ART FAIR NAGOYA brings contemporary Japanese art to hotel rooms in Kanayama
The ANA Crowne Plaza's 26th-floor hallway has that specific hotel atmosphere. Carpeted quiet. Climate control hum. The kind of lighting that makes every floor look like 3 p.m.
Except the doors are propped open.
Room 2601 doesn't have a bed. It has paintings. Room 2603 has ceramics where the desk should be. Down the hall, someone's standing in a doorway looking at sculpture, backlit by the window view you'd normally get waking up here.
This is ART FAIR NAGOYA. Twenty-six galleries, each using a hotel room as temporary exhibition space. February 6–8, the 26th and 27th floors of the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Grand Court Nagoya become a compact route through contemporary Japanese art. Not Monet prints. Not lobby decoration. Gallery work, shown in rooms designed for sleeping.
The format makes sense once you're there. Hotel rooms are human-scaled. You walk in, look around, leave when you're done. "Gallerists" are usually present if you want to talk. If you don't, just move to the next door.
The hotel sits directly above Kanayama Station, so you can spend an hour or come back the next day with the two-day ticket.
No museum stamina is required.
Galleries in Rooms
Each room represents one gallery. Galleries bring artists they work with. You might recognize a few names if you follow Nagoya's art scene.
GALLERY IDF has been working with young contemporary artists since 2005. Director Chika Takematsu also runs this fair. Nagoya Gallery, founded in 1942, is the oldest in the Chubu region and has spent decades moving from modern Japanese painting into contemporary work. art gallery Komori has operated in and around the Sakae underground since 1985, building a quiet reputation for accessible contemporary art.
These places exist in Nagoya all year, but unless you're already looking for galleries, you probably don't cross paths with them. Art Fair Nagoya puts them all in one building for a weekend. Walk the floors, see what twenty-six galleries are showing.
Our Picks
You don't need to see everything.
The appeal is selective.
Open a door, look, decide.
Jun Inoue combines traditional Japanese calligraphy with graffiti. His pieces have the energy of street art with the restraint of shodo, reading clearly before you start thinking about technique.
Jun Inoue, Untitled (19)
Image: juninoue.jp
View artwork on artist’s site →
Mayuko Morita, born in Nagoya, paints with fine brushwork and dreamlike color. Landscapes, figures, fabric patterns that feel both intimate and slightly off-center. Her work suits small rooms well.
Mayuko Morita, title unknown.
Image via mayukomorita.com
View artist’s work →
Kaede!, a contemporary ceramic artist showing through art gallery Komori, makes vessels and tableware that function as both usable objects and display pieces. Expressive forms somewhere between craft and contemporary art.
Kaede!, Popcorn pop caramel.
Image via Art Gallery Komori.
View artwork →
Should You Go?
This is a good show if you're curious about contemporary Japanese art but not an expert. It's good for a winter weekend that doesn't require a full museum commitment. It is even better if you're tired of exhibitions that need wall text to make sense.
It assumes you'll respond to what you see without needing permission. You'll spend five minutes in some rooms. Others you'll come back to the next day.
The exhibition runs across three days. Friday afternoon opens to the public after VIP and press access. Saturday and Sunday are fully public, with longer hours. There are side events throughout the weekend, but the main thing is walking the floors, opening doors, seeing what's inside.
One weekend.
Two floors.
Art in hotel rooms where people usually sleep.
And other stuff.
The Details
ART FAIR NAGOYA 2026
Dates:
Feb. 6 (Fri):
16:00–18:00 (General admission)
Feb. 7 (Sat):
11:00–19:00
Feb.8 (Sun):
11:00–18:00
Venue:
ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel
Grand Court Nagoya, 26F & 27F
Entry:
¥1,000 (1-day ticket)
¥1,500 (2-day ticket)
Elementary school children and under: free
(must be accompanied by guardian)
Tickets:
ArtSticker
Geibun Play Guide
At the door
Address:
1-1-1 Kanayama-cho
Naka-ku, Nagoya
Website: artfair-nagoya.jp
Access
Train:
Kanayama Station
JR Tokaido Line / Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line
By Subway:
Kanayama Station
Meijō Line M01 / Meikō Line E01)
Take the Central or North Exit.
The hotel is directly connected.
Nagoya Subway Map
Check out our handy guide to using the Nagoya Subway
MAP
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