Dear Friends,

 

Luffy and his crewmates’ ship have landed in Roppongi!

                
Who’s Luffy, you ask? Well, he is the main character in the celebrated manga series, “ONE PIECE”, written by Eichiro Oda that began its publication on JUMP weekly manga magazine from 1997 that has compiled to a voluminous 66 volumes as of May 2nd, becoming the most popular manga series of all time in Japan, and one of the most well-known manga series worldwide. For those of you unfamiliar with the manga, let me just tell you that the story is about a young boy named Luffy, who sails out to sea to become the king of all pirates.

 

2012 suitably marks the 15^th anniversary of its serial publication, and to commemorate this occasion, an exhibition has been organized under the theme “Original Drawing×Video×Bodily Sensation” to bring you a first-ever thrilling exhibition like never before.

 

The exhibition began at Mori Arts Center Gallery in Roppongi Hills from March 20^th, featuring original drawings by Mr. Oda, special movies, interactive art, and other contrivances that are sure to catch anyone by surprise. We are pleased to mention that on April 27^th, a ceremony was held at the museum to celebrate over 200 thousand visitors and many families and couples crowded the venue over the Golden Week holidays.

 
I was lucky to have the chance to visit the exhibition with Isabelle a few weeks ago. So I’ll tell you about some of my personal highlights here, and I hope that you will at least get a feel for what to expect if you do visit, which I sincerely hope you do!

First off, after you make your entrance, Luffy and his crew’s pirate ship, the mast of The Thousand Sunny greets you. The signature trademark of a skull wearing a straw hat is drawn on the sail, a panoramic view in the background, just waiting for you. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy on the day of our visit, but on sunny days, a marvelous view of Tokyo can be witnessed.

 

Before entering the Adventure Panoramic Theater, you go through a passage full of successive pirates on “WANTED” posters pasted on the wall. Here you will find many characters who have been added to the “WANTED” list, or simply those pirates who are being hunted down. Below their photo and name you will discover their reward money amount. This is the first time Luffy’s brother Ace’s reward money amount is revealed. Of course the higher the amount, the higher their level of importance ;)

Inside the panorama theater, you will be swept away within the manga, a short trip of approximately 4 minutes where memorable scenes are revived through video, that differs from animation. It’s as if you have fallen asleep reading “ONE PIECE”, and a strong wind scatters the pages of the manga until the images become real and somehow you are inside Luffy’s world. My heart was racing faster each time I met a new character through the images.

 

Passing through “A Shadow in Thriller Bark” lit by uncanny black lights, we caught Boa Hancock’s heart beam, “Love-Love Mellow” wholeheartedly and headed to “The Astonishing Monitor Room”. In dim light, you can observe the 30 monitors that surveillance each of the underwater prisons to every corner. If you look closely at them, you can see the dramatic escape made by Luffy and his crewmates at Impel Dawn.

 

Further down to our right, we encountered Luffy’s brother, Ace confined in the prison cell. When he was caught by the world government, this is where he was thrown into, tied by a chain. His body is recreated ever so real and a ray of light shines through from above. Even someone like me who has only read the manga up until the 10^th volume begins to feel sorry for Ace’s situation here. If you remember to keep your eyes peeled in this area, you will also notice that the Transponder Snails are secretly watching and recording your every move.

 

Continuing on, you will peek through several holes in “New Comer Land”, see graphics in “Paramount War of Marineford”, and watch a movie at “Crewmates Theater”, to arrive at the “Crewmates Original Art Gallery”. This gallery is a true gem for hardcore fans, for many of Mr. Oda’s original artwork and drawings are on display here. I heard that some people have cried drops of tears here, and it’s no wonder… Everyone was taking their time, staring closely at each and every single piece.

 After playing an interactive game at “Undersea Paradise –Fish-man Island“, it’s another long awaited moment for big time fans. This is “Where ‘ONE PIECE’ is created”, where Mr. Oda’s work desk is recreated. From the desk, chair, books, desk lamp and pens... There is a half-drawn drawing left on the desk, as if Mr. Oda was just there moments ago.

 
Lastly, don’t forget to check out the official merchandise shop before you leave. The Mado Lounge on the 52^nd floor is offering a special “ONE PIECE” themed menu while the exhibition is on. There is a wide variety of fun dishes to choose from, all themed to the “ONE PIECE” story and characters. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to try them out this time, so I hope to try a few the next time I’m in the Roppongi area.
       

       

Bon Voyage!

S

 

Open every day from March 20^th to June 17^th at the Mori Arts Center Gallery on the 52^nd floor of Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. Official website: http://onepiece-ten.com/

For those who live in Japan, I hope you had wonderful, relaxing, fun-filled Golden Week holidays with your family and friends.

 

Last week, my friend and I decided to check out the Oktoberfest in Daiba.The Japanese Oktoberfest marks its 10th anniversary and is held in seven locations this year:











Odaiba (Tokyo): 4/27-5/6

Click here for official event page (Japanese).

 

It took place in the park right near the DiverCity Tokyo shopping mall. The first thing we did was to look for, of course, German beer! There were a dozen-or-so German beer stalls inside the park offering a variety of ales, beer, bratwurst and all sorts of munchies. The beer is all served in authentic Oktoberfest glasses, and the price of the beer ranges from 1,000 yen to 2,000 yen. (You have to pay 1,000 yen more for the ‘glass deposit’. After you finish with the glass, you just return the glass to the designated area to get our deposit back.)


 





 

Since it was dinnertime, we also looked for food to accompany the beer. There were selling sausages, fries, sauerkraut, roast pork, pretzels, etc. 
 












It was a bit cold and rainy that day, so we brought our food and drinks inside the tent in the center of the event space. There was a German band performing traditional German toast songs “Ein Prosit.” Everyone in the tent was singing along and shouting ‘Prost!’ toasting in German. People were high-fiving each other and jumping up and down. Of course, we joined in on the fun! It sure was a crazy, fun-filled night.

 

Partying in the Japanese-German style was a blast, and it was definitely one of the best Friday nights ever. ;)









There are still many more chances for you to enjoy the Oktoberfests in Japan.

As the temperature rises higher each day, the beer-drinking season is upon us. I hope you take this wonderful opportunity to taste the authentic German beer, snacks, and music! PROST(Cheers)!!

-nori