Japan
The Art of Exploring Tokyo / Exploring the Art of the City
Article and photography by Steve Gillick
Ayumi Shibata takes the Japanese art of moritsuke up a notch. Mortisuke refers to the arrangement of food on plates with an eye to symmetry, harmony, seasonality, visual pleasure, and anticipation of the taste. We watched Ayumi-san (‘san’ denotes respect), the Chef/Owner of Shibata Wasuke in Tokyo’s Kappabashi neighborhood, create a platter of assorted sashimi (various raw fish and seafood). After thoughtfully placing each portion on the platter (shrimp, tuna, snapper, sardine, kamasu, and hirame), along with aromatic, tasty perilla leaves and dollops of ground ginger and pungent wasabi, Ayumi selected tiny, colorful flowers from a container, positioned them on the plate, contemplated the look, repositioned the flowers, reflected on the arrangement, and then presented it to us. Watching Ayumi was watching an artist create.
Mortisuke is only one aspect of exploring the art of the city. Tokyo’s architectural wonders captivate the imagination. A great example is the new Azabudai Hills complex, which opened in 2023. The development includes the Mori JP Tower, the tallest building in Japan, along with residences, hotels, parkland, and upscale shops. The Market is great for purchasing various prepared foods, tempting fish cakes, spring rolls, croquettes, salads, meats, seafood, and decadent eye-pleasing desserts such as the Mont Blancs made with sweetened chestnut purée.
The Azabudai Hills Gallery had a notable ticket lineup for the special Pokemon Crafts exhibit, while nearby, the free gallery featured a mesmerizing exhibition by the late renowned Japanese pop artist Keiichi Tanaami.
But so many visitors were at Azabudai Hills to “wander, explore and discover in one continuous borderless world” at teamLab Borderless Digital Art Museum. In fact, over one million people have done so since the opening in February 2024. And it’s immersive! Visitors interact with the art through multi-colored mazes of flowers, butterflies, crystals, wobbling lights, rivers, waterfalls, and forests. Flowers bloom from body heat if you lean against the wall. Kaleidoscopes of butterflies appear but then disappear if you try to touch them. Rivers flow around your feet and follow you as you walk through the room. And if you touch the cartoon soldiers or imaginative creatures marching across the walls, they turn their heads to look at you! There is even an opportunity to create your own sea creature to float across the ocean for all to see.
Takashi Kudo, the teamLab Director of Communications, explained that the art collective had good Karma. “We try to make something about what we believe. We trust our feelings and emotions. Art has some kind of power. It should be experienced in person. We have created something that can’t be experienced on the internet”.
Indeed, one could argue that Tokyo is flush with immersive art experiences. Consider the 17 architecturally designed washrooms in the Tokyo Toilet Project throughout the city. We visited a few in Shibuya, including the Wonderwall by Masamichi Katayama and the ‘friendly’ house-shaped washroom by Nigo. Then we moved on to the red Triangular toilet block by Nao Tamura that brightens up the streetscape in Higashi-Sanchome, and Tadao Ando’s ‘Amayadori’, a washroom in Jingu-Dori Park designed as ‘a comfortable and safe space in an urban landscape’.
While exploring Tokyo’s various neighborhoods, visitors can feel the energetic vibe in the Shibuya Metro station that features Tadao Ando’s M-shaped roof, or they can prepare for a relaxing outdoor shopping stroll in Togoshi Ginza, starting with the unique wooden roofs of the outdoor Metro station platform.
The artistic sense of awe follows at street level. In Sangenjaya, the Gorilla Building features a giant King Kong-like figure hanging over a Family Mart convenience store with a woman in his right paw that he seemingly rescued from the rooftop. In Roppongi Hills, the Giant Spider, a bronze sculpture by Louise Bourgeois entitled ‘Maman’, makes for great selfies, and the same holds true for the 19.7 meters tall (64.6 feet) Unicorn Gundam robot standing guard outside the DiverCity Tokyo Plaza shopping mall in Odaiba.
In the spirit of the brand, ‘Tokyo Tokyo Old meets New’, visitors could be checking out the artistry of the futuristically designed Nissan Hyper Punk at the Nissan Crossing (which has been referred to as a car showroom on steroids) in Ginza Place and then a few blocks over, happen upon the former home of Futaba Sushi, located in a classic 1950’s-style building, nuzzled amidst glitzy skyscrapers. Or take in serenity and nature at the Meiji Shrine in Harajuku, and then close by, marvel at Akihisa Hirata’s stunning design of the new Tokyu Plaza Harajuku ‘Harakado’, which features a rooftop garden, shopping, food, a nature-relaxation area, and public bath.
The annual Tori-no-Ichi, the Festival of the Rooster, was a serendipitous experience on the theme of “Old Meets New’. It takes place on the three Rooster (Tori) Days of November. We followed the crowds, past colorful tented food stalls, to the Otori Shrine in Asakusa, where the festival originated in the Edo era. Visitors passed by Shrine guardians who fanned away bad luck before descending on some of the hundreds of booths selling Kumade rakes, literally to rake in good fortune for the home and business. Kumade, in all shapes, sizes, and prices, contained symbols of good luck, including owls (‘fukurou’, where ‘fuku’ means good luck or fortune), cranes (‘tsuru’, symbolizes longevity and happiness), shishi (guardian dogs) and dragons (represent good luck and good fortune), one or more of the Seven Gods of Fortune, gold coins, and more.
Several bookstores showcase books on art and also have noteworthy English book sections. These include Maruzen in Nihombashi, Kinokunya in Shinjuku, and Tsutaya in Ginza and Daikanyama. But the new kid on the block is the multi-floor Tsutaya Bookstore in Shibuya (near the Crossing). This has been called ‘one of the best-curated Manga selections in Tokyo’. The feature attraction, based on the release of the movie “Venom: The Last Dance”, was a life-sized Venom character (a snarling symbiote that merges with humans), along with display cases of more diminutive, pricey Venom collectibles. On another floor, the popular Japanese TV Manga soccer competition entertained visitors with model figurines, t-shirts, and more.
And the art of ‘shinrin-yoku’, where people connect with nature and breathe in the ambiance of the forest, abounds in Tokyo’s parks and rooftop gardens. Ponds of Coy (giant colorful goldfish) and enormous snapping turtles are often complemented by tranquil scenes of Great Blue Herons or bright blue Kawasemis (Common Kingfishers) checking the waters for food. And with Tokyo being one of the great food capitals, they seem to have the right idea!
Guided by the art of gastronomy and an addiction to seafood, we tasted some of Tokyo’s finest. Ankimo, Oysters and Sashimi at Shibata Wasuke in Kappabashi, Chirashi at Sanzen Sushi in Togoshi Ginza, Savoury-sweet Black Tendon at Tempura Nakayama in Ningyocho, Firefly Squid and the Cod Roe Omelet at Wasuke in Machiya, and Bonito sashimi at Zawasan, an excellent stand-up sake bar in Kita-Senju.
The art of exploring the art of Tokyo is pleasing to all the senses. It’s a customized pursuit that can be energetic or laid-back, inevitably leading visitors to appreciate why Tokyo is one of the highest-ranking travel destinations in the world.
