Three Tokyo creatives reveal the neighborhoods, rituals, and communities that make Japan’s capital one of the world’s most compelling art cities

Produced in collaboration with Art Week Tokyo, City Stories: Tokyo explores the Japanese capital through the eyes of three creatives whose practices are deeply rooted in the city. Rather than following a conventional guidebook format, the film offers a more personal portrait of Tokyo, revealing the places, rituals, and communities that continue to shape one of the world’s most dynamic cultural landscapes.

Artist and AWT Focus curator Mai Endo of Queer zine, Multiple Spirits introduces Tokyo’s thriving network of artist-run initiatives and independent spaces, reflecting on the collaborative ethos that defines the city’s contemporary art scene. Jewelry designer Mio Harutaka finds inspiration in moments of quiet contemplation, recommending a traditional tea ceremony in Roppongi while sharing how Japanese art and design inform her minimalist aesthetics. Architect Kae Ito, designer of this year’s AWT Bar, explores the city’s public spaces, revealing how its parks, streets, museums, and bookshops encourage unexpected encounters between people, architecture, and art.

Together, their stories offer a portrait of a city shaped by creativity, collaboration, and everyday discovery. Produced in collaboration with Art Week Tokyo, the film reflects the event’s city-wide approach, connecting galleries, museums, artist-run spaces, and the people who give Tokyo’s art scene its distinctive character.

About Art Week Tokyo

Returning for its fifth edition from November 4–8, 2026, Art Week Tokyo – an annual celebration of the creativity and diversity of art throughout the Japanese capital – brings together a record 55 participating venues across the city for five days of coordinated programming and special platforms. Discover more here.

Art Week Tokyo is organized by Japan Contemporary Art Platform in collaboration with Art Basel, with support from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs. AWT’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.