Owener's small talk vol.4 | Oasis in Nihonbashi

【 Iwao Hoshi  from Gallery Ichibanboshi 】 

When I hear Nihonbashi, the first thing that comes to my mind is not ``Nihonbashi Bridge'' or ``Nihonbashi as the starting point of the road network,'' but ``Nihonbashi Takashimaya.''

My parents opened Ichibanboshi Gallery in its current location in 1987, when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school. The opening commemorative exhibition was Kazumasa Nakagawa's exhibition, and my sister, who is one year older than me, and I were planning to eat an early dinner at home and then head to the gallery's opening party.

When I got home from elementary school, changed into the only pair of clothes I had, and was eating dinner that my mother had prepared, I accidentally spilled some food and got a big stain on my clothes. I was wondering what to do, but I didn't have any other clothes to go elsewhere, so my sister and I took the Tozai Line to Nihonbashi in those stained clothes. When I arrived in Nihonbashi, my older sister took me to the children's clothing section of Takashimaya, bought some fashionable clothes based on my older sister's ideas, changed them on the spot, and headed to Ichibanboshi Gallery. I remember the purchase costing several thousand yen, an amount I had never spent at the time. I still wonder where my sister got that money from. When we arrived at the gallery, my mother was surprised to see clothes she had never seen before, and my father seemed happy that two elementary school children had bought clothes at Takashimaya. That's how I remember it. Since then, every time I've gone to Nihonbashi, I've shopped at Takashimaya and eaten there with my family, and Nihonbashi Takashimaya has become a department store filled with precious memories for me.

Well, the introduction is quite long, but what I would like to introduce is the rooftop garden of the Takashimaya main building.

It may be a place that you don't often get a chance to visit, but it's an open space that you wouldn't imagine from the hustle and bustle of the world below. There are tables and benches where you can take a break, and there is also a cafe where you can enjoy lunch or tea time. There is also a beer garden held in the summer, which is very lively. It is a precious oasis in Nihonbashi, full of attractions such as an elevator hall that makes you feel like you have traveled back in time, a building that retains the appearance of an elephant named Takako that was once kept there, a fountain, and a rose garden. If you are tired from visiting galleries, this is a spot you should definitely stop by.

【 Iwao Hoshi  from Gallery Ichibanboshi 】 

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一番星画廊　Gallery Ichibanboshi
11:00-18:00
東京都中央区日本橋3-6-9 箔屋町ビル1階 
Hakuyacho bldg. 1F, 3-6-9 Nihonbashi
TEL：03-3272-2525,  FAX：03-3272-2526
WEB：i@ichibanboshi-g.jp
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