Event: Eco Edo Nihonbashi Art Aquarium
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July 13, 2015 - Event: Eco Edo Nihonbashi Art Aquarium
Do you like goldfish? How about goldfish lit by neon lights in interesting aquariums? The Art Aquarium is a annual, multi-city event from the mind of Hidetomo Kimura, self-proclaimed "Aquarium Artist".
I visited this year's show to see what all the fuss was about. It was my first time at an Art Aquarium event, but I'll be back for sure! It was a fun and interesting, and not just for goldfish lovers!
(I apologize for the quality of the photos in advance. They are all iPhone pictures as I didn't bring my regular camera with me this trip.)
The exhibiton is located near Tokyo Station at the Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall. The first floors are shopping and restaurants. To enter the event hall, you must go to the 4th floor to buy tickets and proceed from there. Once you've bought tickets, you'll head up to the 5th floor by escalator, walk through a gift shop, and enter the curtained area.
There are a number of bilingual signs about the goldfish, the project, and the creator himself.
Once inside, there is a short corridor featuring different kinds of goldfish in glass bubbles, lit with rotating colors of lights. My husband, a goldfish lover, was annoyed. "I don't care about the art, I want to see the fish's original colors and their names!" he groused. For me, I thought the different colors highlighted each fish's unique shape.
The Main Hall area features a large central exhbit surrounded by smaller ones. I thought the prism shape was really beautiful! The fish in the top containers of the aquarium were truly giant specimens of goldfish!
The lotus was my second favorite area, but the colors changed so quickly it was hard to get a good picture. The atmosphere and music made it very zen-like.
This was perhaps my favorite, as the globe rotated with water streaming down and the colors shifted. It was pretty mesmerizing!
Speaking of mesmerizing, the final exhibit was an interactive display, where the swimming fish created the background. At one point the shoji "doors" opened to show a fight between what looked to be the gods of thunder and lightning, only for the doors to shut and the peaceful tranquility return in the shape of seasonal flowers. I mean, who comes up with this stuff?!
After the exit is the cafe area, where various goldfish-themed drinks and sweets were for sale. I didn't get one, but there were a whoooole lot of people who did. They looked yummy!
Around the building, those who showed their event tickets (and people in yukata) were given discounts and special prizes if you also shopped. There were a number of goldfish-themed goods both from the event gift shop and outside shops. I REALLY wanted the giant plush goldfish, but I resisted and just bought a small keychain instead.
Event Information:
Eco Edo Nihonbashi Art Aquarium is held from July 10th through September 23rd, 2015 from 11:00AM to 11:30PM. Tickets cost 1000 yen for adults.
The time from 7:00PM to 11:30PM is considered "Night Aquarium". Alcoholic drinks are served and the atmosphere is lounge-style. After 9pm, under 20 is not permitted. There is an event calendar featuring musical acts, as well as a "Maiko Night" and an "Oiran Night", on the official website (linked below).
NOTE: This is a popular event and can get extremely crowded! If you want to go for one of the event nights, I recommend buying tickets in advance!
There is also a similar event being held in Hiroshima now as well.
Additional Information:
http://artaquarium.jp/en/
Enjoy this amazing and special event!
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