Yokai, Sanrio, and Pokémon

Today there are a few exhibits that are in Tokyo for a limited time that we are looking forward to seeing, with varying degrees of "looking forward to". The first is the Yokai Museum, a travelling multimedia art exhibit of Yokai (Japanese folklore supernatural beings) in Shinagawa. Shinagawa is an upscale Tokyo area, very recently constructed on a man-made island in the bay. Think very trendy with lots of art galleries and gated communities. We took the train down and after a bit of wandering found the converted warehouse that housed the exhibit. It had been traveling the country for a few years and Tokyo was I believe it's last stop.

It was similar in feel to the TeamLab installation we visited last year, but not as elaborate and more educational. Really interesting overall, and we're glad we got a chance to see it before it went away. I'll add a few of the many pictures we took.

We discovered just the other day, actually, that Sanrio was celebrating it's 60th anniversary with a big old exhibit in Roppongi Hills, the obnoxiously upscale part of Tokyo. Well, we can't miss that, can we?

Mori Art Museum, 52nd floor.

The elevator was VERY fast, with our ears popping several times on the way up to the 52nd floor. The exhibit itself was far more interesting than I initialy thought it would be. Other than all th expected plushies and characters and cuteness and all that, it was a really interesting look at the history of the company. I found out they used to publish sci-fi novels in the 70's and 80's. Like real novels from real authors, all as part of their commitment to "fantasy" which sci-fi was an extension of, to them. Also, while many of the characters were intentionally designed, some were kind of "happy accidents" as Bob Ross would say. One of my favorites was Tuxedo Sam (a penguin who has 365 bow ties). Sam was initially not going to be a character. He was made specifically because they were making a lot of household appliances (humidifiers, toasters, etc) and his shape was perfect for many of them, so he was initially just that. But people started asking about him and now he's one of the gang. He's also one of the earlier characters (1979).

See what I mean? These are coolers and tea kettles

There was also a movement in the 80's for non-characters: things that weren't like cats or even Chinese half-fish men (yes that's one of the more popular ones). Enter Fresh Punch:

It's...well...it's a glass of punch...

Anyway, it really was fun to see all the older stuff from the 60's and 70's and how it all changed over time. I also learned that Sanrio has published the Ichigo Shinbun (Strawberry Newspaper) continuously since 1975, allowing you to keep up with all the goings-on of the world on Sanrio, gossip, scandals, new characters, you name it. There were walls of the covers.

After all that, we decided in our infinite wisdom, to check out the largest Pokémon store in Tokyo, the Pokémon Center Tokyo DX. Because we somehow hadn't gotten enough of crowds and children. It's quite a store, with a wide variety of Pokémon merchandise. Sumi was unsuccessful in trying to find a Farfetch'd plushie, but did find various other trinkets to her liking. 

After a lot of walking around and dealing with crowds, we were pretty much done. After a nice dinner at CoCo Curry (SUMI'S request, I will have you know!) and some amazing daifuku at the same stand in Asakusa, we collapsed back at the apartment. Tomorrow will be another walking around day in Tokyo. We have a few more places we wanted to visit AND there's the first fireworks festival of the year just north of the city proper in Adachi.

"The Anonymous Man" - found outside the art installation warehouse

Of all things to import from the US...

There's a lot to unpack in this PSA. It is an ass, with a carrot in it's mouth, getting it's head stuck in the train doors. And rather than anyone being concerned about the poor creature, someone is holding up a "Do Not Run" card in it's face. And his carrot broke.