Hey there, hope you’re doing great.
Almost two months ago I travelled to Japan for a bit of a street art hunt! This is my third time in Japan, but it was actually my first solo flight overseas! The experience was fantastic and I’m very much looking forward to my next journey there! Most likely I will be returning to Japan next year for the World Expo 2025 Osaka.
For now, here’s a bit of a recap of the trip:
Day 1: Tokyo
By the time I arrived in Japan, it was morning, and from Haneda Airport I took a train to Shibuya and found myself walking through at 7am in the morning. While I only did spend about 7 hours here, I flew to Osaka at 3pm and headed straight to bed in a hostel near Namba. Here’s a painting of a black cat zoning out.
Day 2: Osaka: Kitakagaya and Yodogawa
The first set of artworks were at Kitakagaya. An Osaka Travel Guide refers to this place as the “new holy land of art”, and believably so. Here are a few artworks from here.
Taking a break from walking, I took a train all the way to Takatsuki towards Kyoto to get a single artwork, before returning back to Osaka. Later that day, I hired a bicycle for two hours from Shin-Osaka station and went around the Yodogawa Ward to check out the Yodokabe artworks. These artworks are an initiative by local artist BAKIBAKI and WALLSHARE to raise the social status of mural culture and street art in Osaka and was started in 2021 with a portrait of Florence Nightingale. Osaka is quite a flat city, so it was enjoyable to ride a bicycle throughout.
Day 3: Minoh and a night of drinks
I walked a couple of kilometres to a waterfall and back, went to a public bath and drank the night away while trying to speak Japanese to a few patrons. Fun fun!
Day 4: Umeda
After a walk of a shame, I checked out of the hostel I was staying in before checking into another one closer to Umeda. Not too much walking today, mainly eating a whole variety of food and exploring the urban fabric that is Osaka. There a few murals in the LOFT Umeda staircase.
Day 5: Kobe
One thing I love about Osaka and Japan in general is that sunrise is at 5am. But everything else stays closed until about 10am unless people are going to work. One early morning later, I took a brisk train ride to Kobe, hitting out all the artworks in the Pow! Wow! Japan series. A really beautiful city that strongly embraces its waterfront and some eclectic artworks.
Where the Kobe City Hall used to stand though was a canvas for the Kobe Mural Art Project but was demolished.
Day 6: Mural Town Konohana and Shinsaibashi
This day, although it might not look like it in the photos was dreadful. Monsoonal rains ensued during my adventures out in the Konohana Ward, and it was this day where I clocked the most steps! Who would have known? Braving the hard rains, I took a bus from my hotel through to the area and between artworks, managed to speak to a few friendly locals near these artworks. It was fantastic to hear how positive and encouraging they were to showcase these brilliant works in their town. By impression, it also seemed as if I had missed a live painting of one of these that was only a day before.
With the rain refusing to let up, I took a bus back up to the north side of the Yodogawa Ward to get a few more artworks much further away from Day 2’s bicycle ride, before heading back to the hotel to take a nap. It’s very rewarding to have all the artworks up to date! Later on that day, I found myself walking through to Shinsaibashi where I visited America-mura, the renowned ‘Peace on Earth’ artwork, and the Dotonbori Art Street.
It seems strange, but wouldn’t people when they first arrive in Osaka head straight to Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori? Only just the day before I was flying back had I came through the area! One mega artwork found along Dotonbori recommended by @elena (thank you!) is the ‘Nation’s Kitchen’ international artwork which is as much a landmark as the others found within the area.
The Semba Mural Park was the last place I visited on this very long day, which was a delight to the eyes as a wonderful creative space. 24 individual artworks have painted a whole underground passages’ worth of murals here, and is definitely worth checking out.
**Day 7: Home via Shinsekai and Tokyo **
To cap off this recap, I’m adding this tall vibrant flower found near Tsūtenkaku, in which the artist states that it blooms into new life. Which is exactly how I feel both hunting in a foreign country and also feeling a strong sense of pride and wonder being able to document this on a great platform and share to the broader street art community.
Although the journey home was tiring (and even more tiring is the very time poor hunter I am to finally complete this recap and upload the Japan trip’s artworks over two months), I’m glad to be surrounded with others who also share the same passion and heart-racing effect of discovering these artworks. Next stop: Singapore!
You can view all of these artworks, festivals and galleries with the links below on Street Art Cities:
City: Osaka & Kobe
Osaka Festivals/Galleries: Mural Town Konohana, Yodokabe
Kobe Festivals/Galleries: Pow! Wow! Japan 2016|2017|2018, Kobe Mural Art Project
Thanks, catch you around on the flipside!
