At Pavilion Tokyo, one of the Tokyo Tokyo Festival Special 13, you can explore nine different pavilions created by world-renowned Japanese architects and artists, including contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, as well as architects Terunobu Fujimori and Kazuyo Sejima. These unique structures are not typical garden pavilions – expect quirky installations that showcase futuristic art and architecture.
The interactive pavilion 'The Obliteration Room' created by Yayoi Kusama, for example, lets visitors decorate a completely white room with colourful round stickers, while green tea fans can enjoy the raised wooden 'Tea House "Go-an"' by Terunobu Fujimori in front of Victor Studio.
Most of the pavilions are free to visit and within a 30-minute walk of the Japan National Stadium. Here are the exact locations:
- Victor Studio ('Tea House "Go-an"')
- United Nations University ('Global Bowl')
- In front of the Former National Children’s Castle, 5-53-1 Jingumae, Shibuya ('Street Garden Theater')
- Yoyogi Park ('Cloud pavilion')
- Inside Takanawa Gateway Station ('Cloud pavilion')
- Hama-rikyu Gardens ('Suimei'; park admission applies)
- Garden of kudan house ('Kokage-gumo')
- Ginkgo Avenue in Meiji Jingu Gaien ('Tokyo Castle')
- Shibuya City Office – No. 2 Mitake Office ('The Obliteration Room')
To visit some of the pavilions, you'll have to make a free reservation in advance.
Don’t miss the installation '2020-2021' by artist Daito Manabe and art collective Rhizomatiks, to be held in front of The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, which is also hosting its Pavilion Tokyo 2021 exhibition, showcasing sketches, plans, models and materials used for the pavilions (11am-7pm, closed Mon, but open on Aug 9, ¥1,000, free for high school students and younger children).