ORIGINAL Inc., the company behind Time Out Tokyo (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President Hiroyuki Fushitani), Mori Building Co., Ltd., which operates Ark Hills (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President Yasuhiro Kogo), and W's Company Co., Ltd., which runs the community cafe ARK HiLLS CAFE inside Ark Hills (Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President Jun Suzuki), are opening a new space called Another Corner inside Ark Hills Gallery, part of the Ark Hills complex that spans Akasaka and Roppongi. The space is designed to create small encounters "just around the corner" within the neighborhood.
The opening event, NORDIC NIGHT, spotlighting Nordic culture, takes place on September 18, 2026 (Fri). From there, the roughly 70-square-meter space will gradually take shape as an information center, a library of zines and photo books, a podcast studio, a gallery, and more.
Another Corner: A Doorway to Streets You Haven't Discovered Yet
Another Corner is a space built to intentionally create the kind of small encounters that happen "just around the corner" in a neighborhood. Rather than functioning as a large-scale draw for crowds, it works at a neighborhood scale, connecting visitors with places, people, and culture.
Places, people, and music you might never have come across just by walking your usual route — Another Corner is designed to send people out toward them. Rather than being a destination in itself, it's meant as a starting point: visitors take what they find here back out into the neighborhood, extending their wandering deeper into the area rather than keeping it contained within the facility. The events held here, the podcasts produced here, and the guide maps handed out here are all built with that in mind.
Six Functions Taking Shape Across About 70 Square Meters
Another Corner will gradually add the following functions:
- Information center: Not a tourist information desk, but a guide pointing visitors toward the shops, people, and happenings "just around the corner"
- Library (zines and photo books): A shelf of work rooted in the local area that doesn't make it through major distribution
- Community hub and events: Space left open for small, informally started things to grow and spread
- Podcast studio: A production base that turns local voices into content and sends them out to the world
- Music spot: A point of contact with music you wouldn't otherwise encounter on your usual route
- Gallery: A place where small-scale creative work first reaches an audience
The Venue: Ark Hills, an Internationally Minded Cultural District, Joined by the Area's Operator and Community Cafe
Ark Hills is a mixed-use complex spanning the Akasaka and Roppongi area, marking its 40th anniversary in 2026. Another Corner will operate out of Ark Hills Gallery, adjacent to Ark Karajan Plaza at the heart of the complex. Mori Building, which operates the area, joins the project by providing the space.
W's Company, under the concept of "neighborhood-building through cafes," opened ARK HiLLS CAFE facing Ark Karajan Plaza in September 2009 in partnership with Mori Building. Having run it since as a community cafe linking the surrounding neighborhood with Ark Hills, the company will now operate Another Corner.
Time Out Tokyo will lead branding and editorial planning, sharing the space with city travelers in Japan and abroad through its official website and social media.
Opening Event, NORDIC NIGHT: Discover Tokyo's Nordic Side Just Around the Corner
Tokyo is shaped in part by the many people who've come here from around the world — a presence that's easy to overlook, even though these communities are helping shape the city's culture. Another Corner will team up with international residents of Tokyo to hold evening events centered on their home cultures, and the first installment spotlights the Nordic countries.
Taking part are people who live in Tokyo while carrying Nordic culture with them. Nattmara, a drag queen from Sweden whose name means "nightmare" in Swedish, will perform a show themed around Nordic nightmares. Mai Nakamura will DJ; immersed in Nordic jazz since the 1990s, she has stayed connected to the scene ever since and has served as stage director for the JUHLA FESTIVAL, hosted by Juhla tokyo, a shop specializing in Finnish and Estonian music. It's a rare chance to experience Nordic culture up close through the people who make it, even for those who already love the region.
Mai Nakamura
Food and drink come from the Nordic countries too. BACKEN, a bakery and cafe where a Swedish-born baker makes authentic pastries, will sell cardamom buns and sandwiches. The complimentary drink is Koskenkorva vodka infused with salmiakki, the traditional salty licorice candy that's inseparable from any conversation about Finland.
BACKEN
Between the show and the DJ set, there will be a fika time gathered around Nattmara — a roundtable conversation with no off-limits questions. Joining the table is Iri Saarinen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Time Out Tokyo, who is also from Finland. From how Nordic residents see the good and bad sides of Japan to what everyday life in the Nordics is really like, it's a chance to hear things that come out only when everyone's seated around the same table.
Koskenkorva Salmiakki
Opening Event Overview
- Event name: NORDIC NIGHT: Nordic Mania Night
- Date and time: September 18, 2026 (Fri), doors open 5:00 PM, ending 9:00 PM
- Venue: Another Corner in collaboration with Time Out Tokyo (Ark Hills Gallery)
- Address: Ark Hills Karajan Plaza, Spain Zaka entrance, 1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
- Access: 2-minute walk from Roppongi-itchome Station (Exit 3, Tokyo Metro Namboku Line); 4-minute walk from Tameike-sanno Station (Exit 13, Tokyo Metro Ginza/Namboku Lines)
- Lineup: Nattmara (drag show), Mai Nakamura (DJ), Iri Saarinen (Time Out Tokyo Deputy Editor-in-Chief; fika time)
- Food: BACKEN (available for purchase)
- Drinks: Complimentary Koskenkorva salmiakki; other drinks available for purchase
- Admission: ¥2,000 (tax included)
- Tickets: https://time-out-tokyo.myshopify.com/products/nordic-night
- Organized by: Time Out Tokyo, ARK HiLLS CAFE, Mori Building Co., Ltd.
