News

Naked’s new digital art exhibit in Saga is a celebration of the area’s heritage

Catch colourful hot air balloons, a light show at an ancient castle, interactive augmented reality artworks and more

Emma Steen
Written by
Emma Steen
Former writer, Time Out Tokyo
Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc
Advertising

With its stunning rice terraces, ancient castles and iconic hot air balloon festivals, Saga prefecture has a lot to offer travellers looking for a spot of sightseeing. With Covid-19 travel restrictions firmly in place, however, the prefecture has lost many of its visitors, and with them some of its spark, in the past few months. To help reinvigorate the area, art collective Naked is holding a digital art exhibition across two venues in Saga city. 

Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc

Naked Garden Saga will open on October 1 at the Saga Prefectural Government Office Observation Hall and the Saga Castle Park. The former will feature Naked’s ‘Dandelion’ installation, where you can see a giant dandelion projected inside the observation deck against the backdrop of the Saga city skyline. The artwork is also interactive, so if you wave your smartphone in front of the dandelion puff, the seeds will float off to create new flowers.

Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc

There’s even more to see over at the 17th-century Saga Castle Ruins, where you can explore the castle’s surrounding park while holding a special lantern that projects pink sakura petals over the ground as you walk. 

Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc

As a nod to the prefecture’s annual Saga International Balloon Fiesta, the park will feature an interactive hot air balloon installation, including a fleet of augmented reality hot air balloons, plus a digital art projection against the castle walls. 

Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc

You’ll be asked to sanitise your hands before you enter the park, but you’ll be happy to know that even this simple safety protocol is tied in with its own digital art piece, titled ‘Naked Tsukubai’.  

Naked Inc
Photo: Naked Inc

The Saga Castle Park exhibition will run from October 1 until November 23, while the installation at the Government Office Observation Hall will be available until February 28 2022. Tickets can be booked online – admission for the observation hall is ¥500, while tickets for the Castle Park Ruins are ¥700. A set of tickets for both venues is also available for ¥1,100. 

For more information, see the Naked Inc event page

More from Time Out

This Tokyo museum has a new play area made entirely of bubble wrap

Japan 2021 autumn leaves forecast: when and where to see the best foliage

Tokyo’s JR Yamanote line will be partially suspended for two days in October

Fukuoka is getting the biggest Gundam statue in Japan

See massive sculptures made out of rice straw at Japan’s annual Wara Art Festival

Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.

You may also like
You may also like
Advertising