DIG SHIBUYA returns!
The tech/art event DIG SHIBUYA 2025 will be held over four days from Saturday, February 8th to Tuesday, February 11th. Launched with the aim of fusing Shibuya culture and technology, DIG SHIBUYA attracted over 110,000 people to its first event in January 2024 — where performances, parades, and experimental art exhibitions were held all over Shibuya.
DIG SHIBUYA 2025 comes with a heavy focus on incorporating cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Web3, and XR, to the large-scale art exhibitions and collaborative events held in the many cultural and entertainment facilities around Shibuya.
Some of the main events at this year's DIG SHIBUYA are guest artist Ryuichi Ohira, a Pac-Man treasure hunt around the city, and a large-scale music festival held in tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. For four days the whole town — centered around Shibuya’s Koen-dori area — will become a “state-of-the-art cultural experiment site.”
■ Highlights
1. Guest artist: Ryuichi Ohira, “Pineapple Scramble”
The highlight of this year's official program is “Pineapple Scramble” by sculptor Ryuichi Ohira, who has attracted attention for his exhibitions and collaborative projects in Japan and overseas. Ohira's signature motif of pineapples will be colored using the “action painting” technique with elementary school students from Jinnan Elementary School, and unveiled as a colorful, giant “moving sculpture” on Koen-dori.
- Exhibition dates and times: Sunday, February 9, 2025, 12:00 - 15:00
- Exhibition location: Koen-dori, Shibuya Ward (after the event, the pineapples will be moved to Kitaya Park for display on February 10 and 11)
Ohira has previously created anthropomorphic pineapples that resemble robots or avatars for exhibitions such as Art Basel Hong Kong and the Star Wars exhibition at Parco. In 2023 he presented the large-scale installation work “The Circuit” at Tokyo Gendai. He is known for his avant-garde creations that combine traditional Japanese aesthetics with philosophical concepts.
This time he will ask the (not unwarranted) question “why a big pineapple in Shibuya?” together with giving free creative rein of the children of the town.
2. Pac-Man x Flickplay: Treasure Hunt
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Another event to look out for is the scavenger hunt to commemorate Pac-Man's 45th anniversary put on by Flickplay, a web3 startup from Los Angeles. Using digital tools , you can experience searching for items hidden around the streets of Shibuya using your smartphone.
- Cost: Registration is free (some content is charged)
- Registration: https://www.about.flickplay.co/pacman-activation
This is a walking tour that aims to fuse the physical space of Shibuya with the augmented Pac-Man game experience. Come and join in!
3. Shibuya Crossing Night Art
One of the big talking points of DIG SHIBUYA is its installation of a large, street-level screen at Scramble Crossing to display video art in the middle of the night. From midnight to 1am, video works by up-and-coming artists will be screened, potentially incorporating passers-by into the art installation.
- Date: 3 consecutive nights from Saturday, February 8th to Monday, February 10th, 2025 / 24:00 - 25:00
- Location: Scramble Crossing
- Participating artists: to be announced
4. BYOD² - BRING YOUR OWN DATA & DISPLAY
BYOD² is a participatory project in which artists and visitors from around the world bring their own ‘data’. Directed by NEORT, a digital art gallery based in Bakurocho, the exhibition will be held in two locations in Shibuya.
On the first floor of Shibuya PARCO a curated exhibition will introduce the works of various artists on a line of LED screens. Meanwhile, Miyashita Park will host a crowd-driven exhibition that allows visitors to turn their smartphones and tablets into components of the gallery.
■ RADIO SAKAMOTO
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This one-night-only music festival is a tribute to the late Ryuichi Sakamoto's long-running radio program “RADIO SAKAMOTO”. Held at three live music venues, this is a ‘stroll-type’ festival where a succession of artists from across genres come together to pass on the musical and ideological legacy left behind by Ryuichi Sakamoto to a new generation.
- Date: Monday, February 10, 2025, from 18:00
- Ticket price: 8,800 yen (drinks not included)
- Performers (tentative): U-zhaan x Tamaki Roy x Chinza Dopeness, Cornelius, Yoshinori Sunahara, Daito Manabe, Towa Tei, Dos Monos, and more
A diverse range of innovative sounds will reverberate from the heart of Shibuya, where chaos and the future mingle.
■ 12 Nominated Projects, such as "The Letters” Immersive Theater AR
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DIG SHIBUYA 2025 is a public program that targets up-and-coming creators exploring the crossover between technology and art. Many answered the open submission call from both Japan and overseas, and after a careful selection process 12 groups were selected as “Nominated Projects” to showcase a range of genres — including video works, digital art, and immersive theater — in the streets of Shibuya.
One of these is 'The Letters' by daisydoze, an immersive theater performance that uses audio AR. As guests wearing headphones walk around the streets of Shibuya, the story unfolds as if they were characters in a story. The performers blend into the real cityscape to create a one-of-a-kind story experience.
- Performance dates: February 8 (Sat), 10 (Mon), 11 (Tue), 2025
- Venue (meeting place): Kinrou Fukushi Kaikan 1st floor
- Ticket price: 8,000 yen (tax included)
- Sales URL: https://dd2025letters.peatix.com/
■ DIG SHIBUYA 2025 Event Overview
Once a hub for counterculture, Shibuya is now attracting global attention as a center for technology companies and startups. This is a rare opportunity to see everyday Shibuya colored by the world's most advanced art and technology. Whether you live in Shibuya or are just visiting, you are sure to find surprises and discoveries as you DIG into the city from a completely new perspective!
- Dates: February 8 to February 11
- Location: Shibuya Koen-dori area and other areas
- Participation fee: Mostly free (some programs have an admission fee)
- URL: https://digshibuya.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digshibuya/
- Organizers: SHIBUYA CREATIVE TECH Executive Committee, Japan Arts Council, Agency for Cultural Affairs
- Co-organizers: Shibuya Ward
- Support: Tokyo Metropolitan Government (public art portion), Shibuya Tourism Association, Shibuya Future Design
- Commissioned by: Japan Expo 2.0 Project (commissioned type) in 2024