Its affordable rental space aims to ignite the creative spirit in the local community and tie people together.
Nestled off the busy streets of Ishikawa-cho, this cosy little space allows you to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of modern life. A renovated former Showa-era candy shop, Art Space {to} originated as a picture book cafe, but has evolved into a multifaceted, cultural spot that hosts local artist exhibits, workshops and events. Its affordable rental space aims to ignite the creative spirit in the local community and tie people together.
With its cafe hours starting from 12pm, {to} offers various ginger drinks with chocolate chip biscotti (¥500) as well as a couscous plate and soup. Craft work by various artists and locally grown vegetables are also on sale. As local school hours finish up, {to} often acts as an after-school hangout for students. Art space {to} encourages children to bring games and homework on the condition that they ‘read’ one picture book per day spent there, which upon completion gives them a daily stamp that they can use to get free snacks. The cafe closes at 6pm and the space can be rented out for events and workshops after that.
Every month there are multiple workshops and lectures ranging from animation to cooking classes, most of which put an emphasis on the creative process. On our visit there, we met with the energetic owner, Imae Yoshie, and were able to learn about the origin of the name {to}. In Japanese と, which can loosely be translated as “with” or “and”, shows how people, things and creations are bound together. With an interesting combination of “zakka”-inspired (oddities) vintage typewriters, furniture, cameras and an air of youthful playfulness exhibited by drawings, crafts and other installations, {to} truly does capture the synergy, spontaneity, and magic of a community creative center.