Jinny Street Gallery: Tokyo’s Biggest, Yet Smallest Gallery
The public image of Shibuya is that of an overcrowded city that never sleeps – but an art walk on the Jinny Street Gallery shows a different side.
The gallery is located in Jingumae 2-chōme, also known as Jinni by the locals. It’s only a five minute walk from the Design Festa Gallery – but even this gallery is located in a street that sees far less pedestrian traffic compared to Harajuku’s cat street.
The biggest, yet the smallest
Unlike a typical gallery, Jinny Street Gallery doesn’t have a single, central location. It has 42 locations all over Jingumae 2-chōme. But each location can be measured in centimeters: Each location is a streetlamp with a small display case for the art. Below the case is a map showing your current location and the locations of the other 41 displays.
The gallery is very walkable. Its easy to plan a route to see all locations. Usually you can see the next gallery streetlamp from your current location.
Walking experience
According to the creators, Jinny Street Gallery is for stroll lovers “that do not care much about the destination but the joy of the process”.
I do like to randomly walk Japanese streets. So I certainly enjoyed walking this gallery. During my walk, the exhibition “The Life of Things” by Yugo Isaji (until February 8, 2025) was on display. Not all showcases were used though.
Besides the showcases of the gallery, I’ve found some nice shops, a bit of street art and a small shrine.
How to get to Jinny Street Gallery
The gallery isn’t particularly close to any station, with Harajuku Station/Meiji-jingumae and Kita-Sando Station being the closest. It’s a 12-15 minute walk from each station. Because it’s an outdoor gallery, Jinny is open 24 hours. So why not check out this unique gallery and see a different side of Shibuya?
