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.
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Date: 2014-06-24 13:52 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-25 04:44 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-06-25 13:35 (UTC)I shall do my best to continue providing vicarious living materials!
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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)