_Discover Tokyo’s hidden creative landscape through the eyes of leading architect, fashion designer, and nightlife curator in this captivating new short film_
What makes Tokyo one of the world’s most dynamic cultural capitals? ‘Only in Tokyo’ takes viewers into the city’s creative ecosystem ahead of Art Week Tokyo 2025, featuring intimate conversations with three practitioners who shape the metropolis daily.
From Shibuya’s busy streets to Shimokitazawa’s independent scene, this short documentary follows renowned architect Sou Fujimoto, FACETASM fashion founder Hiromichi Ochiai, and nightlife curator Mami Shirakawa as they reveal the distinct layers that define contemporary Tokyo. Fujimoto uncovers the city’s surprising intimacy within its famous density, finding ‘village-like pockets of quiet’ behind Omotesando’s commercial facade. Ochiai celebrates Tokyo’s cultural hybridity – the deliberate blending of global influences that creates something distinctly local.
Shirakawa brings Tokyo’s after-hours culture into focus, tracing connections from underground punk roots to today’s disciplined club scene. Her observations reveal how Tokyo’s nightlife reflects broader cultural principles of harmony and respect, creating what she calls ‘a beautiful harmony in Japanese culture.’
Together, these three perspectives present Tokyo as a place where traditional Japanese aesthetics intersect with contemporary creativity. From architecture that embraces contradiction to fashion that freely combines international influences, Tokyo emerges as a city where creative disciplines continuously overlap and evolve. Experience the metropolis that constantly reinvents itself through the perspectives of those who actively shape it.
____________________
Art Week Tokyo runs from November 5–9, 2025, at more than 50 participating galleries, museums, and art spaces across the city. Highlights include AWT Focus at the Okura Museum of Art, AWT Video in a special pavilion in Marunouchi, AWT Bar serving artist cocktails and edible creations in a space designed by an emerging architect, and AWT Talks, including a symposium and online events. Discover more here: https://www.artweektokyo.com/en/
Art Week Tokyo is organized by Japan Contemporary Art Platform in collaboration with Art Basel, with support from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. Art Week Tokyo’s infrastructural development initiative, the Art Week Tokyo Mobile Project, is co-organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Art Week Tokyo Mobile Project Organizing Committee.
Director: Johnny Nghiem
Producer: Lia Kim
Director of Photography: Shammond Shorter
Camera Assistant: Val Bernard
Super 8/B-roll: Johnny Nghiem
Production Assistant/Translator: Saiyaka Arai
Production Assistant: Shawn Watanabe
Driver: Loïc Garnier
Additional Translation: Ryoichi Hirata
Editor: Johnny Nghiem
Colorist: Shammond Shorter
Sound Mix: Roi Rico
Production Company: Soft Launch
Executive Producer: Jordan Leech
Creative Director: Akiel Gallina & Elena Feijoo
Art Basel, Senior Editor: Alicia Reuter
#Tokyo #creatives #explore #Japans #capital