This is a continuation of my City Snapshots posts ! Read the earlier part if you haven’t.
During my time in Tokyo early this year I actually took quite a lot of pictures while walking around the city, but it was hard to find a suitable or overarching theme to write/post then under, so I guess I’ll just share them under the very vague title “City Snapshots” and accompany the pictures with some brief commentary. I hope you’ll enjoy them !
(above & below) The National Art Center near Roppongi Hills, one of the many excellent art museums that can be found in Tokyo. I’ve visited it many times over the years, including the time when it curated the amazing Mucha’s Slav Epic Exhibition back in 2017.
Trivia : The museum also doubled up as shooting location for the Continental Osaka in John Wick 4. The unique glass facade and the “flying saucer” shaped entrance is quite easy to recognize.
(above & below) I was at the museum to see the Louvre : Painting Love exhibition, which was great. I must have seen many of these paintings a good many years ago when I was actually visiting the Louvre, but it was so long ago I really can’t recall.
After viewing the exhibition, I walked over to the nearby Roppongi Hills area just to have a look around. (above) Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume was still showing at the Toho Cinemas in Roppongi while I was there. ( below ) A nice view of the city from the cinema. The building on the right is actually TV Asahi, one of the five private broadcasters based in Tokyo.
(above) A cool billboard for Katsuhiro Otomo’s Complete Works featuring the villain Old Cho from Domu that I spotted at Tsutaya Books in Roppongi. (below) A limited edition numbered poster of Masamune Shirow’s Ghost In The Shell.
(below) The last stop for the day was the manga mecca Nakano Broadway, home to the famous bookstore Mandarake, which sells used and rare manga, art books and anime merch. It’s always on my list of places to visit every time I’m in the city.
Gonna stop here for now. Look out for more City Snapshots next time !
You might also be interested in these items :
City Snapshots 1 – Tokyo Spring Trip 2023
Tokyo – Spring Trip 2023
Tokyo Spring/Summer Trip 2017
La Bretagne Art Exhibition – Tokyo Spring Trip 2023
Maison Petit Renard – Tokyo Spring Trip 2023
November 13th, 2023 at 2:20 pm
More nice photos! I love the architecture of the National Art Center. Are those aquamarine panels translucent? If so, they must produce an amazing effect from inside the building, depending on the day and the weather.
And I have to say, I would have been very tempted to pay whatever it cost to get that limited edition numbered Ghost in the Shell framed poster. That’s such iconic GITS cover art.
Visiting museums and bookstores is a hugely undervalued way to spend a few days on vacation.
November 15th, 2023 at 4:55 am
Chris – Oh yes, they are translucent. As you mentioned it does look amazing inside, a lot of natural light comes through inside the building.
I posted the GITS image previously on twitter and was told it is actually a really good price !
Yep, museum and bookstore visits are a must for me for every trip to the city.