Last month Takashi Murakami opened up a new gallery in Tokyo to show off his art work and the art work of artists he supports. While you’d expect such a high-profile artist to chose somewhere swanky and fashionable like Daikanyama or Omotesando, the king of cute decided to set up shop in the otaku haven that is the third floor of Nakano Broadway.
Opened in 1961, Nakano Broadway is fairly old by Japanese standards but unlike many shopping arcades of its time, the four-storey mall is still thriving. Finding the Hidari Zingaro gallery on the third floor was a bit of a challenge as it’s flanked by brightly colored shops selling rare toys or comics. In fact I only found the plain white fronted shop on my second circuit round. Inside, artworks by Chiho Aoshima, Nobuyoshi Araki and Mahomi Kunikata were displayed alongside Takashi Murakami’s work. Unfortunately, photography was not permitted and the gallery assistant was also very tight-lipped when it came to answering any questions about the gallery, revealing only that Murakami loved Nakano and that is why he’d decided to open a gallery there.
If you just stroll around Nakano Broadway you'll see that there’s much for Murakami to love. The second and third floors are not only devoted to otaku culture but also house trendy stores such as Back to Mono, as well as old-school fortunetellers. A must-visit shop is Mandarake, purveyor of rare retro toys that have price tags to rival those on display at Hidari Zingaro (a piece by Murakami cost a minimum of ¥40,000).