“Tokyo Stay” is a project that seeks to unearth untapped narratives in Tokyo through the experience of the “stay” (stopping and standing). In this talk series, the multi-genre practitioners who make up the members of Places and Narratives (NPO) use different themes and lineups to explore and unravel Tokyo and the “stay” from each standpoint.

The theme for the first session is “Memories and Cross-sections of Tokyo.”
The landscape of Tokyo communicates “newness” to the world in the drastic changes it has seen through earthquakes, air raids, rapid economic growth and more. But if you stop and look, there are still places that remain undeveloped. In a city where memories of the past and the landscape of the present overlap like geographical layers, what is the boundary in this landscape of the old and the new, where time intersects? And what will happen to communities with the continuation of this overlapping?

The venue Minagawa Village, a 3-minute walk from Omotesando station, is a sixty-year-old illegally-constructed block that has been turned into a multi-function complex. Moderating the discussion will be Toyoaki Kamimoto of SAISEIKENCHIKU LABORATORY, the company handling the complex’s planning and design in a way that leaves a memory of the place while reconstructing over half of it, and which also handles residential management for the property. Joining the discussion will be Atsumi Hayashi of realtors SPEAC and Real Tokyo Estate, and Chiaki Hayashi of Loftwork.

In part one preceding the discussion,participants will experience the experimental program“Pilgrim”by the members of Places and Narratives (NPO) on the streets of Omotesando. For this program, participants follow certain instructions to reach a destination, but the principle is to take time walking there. By way of a “stay,” taking much longer to get somewhere that is only thirty minutes away, participants will experience something different from the everyday.