A 100 years old rice shop, converted into a retreat space for creative individuals.
Creatives coming to Tokyo searching for inspiration and ideas might find the city and the language challenging. We wanted to open a place where creatives from around the world come get inspired and make, but also have the chance to show their work and meet Japanese peers. This is Almost Perfect.
築100年の精米店を改装した、インターナショナルなクリエイターたちの集まる場所、Almost Perfect。
海外クリエイターを受け入れ、国内のクリエイターや地元コミュニティとつなぐ手助けをします。
OUR VIDEO
Made by Ryan Gasparini while his 2 week residency with us. Music by Starboy (Anton Mendo).
The Building
An old rice shop and family house
A house from 1924 nicely renovated in Modern Japanese style, the rice store on the first floor fed the family who lived upstairs for several generations.
Built right after the 1923 Kanto earthquake, it survived the WWII bombings. We found the house in a pretty good state. The renovation took just 2 months and we officially opened on the 1st of October of 2018. The walls have been reinforced and painted, we created a new wall to show art in the gallery and kept the old rice machines in place as a tribute to the owner's past hours of labour.
1923年の関東大震災直後に建てられ第二次世界大戦中の東京大空襲を奇跡的に免れた建物では、ある家族が何世代にもわたって精米店を営んでいました。
1階に鎮座する大きな精米機はそのままに改装・補強・ギャラリー用の壁を新設し、2018年10月1日にAlmost Perfectはクリエイティブレジデンスおよびギャラリーとしてオープンしました。
The distribution of the three floors. フロアマップ
1F THE GALLERY
We have a big wall for exhibitions. Creatives staying in the house show their work here. We have a piano and what we call The Permanent Collection, an ever changing mix of prints and originals for sale.
Next to the art shows, in the gallery we can organize events and workshops. We can host up to about 15 people sitting or 25 standing.
1階のギャラリーには展示用の白い壁があり、主にレジデントの作品発表に使用します。反対側には電子ピアノと、販売用の多様なアーティストの作品を飾った常設コレクションの壁があります。
展示のほか、イベントやワークショップを行うこともあります。着席１５名、スタンディングで２５名ほどの会を開催することができます。
2F TATAMI ROOM
We have two guest rooms:
The Tatami Room is located in the 2nd floor. It has been completely renovated, it has a tatami floor and a comfortable Muji double sized bed. The beautiful window/balcony faces a street where you can see Tokyo life and the seasons pass by.
Almost Perfectには滞在用の部屋が2つあります。
新しい畳とダブルベッドでリノベーションした2階のTATAMI ROOMには、台東区の活気あるストリートを見下ろせる窓スペースがあります。
and STUDIO
The Studio is small but cosy. It can hold 2 people at a time. You can make use of the scanner, Wacom tablet (22 inch Cintiq) and a lightbox. We have a small library of books we love and inspired us, of course you can let them inspire you too. If you need more natural light, as a resident we welcome you to use the Gallery to work.
作業用スタジオは2名まで使用可能。スキャナー、ワコム（22インチ Cintiq）、ライトボックス等は無料で貸出しています。大きなスペース、自然光を希望する場合は1階のギャラリーでも作業が可能です。
3F TERRACE ROOM
Located on the 3rd floor, The Terrace Room is a cosy, more modern room. Inside there’s a block with your own Japanese washlet toilet and sink. Also it has direct access to the terrace. The terrace has a beautiful view of the Tokyo surroundings and all it has a outdoor shower you can use, weather permitting (up to you!). Some guests used the terrace for a plain-air painting and as a yoga room. The room has the same comfy Muji double bed as in the Tatami Room. In the room you will also have your own A/C which is necessary, in the summer it gets hot in the room.
3階のTERRACE ROOMはモダンな作りです。部屋内にプライベートのトイレと洗面台があり、テラスに繋がっています。東京の街を見渡せるテラスには屋外シャワーも付いています（春〜夏のみ）。テラスは制作をしたり、ヨガをするスペースとしても使用可能です。ダブルベッド設置、エアコン付き。
11 stations in walking distance
11駅が徒歩圏内
The neighbourhood
We are located in the Asakusabashi - Kuramae area, which has been called the Brooklyn of Tokyo. Situated with 10 different train stations in a 13 min walk radius, you have many lines to choose from: Asakusa line, several JR lines (including the Yamanote), Oedo line, Ginza line, Asakusa line, Hibiya line… connecting directly to Shibuya, Omotesando, Shinjuku etc.
Narita airport is a 57 minutes direct train from Ueno Station.
Our ku (city ward) is Taito-ku, which originally was a makers area where many craftsmen made leather goods, buttons, tin cans… and now is declining because of the move of production to other areas and countries. There are loads of young couples moving here because is quiet but central, it has wide, safe streets, the terrain is flat and easy to walk and bike through. You probably have heard of our area before: otaku and electronics town Akihabara, the Senso-ji temple and foodie paradise Kappabashi are at walking distance and famous amongst visitors.
Many cafes, little shops and galleries are coming to the area recently, like the delicious Dandelion Chocolate from SF, Kakimori (where they make lovely custom made sketchbooks), Inkstand for your best waterproof ink needs and Coffee Wrights for perfect espressos. Recently amazing pizzeria Fakalo Pizza Gallery opened in our street and we are also in love with this bar Nomura Shouten. Also there are several nice old sentos where you can enjoy traditional Japanese bath, a laundry, supermarket in the area.
Please ask for recommendations, we have tons of bookmarks and we will give you a copy of our neighbourhood map.
Here’s the building on Google Maps
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近年「東京のブルックリン」と言われ注目を集める蔵前・浅草エリア。Almost Perfectは徒歩圏内にJR、地下鉄、都営の10もの駅がある便利な場所に位置しています。渋谷、新宿、表参道へ、また成田・羽田両空港からも直通のアクセスの良さです。
Almost Perfectが位置する東京都台東区は古くからものづくりの街として知られ、革製品、ボタンや副資材、ブリキ缶、帽子、ネクタイなどの職人が工房を構えています。最近では静かで安全、平坦で徒歩や自転車での移動が楽な街として若いカップルや家族連れも多く移住してきています。
電気街で有名な秋葉原や浅草寺、合羽橋道具街も近く、ダンデライオンチョコレート、カキモリ、インクスタンド、Coffee Wrightsなどがあります。最近では同じ通りにFakalo Pizza Galleryが、さらに立ち飲みができる野村商店などがオープンしました。また近辺にはいくつもの銭湯、コインランドリー、スーパーマーケットなども揃っています。周辺のおすすめスポットをまとめたマップも作成しましたので、イベントの際などに是非入手して下さい。