With the launch of the new Fukutoshin subway line in June cutting through Shibuya, this town is set to transform even further in the future. In spite of this continuous change, the appeal of Shibuya is constant - a quality that is captured in the works at this exhibition. Shibuya through video and photography, Shibuya through fashion, Shibuya through the eyes of its inhabitants and visitors. Works by photographers raised in Shibuya, up-and-coming artists and designers active in this town are on display. Shibuya 1000 is an exploration of the endless possibilities in this city... Venue: Basement Concourse, Shibuya Station Video screening from 7:00-21:00 (planned) Free entry (except for some events)

The Minatomachi Orai Project #09 will be held in the autumn of 2009 to welcome the 150th anniversary of the opening of the port of Yokohama, inviting artists from port cities around the world along with Japanese artists to exhibit their work at several living spaces in the harbor districts of Yokohama. A pre-event will be held in October 2008, along the themes of "International Artist Network", "Immigration and Cultural Hybridity", and "Performativity". These events and exhibitions will be held at newly-built galleries hidden and tucked away in the hilly sections of the city. Venue: Yokohama ZAIM Cafe Annex Exhibition is organized along the following three themes: 1. International artist network Visual poetry network with works from Japan and abroad Julien Blaine, Tomomi Adachi, Shigeru Matsui, Shin Tanabe, Helen White 2. Performative Photography, video and installation works tackling the concept of public-ness and issues of space by artists like Marilyn Arsem, Jason Lim, Sumiko Nogi, Sakiko Yamaoka and Yoshinori Niwa. 3. Immigration and cultural hybridity Installation by a duo of third-generation nikkei (ethnic Japanese) Korean artists living in Japan, Bae Sunok and Om Joosoo. Events: Performance by Sumiko Nogi "Sheep Stroll" + DVD presentation of foreign artists October 12th (Sun) 14:00-16:00 Reception party 18:00- Talk and discussion "Theories on Japanese cultural hybridity" October 13th (Mon/national holiday) 15:00-18:00 Fee ¥1500 Aki Sagawa will speak on her research concerning poetry by Koreans living in Japan, while Reiichi Noguchi will speak on nihonga as a form of modernist painting. After the two presentations, there will be an open discussion with the audience. Moderated by Hiroyuki Arai Workshop + Performance "Poetry-Action: While Waiting for Julien Blaine" October 18th (Sat) - 19th (Sun) 15:00-18:00 Fee: One day ¥1500, both days ¥2500 Introduces the appeal of cross-genre expression through the live performance and acting out of poetry through props and sounds. Blaine explores the very attitude of being alive, its parallel possibilities. Also features a lecture by composer and performer Tomomi Adachi. Lecture: Tomomi Adachi Performance: Tomomi Adachi, Hideya Fujie, Nonko Ono, Mari Tanigawa, Sakiko Yamaoka To attend, see website for more details.

Pioneer of modern Japanese manga Ryuichi Yokoyama, and originator of story manga Osamu Tezuka have long respected and influenced each other. They both had animation production studios at their house, Yokoyama's "Otogi Production" and Tezuka's "Mushi Production." Much can be learned from their approach to animation, and their works are stunning even today. In this exhibition, Suginami Animation Museum director Shinichi Suzuki, who has experience working with both Yokohama and Tezuka, introduces the concept of "animation" through works by these two masters. -Illustration Workshop "Drawing Tezuka Characters!" With guest Junji Kobayashi, who worked for Tezuka for a long time on anime production, this workshop will teach participants the secrets of Tezuka characters. October 25th (Sat), 13:00 Location: Museum 4F Capacity: 20 people Free Recommended for anyone older than elementary school students -Talk Event "What Ryuichi Yokoyama and Osamu Tezuka Meant to Us" September 27th (Sat), 13:00 Location: Anime Theater Capacity: 50 people Free Guest: Fujiko Fujio (A)

Tadao Ando's first architectural manifesto penned in the 1970s, "Urban Guerilla Dwellings," appeared in the architecture magazine "Toshi Jutaku." The piece was based on a standalone row house in Sumiyoshi, Osaka, which soon made his name in the field. Since then, Ando has continued to make innovative architecture that constitutes a form of criticism of contemporary society. Since the 1990s, he has expanded his activities onto a global scale, taking on projects in Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East. This exhibition attempts an overview of Ando's 30 years as an architect, focusing on the various types of "places" he has designed over the years. These 10 or so projects undertaken in Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, Venice, Abu Dhabi, Mexico and Bahrain were completed under completely different conditions, project durations, scales and programs, but despite these diverse backgrounds and settings, Ando's consistent and unified approach as an architect is discernible. This way of thinking about architecture considers not only the building in itself, but also tries to seize the environmental construction and form that surrounds it - in short, a composite approach that aims to realize a "symbiotic" relationship between nature and architecture. In this sense, an unbroken line based on this approach can be drawn through his 30 year trajectory, from the tiny Sumiyoshi row house dwelling in a dense residential neighborhood of Osaka, right up to the Abu Dhabi Marine Museum, a monumental cultural facility currently being planned. In addition to a large model recreation of the Sumiyoshi row house in its original dimensions, often referred to as the point of origin of Ando's architecture, sketches, models, drawings and videos introducing his work from a variety of perspectives will give audiences a comprehensive overview of the essence of Andoesque architecture. Tracing the trajectory of his work, which has consistently pursued a harmony between place and nature, is perhaps a significant glimpse that allows us an inroad into the future of architecture at a time when the state of this natural environment has become a hot topic of debate.

The Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art celebrates its 30th anniversary this year on November 3rd. From July 21st through December 24th last year, the museum conducted a survey among visitors asking them to select their favorite work from the museum collection. Over 1000 answers were submitted, and the results of the survey, as well as visitor comments, are on display at this exhibition. Additionally, this exhibition looks back on 30 years of the museum's history through an exhibition of masterpieces from their collection. Also on view are video clips, newspaper articles and photographs from the time of the museum's opening. Please visit exhibition website for more details. [Image: Jean-François Millet "The Sower" (1850) Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Art Collection]

Most existing planetariums can only project approximately 2 million stars. However, MEGASTAR-II can reproduce, with up to 12.5x magnification, 5 million fixed stars that cannot be seen with our naked eye. Until MEGASTAR-II, the necessity of reproducing stars to that extent was not really thought possible among planetarium specialists. However, only MEGASTAR-II can reproduce the solidity, light and shades of the colors of the Milky Way and the fine details of the dark nebula. This capability cannot be found elsewhere. The "Geo-Cosmos" is the symbol exhibit of Miraikan and has 1 million LEDs closely set on its spherical, 6.5 m in diameter body. Based on the data sent from satellites, the appearance of the earth changes hourly on the displays and you can have a virtual experience of the "Earth as seen from outer space".