toco toco

Digital artist, Yusuke Shigeta is taking us to the Yokosuka art museum in Kanagawa prefecture. An exhibition was held during the 2014 summer holidays called "KiRaKiRa ZaWaZaWa HaRaHaRa" where parents could enjoy art with their children. It showcased Yusuke Shigeta's art pieces and four other contemporary artists' work. Yusuke Shigeta is originally a video creator who makes animation and computer graphics. His work is a video installation that uses the whole space of a room. The video is a pixel animation displayed from a projector set on the ceiling. This animation, "Gaso no Mori" (Pixel Forest) is inspired by ten fairytales that you can see by holding a white book opened while wandering in the room. His other art piece is called "Gaso Sansui" (Pixel Scenery) and is inspired by the series of paintings of Ogawa Usen, "Shunkashuutou".

The tea ceremony master, Soryo Matsumura is taking us to the Sankeien Garden in Yokohama, and to his own teahouse "Shuhally". The Sankeien Garden(三渓園) is an artificial garden built about 100 years ago by Hara Sankei. In this episode, we discover the Rinshunkaku built by the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu's son about 350 years ago and other traditional Japanese teahouses such as Kinmokutsu and Shunsoro. Soryo Matsumura also invites us to his teahouse "Shuhally" situated at the 5th floor of a regular condominium in Yokohama.

Michihito Fujii, a film director from Babel Label is taking us to the Akagi Shrine which is one of the most elevated spots in Kagurazaka. Kagurazaka is a very inspiring city for artists and has an atmosphere very similar to Kyoto. The Akagi shrine is a very elegant shrine with walls made of glass that has been rebuilt recently. Flea markets or second-hand markets are held on weekends at the Akagi shrine. Michihito Fujii also invites us to the Babel Bar in Shinjuku, next to the Shinjuku Gyoen park. The Babel Bar has been created by the Babel Label production company, so that creators can gather and talk about cinema.

The designer Hima Kawagoe's brand called "Seitekisatui" (Sex and Death) is showcased at the department store PARCO at Shibuya during the Shibukaru Festival that is featuring female creators. Hima Kawagoe shows us her bestseller "Memeo", an accessory in the shape of an eye with false lashes that has been reblogged over 9000 times on tumblr. Hima Kawagoe also shows us a shop called GYFT that is showcasing some of her creations during the Shibukaru Festival. Then, Hima Kawagoe invites us to her home that she also uses as her atelier. Originally, Hima Kawagoe is an illustrator, but "Memeo" became so famous on tumblr that she decided to make it an accessory. Hima Kawagoe also has her own indie label.

Motohiro Inaba and Rio Asano take us to the publishing house “Cotonoha” situated in the sweet and retro neighborhood of Nagahara. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine published by “Cotonoha”. Ikegami line is a railway line that runs through Tokyo from Gotanda to Kamata on the south side of Tokyo. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine that introduces culture and shops around the Ikegami line. It featured the Japanese sweets shop “Wagashi Asobi” in one of their publications. The particularity of the Ikegami railway train is that contrary to most of Tokyo’s trains that are long, it’s relatively small as it’s a 3-car train. “Machi no Techo Ikegami-sen” is a magazine that talks about the neighborhood’s history. The Shochiku movie studios were once located in Kamata (end of Ikegami line) where directors such as Ozu Yasujiro used to shoot. This magazine is sold in shops, bars, and book shops along the train tracks and on “Cotonoha’s website”. Then, Motohiro Inaba and Rio Asano invite us to their atelier “Wagashi Asobi”. They make two types of sweets: the dry fruit yokan and the herb-aroma rakugan.

Professor Sakamoto is a composer who has the perfect pitch in his ear. He plays video game musics with a Nintendo console strapped to his head where he inserts cartridges. He also composes original songs in the chiptune or chip sound style. Besides Japan, he recently performed in France at the Japan Expo or also in Sweden and London. Today, Professor Sakamoto invites us to the "Ninety" bar situated at Akebonobashi, two stations away from Shinjuku station. This game bar is situated right next to his music label company, "Lastrum". People can gather at "Ninety" to play games while having a drink. They can even bring their own game consoles such as PS Vita or 3DS. You will find a lot of old games, manga, anime, cards and board games. The decoration of this bar is composed of rare Famicom games and antique consoles. It is the perfect place for people who love games, and want to have fun while eating and drinking.