The new OPEN SAGASAKE campaign is set to launch on January 14, 2021 to help spread awareness of sake brewed in Japan’s prefecture of Saga.

The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the world into confusion and disorder and made it difficult to predict the future. In response to this, Saga Prefecture’s sake brewers have come together for Japan’s sake fans to launch a campaign that is imbued with the hope for a brighter future. It will release a variety of content for people to look forward with positivity as they go into the New Year.

Saga was originally known as Hizen and hails as Japan’s oldest location for rice farming. It’s home to Nabatake Ruins, an ancient ruin of rice paddies believed to be the oldest in Japan, and the enormous Yoshinogari site which is suited for rice cultivation. It’s also home to many ‘power spots,’ a concept in Japan where a specific place is considered to give one energy by visiting it. The people of Saga have lived in rhythm with nature throughout history, and it’s here where many sake breweries have opened.

Those who spend over ¥1,500 on Saga sake (tax included) for the campaign will be given a special leaflet by Pleiades Reina when it begins on January 14. Reina is the first child of Getters Iida, a Japanese fortune teller. 100 lucky people will also be given another special product to make their Saga sake drinking experience that much more special. Sign-ups begin on January 14 and end on March 12 in Japan.

2021 OPEN SAGASAKE Limited-Edition Bottles

Special Saga sake brand limited-edition bottles will be sold starting on February 1. The labels feature colourful gradations so you can pick which bottle you want depending on which one you’re feeling.

Online Event

An online event will take place for Japanese sake fans on YouTube on March 6 at 18:00 (JST). Various actresses, models, and influencers will take part in a talk, including fortune telling by Pleiades Reina. There will also be prizes and other content to look forward to.

Art collective teamLab has announced the opening of teamLab Reconnect: Art with Rinkan Sauna Roppongi which will run for half a year starting this March in Roppngi, Tokyo.

Since 2019, teamLab has been combining saunas with digital art to create wholly new and unique sauna experiences never before seen.

teamLab Reconnect’s aim is not to offer a luxury and high-end venue for seeing artwork, but to put visitors into a luxurious state to experience the art. Through contrast bath therapy, where visitors are placed in a hot sauna followed by cold water and then relaxation, they can open their minds and senses to a variety of artworks and in essence become part of the art itself. teamLab hopes this will enable visitors to realise their own existence―their mind, body, and environment―and in turn ‘reconnect’ with the world and time.

Levitation
teamLab, 2021, Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

teamLab Reconnect will welcome a variety of new artworks based on teamLab’s new art project ‘Supernature Phenomenon’ which captures different natural phenomena in nature.

Proliferating Immense Life – A Whole Year per Year
teamLab, 2020, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

This artwork captures the life cycle of flowers. It is not a pre-recorded image that is played back; it is created by a computer program that continuously renders the work in real time. The interaction between people and the installation causes continuous change in the artwork, meaning previous visual states can never be replicated, and will never reoccur.

Since opening their sauna in Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu back in 2019, which won the SAUNACHELIN two years in a row in 2019 and 2020, teamLab has gone on to create new works of sauna art such as teamLab: A Forest Where Gods Live and teamLab Ruins and Heritage: Rinkan Spa & Tea Ceremony.

Art collective teamLab opened a shop at their Shanghai-based art museum teamLab Borderless Shanghai on Saturday (December 5). teamLab Borderless Shanghai opened its doors in Huangpu, Shanghai, in November 2019, displaying around 50 pieces of artwork by teamLab. The company’s Borderless project is a ‘world of artworks without boundaries, a museum without a map.’

The museum’s new shop sellings a variety of items, from stickers to postcards to the official teamLab Folding Rice Bag. More items are scheduled to be added to the stock in the future.

teamLab Folding Rice Bag

The eco bag can be folded up and stored when not in use. It’s a 30kg rice bag that was acquired directly from the farmer, originally used for storing rice before milling and would normally be discarded after use. It’s traditionally used to store and sell rice. Still present in the Japanese countryside today, these bags are made of strong, durable materials that protect the rice inside from moisture and damage. The bag is made of paper, and it can be folded up and stored in your pocket for use at any time.

Japanese art collective teamLab opened its teamLab: Rinkan Spa & Tea Ceremony, Ruins and Remains series of artworks at Mifuneyama Rakuen in Kyushu as permanent exhibitions on November 10. The artworks can be enjoyed as part of a set which includes enjoying the exhibits as well as a soak in Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel’s sauna and a complimentary cup of Japanese tea.

Rakan no Yu, a sauna located at Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel, won the Saunachelin Grand Prix two years in a row in 2019 and 2020. The sauna and open-air baths enjoy natural water from Mt. Mifune and are surrounded by the vast nature of the local area.

A sauna and new art experience fusion

Sitting on the borderline of Mifuneyama Rakuen Park is the 3,000-year-old sacred Okusu tree of Takeo Shrine, which is Japan’s 7th largest. Also in the heart of the garden is another 300-year-old sacred tree. Knowing the significance of this, Japan’s forebears turned a portion of this forest into a garden, utilizing the trees of the natural forest. The border between the garden and the wild forest is ambiguous, and when wandering through the garden, before they know it, people will find themselves entering the woods and animal trails.

Visitors can get their hands on a combo ticket which includes access to teamLab’s exhibition as well as daytime entry to the sauna. These are limited to 40 people per day.

Below are some of the artworks that visitors can experience.

Megaliths in the Bath House Ruins
teamLab, 2019, Interactive Digital Installation

Graffiti Nature – Living in the Ruins of a Bathhouse, Red List
teamLab, 2017-, Interactive Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Butterflies Dancing in the Depths of the Underground Ruins, Transcending Space
teamLab, 2019, Digital Installation, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

Forest and Spiral of Resonating Lamps in the Forest – One Stroke, Autumn Mountain
teamLab, 2018, Interactive Installation, Murano Glass, LED, Endless, Sound: Hideaki Takahashi

MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless in Odaiba, Tokyo, is set to welcome a world of wonderful winter artworks this year.

teamLab Borderless is a group of artworks that form one borderless world. Artworks move out of rooms, communicate with other works, influence, and sometimes intermingle with each other with no boundaries.

Sketch Christmas

This December, teamLab invites children to create a Christmas world from their own pictures. When they draw a picture of Santa Claus on a piece of paper, he will appear in a town right in front of their eyes as if by magic.

Forest of Resonating Lamps

Throughout December and into January, the lamps at the art museum’s Forest of Resonating Lamps area will be changed to blue, inspired by the Blue Grotto sea cave in Italy. Going into January, they will turn red to be inspired by flames.

Proliferating Immense Life

The museum’s immense flower art piece Proliferating Immense Life – A Whole Year per Year will welcome numerous winter flowers over the next few months including Jack-in-the-pulpits in December, Chinese aster in January, and Asian bleeding-heart in February. When people touch the flowers they scatter, wither, and die, before being reborn. 100,000 flowers will scatter at once, creating a breathtaking display.

Memory of Topography

This artwork installation depicts a rural mountain landscape of varying elevations. For winter, it will depict wintertime scenery starting from December, from powdery snow to snow storms, kantsubaki midwinter camellias, plum blossoms, and more.

EN TEA HOUSE GENKA-TEI

Enter teamLab Borderless’s cafe where flowers bloom inside your cup. The tea house will make tea with a variety of winter flowers like chrysanthemums and cyclamens until December before switching to daffodils and plum blossoms from January to March.

Experience winter like never before at MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless.

UDS Ltd. opened SOKI ATAMI on Sunday (November 1), a new hot spring accommodation situated in the town of Koarashicho in Atami, Shizuoka.

The town of Koarashicho is considered the annex, as it were, to Atami. SOKI ATAMI can be reached in around 40 minutes by bullet train from Shinagawa Station. The accommodation takes into account the value of Atami’s hot spring resorts and what’s on offer there. It serves a ‘sojourn style’ of accommodation that allows you to return to yourself as you are, without any stresses, something which is enhanced thanks to being situated away from the hustle and bustle of the city in nature.

The accommodation’s name originates from the Japanese characters so (素) and ki (器), the former roughly translating to ‘origin,’ ‘source,’ or ‘foundation’ and the latter as ‘utensil’ or ‘vessel.’ Together, the words combine to make up what SOKI ATAMI prides itself on: seeking authenticity and being yourself without decorations in a space that welcomes nature, natural features, and incorporates raw materials.

Atami is one of the primary hot spring locations in Japan, prospering as a place that treats illness and injury, something which began after Tokugawa Ieyasu himself bathed there during the Edo Period. The city has since continued as a place to pass down the Japanese culture of hot spring bathing, and SOKI ATAMI cements this fact once again with its grand opening as it serves as a facility offering the nurturing of the body and soul. At the same time, it will promote local culture and cuisine.

The accommodation, surrounded by nature, offers a panoramic view of the ocean, and consists of a reception wing, guest room wing, and restaurant wing. In the ‘Village Garden,’ there are trees growing citrus fruits and a variety of plants and crops, showcasing the regional lifestyle and natural features.

Guest Rooms

There are 54 guest rooms in total ranging from 40㎡ to 65㎡ which can fit up to 4 people. Guests can enjoy the hot springs with all room types.

TONERICO:INC. is in charge of the inter design who have given it a natural feel.

In the rooms, guests will find sencha and kisetsucha tea grown in Shizuoka Prefecture as well as a Japanese confection made with mugikogashi barley flour which is said to promote longevity and sound health.

Numerous amenities are also available in all guest rooms including relaxing self-care items.

Baths

The public baths benefit from the changing seasons which changes up the bathing experience. The water is perfect for de-stressing, moisturising, and making your skin look beautiful.

There’s also a traditional steam sauna in the women’s area for detoxing and moisturising.

Tea Room

The tea room on the top floor of the accommodation offers a panoramic view of Atami Bay. Guests can enjoy watching the annual fireworks launched there throughout the year.

Menu Sample: Seasonal Yoseicha Course ¥3,000 | Wakan Gin & Tonic ¥1,200 (Before Tax)

A variety of menu choices to stabilise the mind and body will be available to order, many using local ingredients from Atami and Shizuoka Prefecture.

Food

Menu Sample: Breakfast – Seasonal Yosei Gozen | Dinner: SOKI Course, Nabe Course, Chef’s Course

In the restaurant wing is the dining room which has an open kitchen in front of guest tables where the chefs cook locally-sourced fish and vegetables among other delicious foods. and other ingredients are all sourced locally and directly.

The dining room was designed by age co.,ltd which has worked on many different ryokan and restaurants. The open and dynamic space has a high ceiling towering 4.5 meters overhead.

Garden

The garden area can be seen from the restaurant and is home to a variety of citrus fruits from the Izu Peninsula as well as seasonal vegetables and herbs. It offers beautiful scenery throughout the year .

Japanese art collective teamLab began displaying their permanent public artwork Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity II, Grand Central Terminal at the One Vanderbilt skyscraper in New York on September 14, 2020. The world of the artwork becomes brighter with the sunrise of Manhattan, and becomes darker as the sun sets. The flowers that bloom change throughout the period of one year.

Who is teamLab?

teamLab is an interdisciplinary art collective founded in 2001 in Tokyo, whose team includes several hundred specialists from artists to programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathmeticians, architects, and more.

teamLab aims to explore the relationship between the self and the world and new perceptions through art, and that’s exactly what this piece does. In the flow of time of reality flowers are born, bloom, then in the course of time they wither and die. The flowers are eternally repeating the process of life and death. This process is captured in real time in the digital art piece.

Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity II, Grand Central Terminal can be seen at the newly-opened 67-floor One Vanderbilt.

One Vanderbilt

Continuous Life and Death at the Now of Eternity II, Grand Central Terminal teamLab, 2020, Digital Work, Endless

Hoshino Resorts, Japan’s premiere hotel management company boasting over 40 properties both inside and outside Japan is set to its new onsen ryokan (hot spring Japanese style inn) Hoshino Resorts KAI Poroto in January 2022 following the completion of a partnership agreement with Shiraoi, Hokkaido on June 28, 2018.

KAI Poroto comes as the 19th property for the KAI brand, following KAI Nagato (opened in March 2020), KAI Kirishima (scheduled to open in January 2021), and KAI Beppu (scheduled to open in summer 2021). It will also be the third KAI property to open in Hokkaido, following RISONARE Tomamu in Shimukappu and OMO7 Asahikawa in Asahikawa. The new property will be designed by Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura.

(Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP)

Guests will be able to enjoy Shiraoi onsen water at KAI Poroto. The water comes from a “moor spring” which contains organic minerals derived from plants. This type of water is rare throughout the world. KAI Poroto faces the shores of Lake Poroto and is surrounded by the natural forests of Hokkaido where many species of wild bird live. All guest rooms boast a lake view where changes in scenery throughout the seasons can be enjoyed.

KAI Poroto will is cooperating with both the town of Shiraoi as well as “Upopoy”, the National Ainu Museum and Park, which has the aim of becoming a “symbolic space for ethnic harmony”. The facility will respect Ainu culture and provide a place of accommodation for guests to experience it.

Upopoy: A symbolic space for ethnic harmony

A symbolic space for ethnic harmony by the name of “Upopoy opened in Shiraoi, Hokkaido on July 12, 2020. This national centre serves as a base for the reconstruction and development of Ainu culture, which is in danger of survival. The main facilities are the National Ainu Museum and the National Ainu Park. The National Ainu Museum is the first national museum in Japan centred around indigenous Ainu people and the history and culture of the people as expressed through their perspective. This is expressed in a variety of different exhibits. The National Ainu Park is a field museum, where Ainu culture can be taught through a number of programs. Experiences on-site include the Ainu traditional dance, which is registered as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, wood carving, and embroidery workshops, as well as food and traditional performing arts experiences. “Upopoy” means “to sing (in large numbers)” in the language of Ainu.

Designed by Hiroshi Nakamura

Japanese architect Hiroshi Nakamura is behind the design of KAI Poroto. “Poroto” means a large lake in the Ainu language and KAI Poroto boldly draws this lake into its premise. In the lobby of the birch forest, guests will be greeted by a magnificent view of the lake, which leads to Mount Tarumae. Guests can also relax in the lounge while watching the flames in the fireplace, something which was at the centre of Ainu people’s lives. On the surface of the lake, a bathhouse called Kashi, which is built using traditional Ainu construction methods, stands like a village. The open-air bath makes one feel as if you are immersed in the lake. The design has been created in a way that is modern, inspired by the lifestyles, nature, and family of Ainu people.

Dogo Onsen, a hot spring located in the city of Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, is currently undergoing maintenance work but is still open for business, with customers enjoying their dip in the onsen as usual. While this work is being carried out, the facility has launched the Dogo REBORN Project. As part of the project, Dogo Onsen is collaborating with Osamu Tezuka’s manga series Phoenix which includes the creation of an original anime by Tezuka Production along with a projection mapping show in the evenings.

The first episode of the original anime production was posted in May 2019 and the second in February of this year. Earlier this month, on October 1, subtitles in English, Korean, and Traditional/Simplified Chinese were posted on both episodes. The third episode will be shown at Dogo Onsen.

Dogo Onsen launched the “Dogo Reborn 2020 Campaign” on August 7 as a way to show gratitude to frontline medical workers, which included putting up a special art piece called Blue Phoenix along with over pieces of wall art with messages on them.

The Dogo REBORN Project has much more planned going into the future.

©手塚プロダクション／松山市 2020
©TEZUKA PRODUCTIONS

Warehouse TERRADA opened up the new art cafe ‘WHAT CAFE’ in Tennozu, Tokyo, on October 15, 2020.

Left: Overlap of paint (dot3) by Soichi Yamaguchi | Right: Ichijiteki ni Inu, Ichijiteki ni Hito, Ichijiteki ni E by Dan Isomura

WHAT CAFE will serve as a hub to support artists in Japan’s art industry by functioning as both a gallery and cafe in a 800㎡ space. The gallery will change out the artwork from time to time to allow for more artists to showcase their works to visitors throughout the year. There will be hundreds of pieces shown in an entire year.

Left: Peel off the paint “No.125” by Haruna Shinagawa | void #35 by KIKUCHI Ryo

Tokyo’s Tennozu area is looking to become a major stop for art in Japan and is currently home to various art facilities like the pigment lab PIGMENT TOKYO and Japan’s biggest gallery complex TERRADA ART COMPLEX.

If you’re interested in contemporary art in Japan, and are visiting Tokyo, then you won’t want to miss a stop to Tennozu. Be sure to stop by WHAT CAFE.

Tokuma Shoten Publishing released a new picture book entitled Studio Ghibli no Ironna Kurashi in Japan on October 9, 2020 which is centred on the everyday lives of the protagonists from 13 of Studio Ghibli’s animated feature films.

The book looks at where the characters of these films reside and what kinds of lives they live, whether it be in the Toxic Jungle of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, or Sophie taking up the role of the cleaning lady in Howl’s Moving Castle, or Sosuke and Lisa who live upon the cliff in Ponyo.

Life in the castle in Howl’s Moving Castle　©2004 Studio Ghibli・NDDMT

Who’s who in the family? What kind of house do they live in? What job do they work? These are the questions that the book will answer as it delves deep into the livelihoods of the globally-beloved characters conceived by the incredible minds of Studio Ghibli.

The town of Koriko in Kiki’s Delivery Service　©1989 Eiko Kadono・Studio Ghibli・N

Arrietty’s house in The Secret World of Arrietty　©2010 Studio Ghibli・NDHDMTW

Noboru Yoshida (Art Supervisor for The Secret World of Arrietty)

The house that Satsuki and Mei move to in My Neighbor Totoro, the dwelling of Totoro, the wartime life of Seita and Setsuko living in Kobe in Grave of the Fireflies, the town where Kiki begins her life living alone at the age of 13, and so on.

The book is a must-have in the collection of any fans of Studio Ghibli, and is sure to make you want to step into those magical worlds once again.

The Asahi Shimbun and Nippon TV are set to host an exhibition centred on Mickey Mouse at the MORI ARTS CENTER GALLERY in Roppongi, Tokyo, from October 30, 2020 to January 11, 2021, in celebration of 90 years since Mickey Mouse’s screen debut. The exhibition will showcase works shown at the Mickey: The True Original Exhibition held in New York in 2018-2019.

Before the exhibition opens, five participating Japanese artists have each revealed their never-before-seen artworks which will be on display.

The Tokyo exhibition will be a travel back through time, looking at Mickey Mouse from the past to the present. It will be split into three zones: “The Origin,” “The True Original,” and “Beyond.” The five artists showcasing their work early will be featured in the “Beyond” zone and include Tomoko Oshima, Kosuke Kawamura, Nana Soeda, Calligrapher MAMI, and WAKU. Below are their featured pieces along with their comments.

Tomoko Oshima | Comment

“What’s fascinating about Mickey Mouse is, for reasons I can’t begin to work out, how he became a part of each person’s life. I was raised in a household that banned cartoon characters, so it always felt like something unobtainable. Mickey Mouse is like a hero to all of us. He’s dazzling and radiant, a kind of being I can’t look directly in the face of. When working on my Mickey Mouse art [for the exhibition], my concept was to create a Mickey that’s special only to me, so I challenged myself to turning that Mickey Mouse that everyone feels happy looking at and loves into my usual art style.”

Oheya (Bedroom), Tomoko Oshima

Kosuke Kawamura | Comment

“What I find fascinating about Mickey Mouse is that no matter how old I get, he always transports me away from the real world to a world of dreams. He’s an idol of mine. I even have my own collection of merchandise I’ve been collecting over the years. For the exhibition, I needed to creating something for the Beyond [zone], so I tried shaping Mickey Mouse from how I see him in my head. I’ve always made sure to balance my artwork in such a way that it can be seen in two ways. When you stand close, you can see the detailed composition, but when you step away, it looks different. This time around I gave myself a little challenge and made the silhouette of his face and hands using flowers. If you get close to it you’ll see that it’s made up of lots of flowers, but stand from afar and you’ll be able to see the facial expressions and his pointing figure. I’d like people to give both a go, so when you’ve looked at it up close then take a step back.”

Untitled, Kosuke Kawamura

Nana Soeda | Comment

“I feel Mickey Mouse’s appeal from his long history and how he has changed overtime, so I tried to express these aspects in the piece I made. The theme for it is centred on Mickey Mouse in the future, so when I was thinking about what he might look like in the future, I looked to past [designs] and tried fixing them up. So in my piece there’s a trace of looking back at past Mickey Mouse while giving him an update. Creating those ‘futures’ made me feel like I was walking through my own past and processes. You can’t know exactly what’s to come in the future even for someone as internationally popular as Mickey Mouse. But by learning from past memories and mistakes, you can draw on those to create a future, don’t you think? That’s something I wanted to convey in this piece, and I did so by creating something that’s close to the Mickey Mouse of the past with both 2D and 3D surfaces. The Mickey Mouse I drew is the one of ages past that looks completely different to his appearance today. But those look at it might feel something newer about it than older. That, or they might feel uncomfortable seeing him in a way they’re not used to. I want people to take their time looking at both and feeling whatever they feel when they do.”

LOVE, Nana Soeda

Calligrapher MAMI | Comment

“I’ve captured Mickey Mouse’s silhouette as its own kanji by using calligraphy. His appearance is iconic worldwide, and by making him recognisable through this common language, I’ve tried to create a new kanji, effectively breaking the language barrier of calligraphy, something which is difficult in itself to overcome for people. Another thing with calligraphy is that you can write the same piece hundreds of times which means it can be fine tuned over and over. I believe that overlaps with Mickey Mouse’s design as he has too has evolved for a hundred years. But by no means have his designs he just spring out of existence immediately. He has undergone trial and error through the times, and always shines bright. It’s because of everyone who will see my piece as this exhibition that I’ve been able to create something I can feel from the heart.”

ZEN Mickey, Calligrapher MAMI

WAKU | Comment

“I think the appeal of Mickey Mouse lies in the fact that people around the world all remember him from their childhoods. We form memories during our childhoods, and ever I’ve been able to recognise those memories inside of me, Mickey Mouse was something that was always close to me. When I see three circles together, Mickey Mouse’s face comes into my mind. He might be the first internationally recognisable symbol. I felt that the affinity between symbolism and neon signs is very high. So for my piece, I incorporated the techniques used for traditional Japanese neon signboards, something which I see less of these days. I took that and created the three Mickey Mouse circles using light.”

Untitled (Still Being Worked On), WAKU