What: Art Fair Tokyo
When: March 22–24, Vernissage on March 21
Where: Tokyo International Forum, B2F Exhibition Hall
Directed by Takahiro Kaneshima, who has extensive previous experience working at Tokyo Gallery + BTAP in Beijing and with collectors and curators in Taiwan, this year’s edition will continue to showcase top Southeast Asian artists like Indonesian Jompet Kuswidananto, Thai avant-garde filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and Philippine fabulist Rodel Tapaya in its Discover Asia section. The new Tokyo Limited section, in contrast, will focus on the genre-crossing experimental practices characteristic of the Japanese capital, including garments by fashion designer writtenafterwards and contemporary jewelry. There will also be a special exhibition of calligraphy and ceramics in a recreation of former Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa’s personal tea ceremony room.
Headed by Shinobu Namae, an alumnus of both Michel Bras’ Toya in Hokkaido and Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in London, L’Effervescence is quietly drawing gourmands to a nondescript backstreet next to a temple in Nishi-Azabu. With bold, unexpected flavor pairings, Namae combines faultless classical French techniques with premium Japanese produce. The sous-vide foie gras with subdued passion fruit puree, seared guinea fowl paired with lotus root and sansho pepper, and slow-roasted Japanese turnip served on a blistering hot volcanic slate are all impeccable. Save room for particularly playful desserts, such as shaved persimmon with white miso ice cream and Sauternes jelly. 2-26-4 Nishi-Azabu — Minato-ku, +81 3 5766 9500
Applying molecular gastronomy techniques to classical Japanese kaiseki (multi-course banquet), Seiji Yamamoto coaxes fresh and piquant flavors out of what can sometimes be an overly ceremonial and rule-bound affair. The 11-course extravaganza draws a swish crowd of locals and visiting dignitaries from nearby embassies with rigorously selected domestic meat and sashimi platters paired with carefully chosen condiments like kabosu citrus and matsuba snow crab from Sanin Bay. The piece-de-resistance: a candied apple flash-chilled to -196C using liquid nitrogen served alongside a scalding apple sauce. The contrast of textures and temperatures based on a single flavor profile is exhilarating. Side Roppongi Building 1F, 7-17-24 Roppongi —Minato-ku, +81 3 3423 8006
This restaurant/outdoor dome/vegetable hothouse may be a mere three minutes from the infamously chaotic Roppongi crossing but it’s a world away in atmosphere, offering a humble yet sumptuous menu inspired in equal parts by farm-to-table northern Californian cuisine and the underappreciated bounty of Japan’s more rural provinces. A recent dinner included locally-sourced organic veggies braced with a bagna cauda anchovy dip, minty egoma (Chinese basil), and spicy bean paste; sawara (mackerel) confit; malted bran pickles; and a top grade hotpot of Tosa Hachikin chicken in a luscious collagen broth. The eclectic, rough-and-tumble interior partially mimics the feel of a traditional Japanese storehouse, with plaster stucco walls and cool concrete tables. Roppongi 6-6-15 — Minato-ku, +81 3 3405 0684
Trump Room
Stuffed animal heads, chintzy wallpaper, velvet sofas, and a constellation of chandeliers — this legendary Shibuya club continues to throb as a maximalist staple of the hipster scene. In the past, the Trump Room’s decadent parties by Fashion Ramone and Tokyo Dandy helped bridge the international expat party scene with some of Tokyo’s more underground nightlife cultures. Today it remains a somewhat willfully obscure (they haven’t even bothered to put up a website) but steadfast fixture for the capital’s more whimsicial fashionistas to gather and schmooze, and occasionally hear some quality DJ sets. Dress fierce. Hoshi Building 4F, 1-12-14 Jinnan — Shibuya-ku, +81 3 3770 2325
A psychedelic daydream tucked within Daikanyama — a hilly, dog-friendly neighborhood whose fashion sense tends to veer more towards preppy elegant — Harcoza showcases a mishmash, candy-colored aesthetic that is uniquely oh-so Tokyo. Pale green wallpaper and dressers with gold gilt, Lego-motif carpets, mirror balls, and velvet curtains are the perfect backdrop for the playful, ruffled dresses, rubber necklaces, and bonsai-sprouting accessories. There’s also a small selection of artwork for sale by outsider artists like Misaki Kawai. 1F, 2-15-9 Ebisu-Nishi — Daikanyama (Shibuya-ku), +81 3 6416 0725
Just a short walk from Harcoza, retail giant Tsutaya’s first attempt at creating a luxurious, linger-friendly environment for media junkies is a runaway success — especially for those with a penchant for leafing through a pile of magazines with a cocktail. (The house special? A Spring Note: Dewar’s 12-year whiskey with plum wine and yuzu citrus peel.) Hunker down in the upstairs lounge with a full wall-to-wall selection of vintage fashion, art, and design magazines, available both analog and iPad. For the truly obsessed, seek out the in-house travel agents and music and book concierges who can whip up custom itineraries or help find the perfect tome. 17-5 Sarugakucho — Daikanyama (Shibuya-ku), +81 3 3770 2525
This seven-floor outpost of Rei Kawakubo’s eclectic multi-brand boutique features knobbly white coral-esque pillars by artist Kohei Nawa and pieces from all the major Comme des Garçons diffusion lines, selections from CDG acolytes Ganryu and Junya Watanabe, as well as Visvim, Alexander Wang, and Rick Owens. There’s even a small bookstore curated by POST and a branch of Rose Bakery, Kawakubo’s favorite Paris café. An in-store direct overpass links to the giant Uniqlo flagship across the road — proof that high couture and the avant-garde can happily shake hands with mass-market style. Ginza Komatsu West, 6-9-5 Ginza — Chuo-ku, +81 3 6228 5080
Bare concrete floors, battered wooden floorboards, and a changing room enclosed by a panoply of tall wooden antique doors gives this racy boutique a polished gallery-like feel. The focus is very much on the Antwerp Six and their disciples — Ann Demeulemeester, Guidi, The Viridi-anne, Stephan Schneidr, Guidi — with painstakingly detailed black monochrome pieces for both men and women. Highlights include Carol Christian Poell’s gently creased leather blousons with patched inseams and m.a+’s (Maurizio Amadei) calf leather accessories. Garden Daikanyama 1F, Daikanyama-cho 16-5 — Shibuya-ku, +81 3 3780 0163
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art
Ensconced in a quietly upscale residential neighborhood just outside Shinagawa, the Hara is perhaps Tokyo’s most elegant private museum. The Art Deco-inspired architecture, outdoor sculpture garden and terrace, and gracious curved walls have previously hosted avant-garde artists like Ming Wong and Pipilotti Rist. Coinciding with Art Fair Tokyo, the Hara will be welcoming French conceptualist Sophie Calle back for her first Japan solo show in fourteen years. “For the Last and First Time” pairs photos and text drawn from interviews with people who have lost their sight with images from Hiroshi Sugimoto’s famed “Seascapes” series. 4-7-25 Kita Shinagawa — Shinagawa-ku, +81 3 3445 0651
Refurbished and reopened in 2009, industrialist Kaichiro Nezu Sr’s private collection of ancient Chinese bronzes and 17th century Japanese calligraphy, lacquer, and ceramics, newly shines in immaculate galleries designed by Kengo Kuma. Highlights include seven certified National Treasures and 87 Important Cultural Properties like Rimpa artist Ogata Korin’s folding-screen painting “Irises.” For connoisseurs of traditional Japanese arts, a garden with a gravity and tranquility unmatched in Tokyo houses several tea houses, while a current exhibition showcases implements that belonged to daimyo (feudal lord) tea masters from the Edo era. 6-5-1 Minami-Aoyama — Minato-ku, +81 3 3400 2536
It’s an ironic tour-de-force that Tokyo’s reigning bad boy of contemporary art, Makoto Aida, has filled almost the entire space of Tokyo’s swankiest art museum with his sprawling oeuvre: an unvarnished cross-section of the most sinister psychosexual, right-wing nationalistic, and identity-driven complexes of 21st century Japan. Despite sensitive contextualizing by chief curator Mami Kataoka, some of the finer nuances are bound to get lost in translation, although the more visceral qualities of Aida’s work — ash-colored mountains of dead salarymen reframed as a classical landscape painting, Zero Bombers mounting a hypothetical revanchist air raid on New York — need little explication. If the political provocations prove too much, escape upstairs to the Tokyo Sky Deck for panoramic views that are particular bewitching at night. “Makota Aida: Unveiled Genius in Chaos!” runs till March 31. 53F Mori Tower, Roppongi Hills, 6-10-1 Roppongi — Minato-ku, +81 3 5777 8600
Despite Tokyo’s plethora of carefully curated interior and design stores, the Japanese capital still lags behind when it comes to sharply produced boutique hotels — business comfort usually trumps over charm and character — which leaves the Claska Hotel in a class of its own. Artists such as Intentionallies, Torafu, and Kaname Okajima have individually designed the hotel’s 18 rooms with a very Tokyo mod-traditional mash-up that mixes antiques and tatami mats and sleek Japanese contemporary furniture. No surprise many guests are in the design, fashion, and art industries. Inspired? The in-house DO gallery and shop stocks an eclectic selection of artisanal sake and wine glasses, folk crafts, ceramics, and coolly minimal interior pieces. 1-3-18 Chuo-cho — Meguro-ku, +81 3 3719 8121, Rates: Doubles from ¥19,950 (~$210)
Spanning the 12 floors at top of this Kenzo Tange-designed skyscraper, the 52nd floor New York Bar lounge — Sofia Coppola fans will fondly recall this is where Scarlett and Bill dealt with the faint nausea of cultural dislocation while knocking back Suntory — is a perfect vantage point for mulling over the gleaming Blade Runner cityscape you’ve heard so much about. The Hyatt brand lives up to the hype with a particular Japanese dedication to detail and fastidious pampering. Suites are lined with rare Hokkaido water elm paneling accented with granite and green marble, while bathtubs offer more superlative views. 3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku —Shinjuku-ku, +81 3 5322 1234, Rates: from ¥42,140 (~$442)
Dating from 1962, this hushed relic of modern Japanese design is the work of Yoshiro Taniguchi — not to be confused with his son Yoshio, whose more rigorous Modernist sensibilities were responsible for the redesign of New York’s MoMA — and continues to draw diplomats, business tycoons, and wealthy culture aficionados. A dusky, seductively cavernous lobby, gracefully strung with paper lanterns and adorned with miniature rock gardens and an assortment of screens and gilded louvers, is the property’s centerpiece. Rooms, meanwhile, are all subdued luster: Italian marble, chestnut woods, and handmade Japanese paper screens. Also on site is a tea ceremony room overlooking placid gardens and an art museum that showcases painted folding screens, calligraphy, and other traditional national treasures. 2-10-4 Toranomon — Minato-ku, +81 3 3582 0111, Rates: Doubles from ¥44,100 (~$462)
BLOUIN ARTINFO’s must-do dining, shopping, and sightseeing during Japan’s biggest art weekend