Bakurocho: The New Art Town

A Tokyo gallery crawl.

Tomoko Atsuchi "The Snake Nest"

at Taro Nasu
in the Roppongi, Akasaka area
This event has ended - (2009-06-26 - 2009-07-25)

4 people bookmarked this.
1 person recommend this.

"100 Degrees Fahrenheit vol.1" Exhibition

at CASHI - Contemporary Art Shima
in the Kyobashi, Nihonbashi & Kudanshita area
This event has ended - (2009-06-05 - 2009-07-11)

8 people bookmarked this.
4 people recommend this.

"Musashino Art University 80th Anniversary: Metamorphosis -Objects Today- vol.2 Transmutable Objects" Exhibition

at Gallery αM
in the Kyobashi, Nihonbashi & Kudanshita area
This event has ended - (2009-06-13 - 2009-07-18)

11 people bookmarked this.
4 people recommend this.

In Photo Reports by William Andrews 2009-07-07 print

One of the pitfalls of the Tokyo art world is its diaspora. The galleries are spread far and wide. Though there are a handful of funky buildings containing several galleries, they themselves are located in areas far from each other. When exhibition openings clash often a hard choice has to be made, since rarely is it possible to visit more than one in a night. The New York gallery crawl experience of taking in a glut of places in an hour is a foreign world indeed.

You can start from JR Bakurocho, Bakuro-Yokoyama or Higashi Nihonbashi stations. However, with the opening of Musashino Art University’s Gallery αM space in Bakurocho, alongside young galleries like CASHI and other 2008 arrivals, Tokyo is in danger of achieving a real art town in a most unexpected place.

Bakurocho is located relatively close to Kanda and other convenient areas, and is also just round the corner from Akihabara and shitamachi. Littered with Showa Era architecture, the district is a far cry from the plush museums of Roppongi. However, with the galleries has come a clutch of cafes, making it a pleasant place to have a lazy lunch.

On a sunny summer afternoon, TABlog took a stroll in the area to investigate if art gallery flanerie is possible.
Artistic it ain't but this large junction is a central landmark from where you head off to galleries in different directions.
Just a few minutes' walk from West exit 2 of JR Bakurocho Station is this building, home to Foil Gallery, Gallery αM and Taro Nasu.
Don't be put off by the building site next to Taro Nasu's separate entrance. You can recognize the building by the Foil Gallery banner and the nice cafe next door.

Inside, go upstairs for Foil Gallery and down to the basement for Gallery αM. Across the corridor to Foil Gallery is another nice eatery.

より大きな地図で Bakurocho map 1 を表示
Go back to the junction and head another way to encounter this building with Gallery Hashimoto and Keumsan Gallery. The area has quite an 'old town' style about it.

より大きな地図で Bakurocho map 2 を表示
Yet another direction takes you to a back street with Radi-um, which moved from the Roppongi home it shared with Taro Nasu in 2008. Right next door is CASHI.

Both have quite distinct facades. Radi-um's is a deep red with tiny square windows. CASHI has a welcoming wall of glass.

より大きな地図で Bakurocho map 3 を表示
I finished with a longer trek to the new home of Zenshi, recently moved from the Kiyosumi-Shirakawa building. Although a bit out of the way and very hard to find, it meant my crawl ended up right next to Iwamotocho Station, or a short walk from Akihabara.

より大きな地図で Bakurocho map 4 を表示
Bakurocho Venues

Gallery αM: opened in May 2009
Taro Nasu : moved from Roppongi, March 2008
Foil Gallery: also a art book publisher, since 2004
Radi-um: moved from Roppongi under a new name, March 2008
CASHI – Contemporary Art Shima: opened in 2008
Makii Masaru Fine Arts: just north of CASHI and Radi-um, since 2005
Gallery Hashimoto and Keumsan Gallery: since 2003
Zenshi: moved in June 2009

You can download a PDF map of the area’s art venues and recommended eateries here (Japanese only).
See this photo report of the closing of the old Roppongi building.
The July/August TAB Art Map also features CASHI and Gallery αM in its main article.

William Andrews. William Andrews came to Japan in 2004, around the same time Tokyo Art Beat launched. Sadly, these two events, though equal in their significance for Japan, remained unconnected for some years. Meanwhile William lived in Osaka, working as a teacher and a translator for Kansai Art Beat. He came to Tokyo in 2008 and, when not exploring art galleries, can often be found in the city's theatres. He writes on the performing arts for The Japan Times and a blog about Tokyo contemporary theatre: www.tokyostages.wordpress.com » See other writings

Comments

Sophie Knight
2009-07-08

Wonder if this was inspired by Pause Talk…http://jeansnow.net/

Thanks for the tour (and handy photos for when google maps just isn’t sufficient), hope to take it soon!
William Andrews
2009-07-10

Thanks, Sophie. Actually, I had already been on the ‘crawl’ before Pause Talk but it was nice of Jean to link this.
I have added some Google Maps so hopefully it will be easy for people to navigate. With the cafes near the Foil Gallery/Taro Nasu building, it can be a pleasant area to spend a few hours eating and going to galleries.
kealy
2009-07-12

invaluable
thanks
dave miller
2009-07-15

Many thanks for the recommendations, this is very useful for me. I’ll be in Tokyo for the next two weeks and intend to follow your tour! Will post my feedback
yo
2009-07-16

http://www.motusfort.net

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