Tokyo again
Jun. 24th, 2014 21:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starladyTokyo is--there's a lot of people in Tokyo, a feeling exacerbated for the fact that I'm staying in a hotel in a busy area for almost the first time ever; I've previously stayed at conference centers, hostels, friends' places in residential areas. I've had a good time, but it's been a weird trip; I miss Kyoto, and I'm not 100% looking forward to the idea of living here (though I know I'll have a great time when I do).
Today I braved the thunder and lightning to check out the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, which is actually one of my favorite museums in Tokyo. I really like contemporary art, and the Hara Museum has a great building and really well-chosen stuff. This time it was an exhibition--the first in a museum--by the French artist Nicholas Buffe, called "The Dream of Polifilo." It was seriously one of the coolest things I've seen in a museum in a very long time: he turned the museum into an RPG/Disney-esque animation/reinterpretation of a Renaissance fairy tale-esque story. I bought the exhibition catalog because I liked it so much. Contemporary art in general is pretty great in Tokyo; there are a ton of great galleries, and a lot of pretty great museums, many of which don't get any near enough press.
I've also been on the trail of coffee. Yesterday I went to Toranomon Koffee in the new Toranomon Hills, Mori Minoru's latest thumb in the eye to business as usual in Tokyo. The coffee was practically perfect, though I will admit that it was at least as much the space and the presentation as the coffee itself. I actually walked past the Be a Good Neighbor in Arc Hills on my way; I doubt I'm going to get back there tomorrow, since I'm bound for Shimokitazawa and Bear Pond Espresso, which is supposed to be the best coffee in Tokyo. We'll see.
Today I braved the thunder and lightning to check out the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, which is actually one of my favorite museums in Tokyo. I really like contemporary art, and the Hara Museum has a great building and really well-chosen stuff. This time it was an exhibition--the first in a museum--by the French artist Nicholas Buffe, called "The Dream of Polifilo." It was seriously one of the coolest things I've seen in a museum in a very long time: he turned the museum into an RPG/Disney-esque animation/reinterpretation of a Renaissance fairy tale-esque story. I bought the exhibition catalog because I liked it so much. Contemporary art in general is pretty great in Tokyo; there are a ton of great galleries, and a lot of pretty great museums, many of which don't get any near enough press.
I've also been on the trail of coffee. Yesterday I went to Toranomon Koffee in the new Toranomon Hills, Mori Minoru's latest thumb in the eye to business as usual in Tokyo. The coffee was practically perfect, though I will admit that it was at least as much the space and the presentation as the coffee itself. I actually walked past the Be a Good Neighbor in Arc Hills on my way; I doubt I'm going to get back there tomorrow, since I'm bound for Shimokitazawa and Bear Pond Espresso, which is supposed to be the best coffee in Tokyo. We'll see.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-25 13:49 (UTC)The good thing about these trips this summer is that I'm actually putting together a decent Tokyo dossier of things to do!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-25 14:06 (UTC)