Streets Adorned With Moon Art in Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa Area; Giant White Rabbit Balloon Among Japanese, Foreign Creations

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:58 JST, September 20, 2023

Moon-themed artworks are decorating the streets and open spaces around Shimokitazawa Station in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward.

Created by artists from Japan and abroad, the artwork is part of Moon Art Night Shimokita, an event in the Shimokitazawa district of the ward that will run through Oct. 1. The event is being held in conjunction with Chushu no Meigetsu, or the harvest moon, which falls on Sept. 29 this year.

Moon Art Night Shimokita is organized by Odakyu Electric Railway Co. and others, and is aimed at using art to enliven Shimokitazawa, a town popular with young people.

The featured artworks include a 7-meter spherical representation of the moon made with photos of the lunar surface. There is also an approximately 14-meter-long balloon shaped like a rabbit, an animal traditionally associated with the moon.

Visitors were seen taking photos of these and other pieces.

Local restaurants, shops and resident associations are collaborating with the event in various ways, such as offering special food and drinks or holding yoga workshops.

“I hope people will enjoy the artwork,” said Runa Saeki, 38, of the general incorporated association Shimokita Engeibu, which organizes a rabbit artwork hunt in a grassy area.

“I’d like to also convey the charms of Shimokitazawa, which has a lot of greenery,” Saeki said.