New in Tokyo This Month: A Cafe in the Imperial Palace Gardens, Temple Pancakes and More

Beer in Ginza and Shinagawa

Four Yebisu beers are on, including the premium black and the amber, served in a heavy tumbler modelled on the glasses used in 1899 beer halls. A pairing course of several beers with a seasonal food menu costs ¥8,800 a head. You can book either the course or just a seat online. It opens at 17:00 on weekdays and 15:00 at weekends, and closes at 22:00. Ginza subway station is three minutes' walk away, JR Shimbashi and Yūrakuchō about seven. Evenings only, so it is no use for a daytime plan.

YONA YONA TOKYO BREWERY has been open since 30 March. It is in the basement of the Shinagawa Intercity S&R Building, six minutes' walk from the Kōnan exit of JR Shinagawa Station. The tanks stand behind glass and you can see them from almost every seat. The food is built for beer: roasted sai-sai chicken, house-made sausages, and hot dogs at lunch. Plates and drinks mostly cost ¥800 to ¥2,000. It serves 11:30 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 23:00 on weekdays, and straight through from 11:30 at weekends. A guided tour of the brewery is ¥3,520 and has to be booked ahead.

Dinner inside Tokyo Station

TOFROM YAESU TOWER opened on 10 September at 1-6-1 Yaesu. It links underground into Tokyo Station through the Yaesu shopping mall. The kappō house Kappō Shimamura is on the first floor, a new tempura counter from Ten Yokota is on the second, and binchōtan-grilled yakitori on the third. Lunch costs ¥1,500 to ¥3,000 and dinner starts at ¥5,000, depending which one you pick, and each books separately. Lunch starts at 11:00 or 11:30 and dinner runs to 23:00. Long-distance coaches leave from the basement, so it works as a last proper meal before you go.

New museums at Takanawa and Ryōgoku

MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives opened on 28 March at Takanawa Gateway City, six minutes' walk from the north gate of Takanawa Gateway Station. Kengo Kuma built it in timber louvres, with a moon-viewing terrace upstairs and pitch-dark halls below. Time a visit for 'Feel the Sound', an exhibition of sound, vibration and light you touch, made with the Barbican Centre. It runs from 20 November until 22 March 2027, open 10:00 to 19:00 and until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Entry is ¥2,500, or ¥1,100 if you are under 25. School students pay ¥550. Two free displays are also on: one about the first railway, and a Ryuichi Sakamoto programme called 'Dialogue' from 24 December.

Edo-Tokyo Museum reopened on 31 March after four years shut. It is at 1-4-1 Yokoami in Sumida-ku, five minutes' walk from Ryōgoku Station. The permanent exhibition takes two upper floors, one on Edo and one on Tokyo, with full-scale timber streets and a rebuilt Hattori watch shop. Adults pay ¥800, and anyone of junior-high age or younger goes free. It is open 9:30 to 17:30 Tuesday to Sunday, and until 19:30 on Saturdays. A special exhibition on the painter Maruyama Ōkyo runs from 28 November until 24 January. If it rains, start here.

The tram sauna at Ōimachi

Sauna Metsä OIMACHI TRACKS opened on 28 March, on the fourth floor of the OIMACHI TRACKS complex at 2-1 Hiromachi. The building connects straight into Ōimachi Station. One room is built as the inside of a wooden tram carriage, down to the driver's window, with the train depot beyond the glass. There are kelo-wood and red cedar rooms too, plus a cold bath and a women-only herb steam room. Entry is ¥1,980 on weekdays and ¥2,680 at weekends and on holidays, towels included. A 06:00 to 18:00 free-time plan is ¥3,980. The weekday ticket gives men 70 minutes and women 100. It is open 06:00 to 02:00 with last entry at 01:00, and there are no reservations. Nobody under 16 gets in, and tattoos have to be covered with the venue's own stickers.

Indoor afternoons in Ariake and Harajuku

RÊVE DES LUMIÈRES has been running since 12 June, on the eighth floor of TOKYO DREAM PARK in Ariake. Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome line is five minutes' walk. The main piece throws Van Gogh floor to ceiling and over the people standing in it. There is also a mirrored cube room of drifting stars. Tickets are ¥3,000 online on weekdays and ¥3,300 at weekends and holidays, with under-5s free. It is open 10:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:30, on slots you cannot change once bought. Nothing in it is interactive.

KAWAII MONSTER LAND opened on 13 February, in a basement at 1-16-4 Jingūmae under the Takeshita Street square. JR Harajuku Station is about five minutes away. Inside it is clashing neon pastels, with a melting-teacup carousel in the middle, a dress-up house, a stall street and Monster Girls performing in costume. Adults pay ¥2,800 to ¥3,500 depending on the date, and children aged four to 12 pay ¥1,400 to ¥1,750. The teacup ride is ¥2,000 for a cup of up to four. It is open daily 10:00 to 21:40. You can walk in at any point, but there is no re-entry once you leave.

Sailor Moon in Shinagawa

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon -Shining Theater Shinagawa Tokyo- plays at club eX. That is on the third floor of the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Annex Tower, a short walk from Shinagawa Station. It is performed in Japanese with English subtitles on screens. Phase 3 runs from December to March, starting at 11:30, 14:30 or 19:30 depending on the date. Seats run from ¥4,000 to ¥32,000. The ¥18,000 premium zone adds a pre-show cocktail and an onstage photo with the cast. Arrive half an hour early.

Sofas on the Shibuya roof

THE ROOF SHIBUYA SKY sets low sofas out on the open rooftop of Shibuya Scramble Square, which connects to Shibuya Station. The season ends on 25 December. In November and December it is open 15:00 to 21:00, with last orders at 20:30. A sofa is ¥7,000 a person, or ¥8,000 with champagne, and both include Shibuya Sky admission. They sell only to parties of two or more, and each booking is a 50-minute slot. Book a sunset slot.

PokéPark needs tickets months ahead

PokéPark KANTO opened on 5 February, inside the Yomiuriland amusement park at Inagi on the western edge of Tokyo. Admission covers Yomiuriland as well. From central Tokyo it takes 30 to 40 minutes. Take the Keiō Line from Shinjuku to Keiō-Yomiuriland, then the Sky Shuttle gondola. Tickets sell only in advance online, with a timed entry slot, and there are none at the gate. Overseas visitors buy for dates released about three months ahead. Since 1 November every visitor's details go on the booking and photo ID is checked at the gate, so bring passports. Prices start from ¥4,700 and vary by date. Hours are 11:00 to 19:00 from October and change again in February, so check before you go. Allow three to five hours, and if you have not already got tickets, do not make the trip.

Days and doors

Edo-Tokyo closes on Mondays, and the MoN building closes on the second Tuesday of the month. The sauna and Kawaii Monster Land take no cash, only cards and IC. See the Tokyo guide and the Tokyo hotel search.