Magical colours of Japan 2: Yashio Hihokan & pink fantasies ピンク

1. Introduction

Whenever I travel, I find myself drawn less to landmarks than to the edges of cities – the places hidden behind unmarked doors, preserved by someone’s passion rather than an institution. In Paris, I skip the Louvre and visit the tiny Ossip Zadkine museum. I’d much rather go to a concert in a smoky bar than at a stadium. So when I found myself in Tokyo with limited time to see the city, I skipped the Tokyo National Museum and went to Yashio Hihokan instead.

2. Yashio Hihokan and the theatre of artificial desire

The museum, the name of which can be roughly translated as “Yashio Adult Museum”, is de facto a house of Yoshitaka Hyodo, a 50 year-old collector of dolls. Located in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, it seems unremarkable – nothing from the outside distinguishes it from all the other houses on the quiet street of the sleepy, slightly run-down suburbs. But step inside and the ordinary world disappears almost instantly.

Yashio Hihokan is not a place one simply stumbles upon; first, you must email Mr Hyodo to arrange a visit. Given the fact that the museum is apparently only open 3 times a year, we were lucky to get in