I just got back from an amazing trip to Japan for Kokufu, one of the top Bonsai Exhibitions in the world. As a foreigner, it was difficult for me to figure out basic things like “Where exactly is it located?”, and “What dates is it?”, etc. so I wanted to share my learnings with the group.
1. Where is it and when is it?
The 97th annual show which I attended was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in the Ueno area of Tokyo, Japan. The Green Club (Vendor Sales Area) and headquarters of the Nippon Bonsai Association is located about a 15 minute walk from the art museum.
The date is not a set in stone series of days each year, so you need to check the location and time when they are announced. I believe it is almost always a set of two parts with an intermission of a few days in between for them to switch out all the displays. I kept checking the below website (used Google Chrome to translate to English) and it was announced in the October timeframe. I then booked my flights and hotels after the announcement!
Here was the address I typed in Google Maps to find the Green Club (vendor sales area). I believe this is a static location for each show.
3-42 Uenokoen, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0007, Japan
2. How should I get there and where should I stay?
For International visitors, flying into Narita airport in Tokyo is the cheapest and most convenient option. The public transportation in Japan is amazing and well-marked in English in the big cities. Google Maps is also your best friend as the information is extremely accurate and it also guides you to the exact entrances and exits to take as well as the best car to board for transfers. There are a glut of options for getting most places which can be the most confusing part. You’ll most likely take a train directly from the Narita airport to Tokyo Station in Tokyo (~30 minutes with the express) and then a local train from Tokyo Station to the area you are staying in.
I chose to stay in Ueno and had just a 10-minute walk to the exhibit and Green Club. I stayed at a hotel called Hotel Graphy Nezu that was super affordable, had small but comfortable rooms, and a great breakfast and staff. It was in a more neighborhood feeling location northwest of Ueno Station that was still walking distance from the train station and the event. The event is usually very close to Ueno Station, so you can stay anywhere in Tokyo you’d like based on what feel you want. Other districts can offer larger rooms or better nightlife, etc. I just used booking.com to reserve all my hotels and it was super easy.
3. How do I get a ticket for the event?
Right before you walk into the event hall, you can buy tickets at the front door. You don’t have to buy tickets in advance. If you know anyone in the bonsai community there, they hand out free tickets like candy. The Green Club opened the day before the show and so I met some folks there who gave me a free ticket. A ticket was 1000 yen at the door and included part 1 and part 2. I was also able to just show my used ticket to gain reentry because I went to multiple days of each show with no extra cost. I just asked with Google translate at the front desk and they waved me in. There are many exhibits in the Museum, but it was self-explanatory to get to the Bonsai part.
4. Shopping!
I would be remiss if I didn’t include everything I learned about the shopping experience. The Green Club is the vendor sales area associated with the exhibition. I’m from the US so I was almost exclusively looking at nonliving items (no trees) because there is a very difficult quarantine process so I can’t comment on tree prices. That being said, the first day (opened before the day show started) and the last day were the best days to buy items at the Green Club and there were still some deals to be had. In general, prices at the Green Club were marked up very high compared to other places in Japan. The first day had few deals but many desirable times, the last day had the best haggling :). Another plus for the Green Club is that it had the highest density of high-quality items I found throughout the trip. If you’re looking to buy some of the more in demand, modern items like a Gyozan pot, this is a great place to browse. I bought a few must have items for myself on the first day and was usually able to negotiate around a 10% discount by just asking politely. I didn’t try to push too hard and was just a single person buying items. The last day of the show was the exact opposite. Vendors were willing to give massive discounts for some items on the final day of the sale. I was able to get 40-50% discounts on some items off the original price with a little more forceful bargaining.
I visited Shunka-en in Tokyo, Kouka-en in Osaka and also went to a more commercial bonsai garden center near Osaka that had the best shopping of the trip. I also heard from others that shopping at S-Cube outside of Tokyo had great prices. The Green Club also had excellent deals on open box tools and some very unique jita and slabs which I purchased. I found the pot quality was interesting, most vendors brought the top price items like $750-$2000 pots (Gyozan, Syuzan, Antique Chinese) or there were a small number selling more production quality pots. Most purchases were in cash and they are also more likely to take a discount with cash. The best way to get cash with the lowest fee is to use a bank that waives ATM fees internationally and then just go to a 7-eleven or drug store to make withdrawals.
5. Should I go with a guided tour?
I think for most non-Japanese speaking people, a guided tour is the absolute best way to experience Kokufu or another Japanese Bonsai Exhibition. The Japanese are so welcoming and give excellent hospitality, but if you don’t speak any Japanese it can be very difficult to connect or get a truly deep experience. For example, I found myself having questions during the show many times about the history of a certain tree or the local thoughts on a certain level of work that I had no way to get answered. Tour leaders can also broker conversations with exclusive dealers and bargain for better discounts.
If you do want to go alone or with a group of friends like I did, you can still have an amazing time. My understanding of the Japanese aesthetic for Bonsai grew tremendously and Japan is one of my favorite countries in the world so I think it is well worth it. A big facet of what made my time enjoyable and deeper was that I connected with a lot of professionals from my country who were studying Bonsai in Japan. They were all super talented and friendly and hopefully will be enduring friendships! Their guidance helped me make the most of the experience 🙂
I’m sharing all sorts of pictures and videos of my visit on my Instagram @teenytrees if you’d like to learn or help me learn more about the different things I noticed.