Gallery sights in Tokyo
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Origami Kaikan
This multistorey exhibition space and workshop is dedicated to this quintessentially Japanese art. In a shop/gallery on the 1st floor and a gallery on the 2nd, many of the works are so sculptural you’d mistake them for wood, and with patterns so intricate you’d mistake them for fabric, while on the 4th floor is a workshop where visitors can watch the process of dyeing and painting of origami paper. Although admission is free, origami lessons (offered most days in Japanese) cost ¥1000 to ¥2500 for one to two hours, depending on the complexity of that day’s design. First-timers would do well to try for a class with the centre’s director, Kobayashi Kazuo. It’s best to reques…
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Art Galleries
An increasing number of galleries are moving out of Central Tokyo to an edgy space such as you might expect in New York or Los Angeles. The building faces the Sumida-gawa (Sumida River) on one side and a cement plant on the other, and downstairs are loading docks for a department store. But no matter: the gallery owners present some of the city's most cutting-edge work. Galleries are on the 5th through 7th floors.
Taka Ishii Gallery (03 5646 6050; www.takaishiigallery.com; free entry), Shugoarts (03 5621 6434; www.shugoarts.com; free entry) and Tomio Koyama Gallery (03 3462 4090; www.tomiokoyamagallery.com; free entry) should give you a good start. Check for exhibitions …
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Nadiff a/P/a/R/T
You never quite know what’s going to be on show at this arts foundation (its name is an abbreviation for ‘New Art Diffusion’), but you can be sure it will reflect the latest in Japanese style and taste. In its contemporary building hidden in Ebisu’s backstreets, there are gallery spaces upstairs and down and a little cafe-gallery-event space on the 4th floor, while the ground floor is home to a bookshop of arts and architecture. With your back to the Aoi Sompo building, head down the street and follow the signs on electrical poles to the alley to your left.
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Tsukiji Market Information Centre
The Tsukiji Market information centre has historic images of the market including reproductions of ukiyo-e (wood-block prints), and conducts tours of the market by advance reservation (from ¥8000, including breakfast). It’s in the Kyōei (aka KY) building, at the corner of Harumi-dōri and Shin-Ōhashi-dōri.
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Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo
Operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Wonder Site comprises three floors of galleries with the aim of promoting new and emerging artists. There is a regularly changing program of exhibitions, competitions and lectures in media ranging from painting to video art. Check the website before setting out.
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Shiseido Gallery
This gallery in the basement of the Shiseido Parlour Café is more experimental than the cosmetics company thereof. An ever-changing selection, particularly of installation pieces, lends itself well to the high-ceilinged space.
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Leica Ginza Salon
Exhibiting the outstanding work of up-and-coming photographers and long-time professionals, this clean, minimalist salon remains one of the best photography galleries in the area.
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Gallery Koyanagi
Exhibits include serious heavy-hitters from Japan and abroad, like Sugimoto Hiroshi, Marlene Dumas and Olafur Eliasson. Enter in the alley behind Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
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Tokyo Gallery
Tokyo Gallery collaborates with the Beijing-Tokyo Art Project, and shows challenging, often politically pointed works by Japanese and Chinese artists.
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Jcii Photo Salon
Behind the camera museum is the JCII photo salon with a changing roster of photography exhibits.
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Isetan Art Gallery
On the 5th floor of the Isetan Building, it hosts print, ceramic and fine art exhibits by Japanese artists.
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