Every Monday we serve top picks for this week’s events in Japan. To list your event, contact the editor of GaijinPot. From VR art to German thrash metal to a charity hike, there’s something for everyone across the archipelago. If you’re doing something cool, leave us a comment or send us an email to have your event listed.
Monday: VR Art
Photo: Courtesy of The Container, TokyoAugmented Mask
Fusing a real mask with a mask created via augmented reality, German artist Tobias Klein’s installation takes its cue from Chinese opera. The narrative of "Augmented Mask" echoes the famous Cantonese opera, "The Flower Princess," a signature work of respected playwright Tong Dik Sang. "Augmented Mask" offers up two life-size models of Chinese opera masks, striking in their detailed design and whiteness, while keeping intact the rich symbolism associated with traditional opera masks. One Mask is 3D printed and exists as an object in The Container. The other exists solely in a virtual reality triggered and activated by viewers.
When & Where
- Sep 11-25
- 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
- The Container (inside Bross hair salon), Tokyo - Map
- Free
Tuesday: Contemporary master
Photo: 'Rebuking' (2015). Courtesy of T.M. OfficeKoji Kinutani: A Journey of Color and Imagery
Credited with sparking the boom in manga-influenced contemporary art, master painter and fresco artist Koji Kinutani is the subject of a major retrospective. Born in Nara in 1943 to the proprietors of the famous Meishukan restaurant, Kinutani has had an illustrious career whose popular highlight was the “Goddess of the Silvery Peak,” the basis for the official 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games poster.
When & Where
- Sep 12-Oct 15
- 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
- The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto - Map
- ¥1,400
Wednesday: In search of Peter Pan
Finding Neverland
"Finding Neverland" is the Broadway musical that tells the fascinating story of how Peter became Pan. Based on the Academy Award-winning film, it has been brought to extraordinary life by the team behind "Shakespeare in Love," "Chicago" and "Pippin." Directed by Diane Paulus, it follows playwright J.M. Barrie as he summons the courage to become the writer — and the man — he yearns to be. Barrie finds the inspiration he’s been missing when he meets the beautiful widow Sylvia and her four young sons: Jack, George, Michael and Peter.
When & Where
- Sep 13-24
- 2-7 p.m.
- Theatre Orb, Tokyo - Map
- ¥9,000-15,000
Thursday: Mosh yourself silly
Kreator
German thrash metal legends stomp into Japan for two nights of fire-and-brimstone sonics. Formed in Essen in 1982, the group recently returned with the highly rated album "Gods of Violence." The album debuted at number one on the German charts, making it Kreator's first number one debut in their 32-year recording career.
When & Where
- Sep 14
- 7 p.m.
- Electric Lady Land, Nagoya - Map
- ¥8,000
Friday: Get in touch with nature
Green Image International Environmental Film Festival
The fifth Green Image film festival seeks to bring people closer to the environment via three days of cinema in Matsumoto City amid the Alps of Nagano Prefecture. Among the films to be screened is Aussie director Sally Ingleton’s "Seed Hunter," which follows researcher Dr. Ken Street and his team as they hunt for plant genes that may help crops withstand the ravages of global climate change.
When & Where
- Sep 15-17
- Various
- 6F Matsumoto City Community Center, Nagano - Map
- Various
Saturday: Avant-garde leanings
Jazz Art Sengawa
Posing a stark contrast to the staid Tokyo Jazz fest, Jazz Art Sengawa brings a riot of avant-garde exploration to a Tadao Ando-designed theater in suburban Sengawa. The Saturday program kicks off with "VocColours" directed by festival leader Koichi Makigami, a piece that will bring him together with experimental keyboardist and painter Morgan Fisher and electronic composer Akiko Nakayama. Cellist Hiromichi Sakamoto then presents “An Encounter with silent film” followed by jazz with Kiyoto Fujiwara, Fumio Itabashi and more.
When & Where
- Sep 16-17
- 1:30-9 p.m.
- Sengawa Theater, Tokyo - Map
- 1 day ¥6,800
Sunday: Charity hike
Satte Hiking, Spider Lilies & Festival
International non-profit JAMBO has a charitable hike planned for the Spider Lily Festival of Satte in Saitama Prefecture. Participants meet at Satte station at 10:40 a.m. and proceed over four hours to take in the Satte City Historical Buildings walk and Gongendo Park, where the Higanbana Festival (3,000,000 Spider Lilies) is held. The event winds up with eating and drinking at Takasuka Pond, with proceeds to benefit various charitable causes.
When & Where
- Sep 17
- 10:40 a.m.
- Satte City, Saitama - Map
- ¥1,000
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service