Explore the Street Art and Murals of Tokyo’s Tennozu Isle

the largest of the murals can be seen from the other side of the shore

Tennozu Isle is a small island in Tokyo Bay that was built over a period of 14 years in the early 1900s by dredging sand and sediment from the bottom of the bay. It became primarily an industrial hub for warehouses and storage. But in the early 2000s a new train station that connected the island with major stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya kicked off a massive redevelopment. Now it’s become a hip town with a fancy website that hosts art shows and performances.

the largest of the murals is this one by Case Maclaim. The homage to Edmonda Honda, the character from the game Street Fighter, towers almost 165 feet.

Late last year they invited the street artist collective Pow! Wow! to create a series of murals and street art throughout the isle, which resulted in some stunning, large-scale artwork that you just don’t typically see in Japan. Over 10 artists, some Japanese and some from abroad, contributed to the festival. “With dozens of murals painted along the walls of the Tennozu area, crowds poured through to admire the work, marking the event as a resounding success and cementing the showing in the Asian market,” said the art collective in a statement.

Mural by Dragon76

While some of the work has since been removed, many of the pieces on Bond Street still remain. In fact, follow this art map while you’re there and seek out some other art galleries and public artworks. Oh, and don’t miss the new art supply shop and architecture model museum!