International Art Exhibition “TOKYO ATLAS” in Daiba, Aomi and Tennoz Until December 20, with 20 Artists and Groups Including Yayoi Kusama

The international art exhibition “TOKYO ATLAS,” organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and others, is being held in the waterfront districts of Daiba, Aomi and Tennoz from Saturday, October 10 to Sunday, December 20, 2026. Twenty artists and groups from Japan and abroad, including Yayoi Kusama and Leiko Ikemura, present works in parks, on the sea and in an underground parking garage whose use has been suspended, among other places. The aim is for visitors to rediscover Tokyo from new perspectives as they tour the city. Admission is free, and the venues are open from 10:00 to 17:00.

Why hold it in public spaces on the bay?

The organizers are the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Tokyo International Culture and Arts Festival Executive Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. The exhibition’s stated hallmark is that, rather than confining works to museums, it places them in urban spaces that citizens use every day, merging them with the cityscape.

The “ATLAS” of the title refers both to Atlas, who holds up the world in myth, and to a book of maps. The exhibition is intended as a place to read Tokyo while following the works. “Coordinates,” a related program introducing young artists supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, is also being held at WHAT MUSEUM in Tennoz.

The artistic directors are Akira Tatehata, an art critic and poet who serves as director of the Yayoi Kusama Museum among other posts, and Akiko Miki, a curator who serves as director of the Naoshima New Museum of Art among other posts. Tatehata is in charge of the displays in Daiba, at the Telecom Center Building and in Tennoz, and Miki of those at Aomi-minami Futo Park, the underground parking garage and elsewhere. The arts festival “ARTE TOKYO” (launched by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and others on October 10) also positions this exhibition as one of its Highlight Programs.

What can be seen? Highlights by area

Daiba area: a park on a battery site and a sculpture on the sea

Daiba Park occupies the site of an artificial island built in the late Edo period as a battery to repel the Black Ships. Yayoi Kusama’s “Narcissus Garden” (1966/2026) is shown here. In neighboring Odaiba Seaside Park, a giant 6-meter-tall sculpture by Leiko Ikemura has been installed on the water offshore.

The same area also features Zhao Yao’s “Something in the Air” (2019). Kenta Ishige presents a sound installation, and Rui Mizuki also takes part. The exhibition is reportedly designed so that visitors experience the relationship between the works and their sites as they stroll.

Aomi area: Yayoi Kusama in the atrium and the underground parking garage

In the atrium of the Telecom Center Building, two works by Yayoi Kusama are shown together: “Yayoi-chan” (2012/2023) and “A Bouquet of Love I Saw in the Universe” (2021). According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s announcement, the latter is being shown in Japan for the first time, and the pairing of the two works is a world first. The former is said to represent the “inner universe” and the latter the “outer universe.” Kusama died on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. A retrospective is on view at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands until January 17, 2027.

At Aomi-minami Futo Park, overlooking the container wharf, Abraham Poincheval presents “La Bouteille” (2015–), a performance work in which the artist himself lives inside a giant bottle. “Goat’s Eye” (2020–), which creates art through raising goats, is a project by the Tsuyoshi Ozawa Laboratory at Tokyo University of the Arts and others. Yuji Takeoka and Haroon Mirza also take part.

The 197.5-meter-long underground parking garage beneath the park is a space whose use has been suspended, specially opened as a venue. Ishu Han, Ipeh Nur, Katie Paterson and Muhannad Shono show work here. Kawita Vatanajyankur, Moon Kyungwon & Jeon Joonho, Taro Shinoda and Julian Charrière also take part, making eight artists and groups in all. Of these, Kawita Vatanajyankur shows a new video work made in this underground parking garage.

Poincheval’s video work is screened at the Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, but it cannot be seen when a cruise ship is in port. TOKYO Minatorie, the Tokyo waterfront area public relations exhibition room 100 meters above the ground, presents part of the artists’ research processes and other material.

Tennoz area: a former waste collection site and “Coordinates”

Isle Shinagawa in Tennoz is a facility that was once a collection site for the city’s waste, and redevelopment has given it a waterfront plaza and promenade. Here, Yuriko Sasaoka’s video installation and Keita Mori’s installation are on view, along with works by Kimsooja and Rui Mizuki. WHAT MUSEUM, within walking distance, is the venue for the related program “Coordinates.”

Admission, opening hours and venues requiring reservations

Admission is free, with some paid programs. The venues are open from 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30). They are closed on Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday), and open on Monday, November 23 (national holiday).

Only the underground parking garage (in Aomi-minami Futo Park) requires a timed reservation, with last entry at 16:20. TOKYO Minatorie is closed on November 23.

During the exhibition, guided viewing tours, each limited to 30 people and requiring reservations, are scheduled for November 8, November 23, December 5 and December 12. From November 10, the related program “Art & Business Gallery” also begins on the fifth floor of the Telecom Center Building.

Access and how to get around the venues

The Daiba and Aomi areas are along the Yurikamome line. The Telecom Center Building is directly connected to Telecom Center Station, and Aomi-minami Futo Park and the underground parking garage are about a 4-minute walk from the same station. Odaiba Seaside Park is about a 3-minute walk from Odaiba-kaihinkoen Station or Daiba Station, and Daiba Park is about a 15-minute walk from Odaiba-kaihinkoen Station.

Isle Shinagawa in the Tennoz area is about a 1-minute walk from the South Exit of Tennozu Isle Station on the Tokyo Monorail. WHAT MUSEUM is about a 5-minute walk from the same station.

Visitors can also travel between Odaiba and Tennoz on “ARTE TOKYO CRUISE,” a program run in conjunction with ARTE TOKYO. It operates about four sailings a day, mainly on weekends and national holidays, between Odaiba Seaside Park and Tennoz Pier; the fare is 1,500 yen per sailing segment for adults, and half price for high school students and younger.

Editor’s perspective

The venues are a late-Edo battery site, a former waste collection site, a park overlooking a container wharf and an underground parking garage no longer in use. Each bears the history of development on the shores of Tokyo Bay, and reading the histories of these places alongside the works is central to the experience.

On the other hand, the venues are split across three areas, and there are many conditions to check in advance, such as reservations for the underground parking garage, the days cruise ships are in port and the Monday closures. Precisely because the exhibition is free and open, it is worth deciding your route on the official website’s venue map before setting out. With Art Week Tokyo and other events continuing across Tokyo in November, it is a good idea to plan together with our November 2026 art event calendar.

Overview

Name: International Art Exhibition TOKYO ATLAS
Dates: Saturday, October 10 – Sunday, December 20, 2026
Hours: 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). The underground parking garage (in Aomi-minami Futo Park) requires a timed reservation, with last entry at 16:20
Closed: Mondays (or the following Tuesday if Monday is a national holiday). Open on Monday, November 23 (national holiday)
Venues: Daiba area (Daiba Park, Odaiba Seaside Park), Aomi area (Telecom Center Building, Aomi-minami Futo Park, underground parking garage [in Aomi-minami Futo Park], Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, Tokyo Waterfront Area PR Exhibition Room TOKYO Minatorie), Tennoz area (Isle Shinagawa, WHAT MUSEUM)
Admission: Free (some paid programs)
Organizers: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo International Culture and Arts Festival Executive Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
Artistic directors: Akira Tatehata, Akiko Miki
Official website: https://tokyoatlas.jp/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: From a press release by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials released by the organizers, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (October 8, 2026), and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team