Featured Events in Kobe in January, 2025 (July Updated)

Pastry chef Koyama Susumu will be featuring ten chocolate dinosaurs created specifically for this exhibition. As a child, Koyama was engrossed in playing with insects and clay in nature, and after becoming a pastry chef he learned professionally about the properties of chocolate - how it hardens, melts, and how it briefly becomes clay-like before melting when crushed at high speed - and how to handle it. However, Koyama says that he was able to create dinosaurs as a pastry chef without any special training, because his body remembers the things he loved, and that everyone has had childhood experiences that they were passionate about and that continue to influence them to the present. This exhibition will allow visitors to see dinosaurs that Koyama has completed by kneading, as well as the masks he has favored making in recent years.

Kansai's largest illumination event will be held at Kobe Fruit and Flower Park. This year's theme is "Starlight Dreams", and 6 million LED lights will create a dreamy space, inviting visitors to enter a fantasy world. Visitors can admire various interesting works and enjoy music laser shows.

Tadanori Yokoo is known as the "Andy Warhol of Japan". He started out as a graphic designer and worked as an advertising designer for the Kobe Shimbun. Later, he gradually turned to mysticism and began a 15-year exploration of the world of spirituality and surrealism. As Japanese scholars believe: "Yokoo is a pioneer of the revival of popular art in the 21st century. He changed the trend of art that was out of touch with the masses in the 20th century." The exhibition is conceived as a board game, reconstructing Yokoo's career. The scene allows viewers to interact with the works in an immersive way. The audience is regarded as a "player", and whether they can successfully pass the level depends to a certain extent on luck, which echoes the artist's concept of accepting fate.

Kobe's urban aquarium "AQUARIUM×ART átoa" is celebrating its third anniversary with a collaborative exhibition by Tatsuya Ishii entitled "Dragon Country". Seven suits of armor designed by Ishii himself and worn on stage will be on display, and the fantastical world of "Dragon Country" ruled by the Seven Generals will be recreated in the Japanese-style space "MIYABI" on the third floor of átoa. The venue will be fascinated by the world of armor, meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail, accompanied by music composed by Ishii.

The "Fish Karuta Exhibition", themed on the beautiful patterns and colors of fish, will be held at AQUARIUM×ART átoa in Kobe. This special exhibition allows visitors to experience the texture and sparkle of fish scales reproduced using special printing techniques by Chiba Printing Co., Ltd. Karuta cards are displayed four times larger than normal, allowing visitors to feel the brilliance of life up close. In addition, at the related event, the "Fish Karuta Tournament", visitors can learn about fish and anecdotes about them while playing with the zookeepers, making it a fun experience for parents and children alike. Come experience the charm of fish and enjoy the beautiful world woven by art and nature.