)
The New Year festival “rockin’on sonic 2026” will be held at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall. PET SHOP BOYS will headline the GALAXY STAGE and perform their Greatest Hits Live Tour for the first time in Japan. Other acts include UNDERWORLD, Wish It Was Always Midnight, TRAVIS, and WOLOLF. TRAVIS, WOLF ALICE, and more will kick off the New Year.
📍 Makuhari Messe (2-1 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture)
👉Official website🚇5 min. walk from Kaihin-Makuhari Sta.
🎟️ ticket page
4, Ukiyo-e Uncle Festival (January 6 – February 1, February 5 – March 1)
A variety of uncles depicted in Ukiyo-e are introduced through more than 150 works. Works by painters of different styles and periods, including Hiroshige Utagawa, are brought together. By looking at the details of Ukiyo-e through the eyes of these men who travel, work hard, and enjoy gourmet food, visitors will rediscover new charms of the works and the personalities of the artists.
📍 1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
👉Official website🚇About 5 min. walk from Omotesando Exit of Harajuku Sta.
🎟️ ¥1,000 for adults, ¥700 for college and high school students, free for junior high school students (age 15 and under)
5, NAKED meets Gaudi Exhibition (January 10 – March 15)
Official exhibition commemorating the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death and the completion of the main tower of Sagrada Familia, the Tower of Jesus. The exhibition will feature a comprehensive collection of Gaudi’s writings, handwritten letters, and production tools he used, as well as previously unseen materials, models, sketches, and other items that are extremely valuable from an academic standpoint. Visitors can experience the completion of a part of the Sagrada Familia and realize that this symbol of “unfinished” architecture is still being built by the hands of many people.
📍 Terada Warehouse G1 5th floor (2-6-40 Higashi-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo)
👉Official website🚇 5 min. walk from Tennozu Isle Station
🎟️ Adults ¥2,700 (¥2,900 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), Elementary, Junior high and high school students ¥1,900 (¥2,100 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays)
6, ~Festival of Chocolates from Paris ~ Salon du Chocolat 2026 (January 15-February 15)
The Salon du Chocolat is one of the world’s largest chocolate festivals, which was established in Paris, France in 1995 and attracts top chocolatiers, brands, and the finest chocolates from all over the world. In Japan, the event started at Isetan Shinjuku in 2003 and is held annually at Isetan Mitsukoshi Group stores in Shinjuku, Tokyo and other locations. This year, the event will be divided into three phases. Find your favorite one among the many chocolates filled with the chef’s philosophy and persistence in terms of ingredients, manufacturing methods, air bubbles, and balance of flavors.
📍 Isetan Shinjuku Main Building 6F Event Hall (3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku)
👉Official website🚇About 1 minute walk from Shinjuku 3-chome station
🎟️ free
7, Shibuya Real Squid Game (January 16 – July 20, 2026 *scheduled)
Starting with New York, U.S.A., where it will open in October 2024, this event, which is gaining popularity around the world, including Spain and South Korea, will make its first appearance in Japan. Up to 20 people will be able to experience six games that appear in the “Squid Game” series of works, as well as a photo zone, a collaboration café, and merchandise sales.
📍 Tokyu Plaza Shibuya 3F in Shibuya Fukuras
👉Official website🚇 About 1 minute walk from the West exit of the South ticket gate of Shibuya Station
🎟️ Reservations will be available around mid-November
8, Candlelight Christmas Concert (January 16, 18, 23, 30)
Candlelight Concerts, where you can listen to live music at venues with many flickering candles, will be held in January at various venues in Tokyo. At Christ Shinagawa Church and Kanze Noh Theater on the third basement floor of GINZA SIX, you can enjoy music by Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as masterpieces from the classical music world. The performance lasts approximately 60 minutes. Even if you are not familiar with classical music, you will have a relaxing time. Since the concert is held in the evening, it is also recommended to go out to dinner together before or after the concert.
Candlelight: 久石譲の音楽の世界 - 4.61 · 454 reviews
Candlelight: 久石譲の音楽の世界 - 4.61 · 454 reviews
9, GMO Sonic 2026 (January 17 and 18)
GMO Sonic, which attracted a lot of attention last year with special guests ROSÉ of BLACKPINK and Martin Garrix, will be held again this year, featuring MARSHMELLO, STEVE AOKI, SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA, who will appear for the first time at a music event in Japan , special guestsTIËSTO, JO1, New School Leaders, and many more will gather at Makuhari Messe.
📍 Makuhari Messe (2-1 Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture)
👉Official website🚇5 min. walk from Kaihin-Makuhari Station
🎟️ ticket page
10, Oden de hot food station (Jan. 29-Feb. 1)
This year’s gourmet event will again offer a chance to taste sake that won a prize in the National Heated Sake Contest while warming up over a kotatsu (a table over a kotatsu (Japanese table with a kettle)). The delicious heated sake, which won the National Heated Sake Contest 2025, will be served with Kibun’s Oden for One and Chi-chiku® on JR Ryogoku Station’s platform 3, which is said to be a maboroshi (a place where one can enjoy the warmth of a kotatsu).
📍 JR Ryogoku Station, Platform 3 (Yokoami 1-chome, Sumida-ku, Tokyo)
🎟️ General ¥3,500 *Pre-sale required
11, Ghost in the Shell Exhibition – Ghost and the Shell – (January 30 – April 5)
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the production of the anime, this is the first large-scale exhibition that brings together all the works of “Ghost in the Shell” and allows visitors to experience a cross-section of the history of the series. In addition to each work created by successive directors, works related to the new anime by Science SARU, scheduled to air in 2026, will also be on display. In addition to the exhibition of more than 1,000 pieces of valuable materials including never-before-seen materials, such as a vast amount of original drawings, setting materials, and storyboards created during the production of the entire series, there will also be an interactive, hands-on exhibition.
📍 TOKYO NODE GALLERY A/B/C (Toranomon Hills Station Tower 45F, 2-6-2 Toranomon)
👉Official website🚇Directly connected to Toranomon Hills Station
🎟️ Tickets sold at the venue on the day of the exhibition: ¥2,700 for adults, ¥1,900 for high school and junior high school students, ¥1,200 for elementary school students, free for pre-school children
12, Mission ∞ Infinity｜Space + Quantum + Art (January 31-May 6)
This is a special exhibition that considers the “origin of the world” and the “invisible world” through collaboration between science fields such as space and quantum mechanics and art. In addition to space research by scientists and works on “space” by artists, the exhibition will introduce new possibilities of expression, including the first artwork using a domestic quantum computer.
📍 Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo)
👉Official site🚇About 9 min. walk from Exit B2 of Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station
🎟️ Adults ¥1,800, College/University/Vocational school students/65 and over ¥1,260, Junior high school and high school students ¥720, Free for elementary school students and under