Ever since the mid-1990s, dealers of contemporary art who decamped from the upscale Ginza neighborhood after Japan’s economic crash have been seeking hip collectors and affordable rents. In early 2008, Kodama Gallery, Takahashi Collection and Yamamoto Gendai settled in the largely residential Shirokane area; this summer a new gallery building opened in the sleepy enclave of Ebisu to house NADiff (Tokyo’s leading art bookstore), Art Jam Contemporary, Magical Artroom and the quirky café-lounge Magic Room. One place where dealers can’t be found: at Takashi Murakami’s biannual one-day fair, Geisai. At the 11th edition, in September, almost 1,200 artists displayed their work to 10,000 visitors—minus meddlesome middlemen.

"Hot Spot: Tokyo" originally appeared in the December 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's December 2008 Table of Contents.