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- Starting the Day Early with Hills Breakfast
Starting the Day Early with Hills Breakfast
July 24, 2015
Once a month, Roppongi Hills hosts an event called Hills Breakfast. Starting at 8 a.m., it is essentially a morning version of the world renowned PechaKucha Night. It even follows the same format, requiring presenters to use only 20 images, and to speak about each one for no more than 20 seconds. I had been to Hills Breakfast shortly after it first started, but then forgot to go back until last month, when I attended volume 51 of the event.
I like the idea of starting my day early with some kind of morning activity or event before the regular workday gets underway. However, I wasn't sure how many other people would also feel this way, so I was surprised to see what a large turnout there was for Hills Breakfast. There were five speakers scheduled for that day, and topics ranged from art to business to relief work after the Nepal and Tohoku earthquakes.
For me, one of the most interesting talks of the morning was that of the art collaborative Chikaken. The two friends behind this organization, Chikao Ikeda and Kenshi Mishiro, met while university students and came up with an idea that would combine art with community building activities. They work together with local volunteers to cut and drill holes in bamboo, which are then arranged outdoors with candles placed inside to create beautiful light displays. Their works have been displayed at festivals and events across the country, and their aim is to do a city-wide bamboo illumination that will coincide with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Rika Yajima is another young entrepreneur who is doing interesting things in Japan. She started a company called Aeru, which uses traditional Japanese craftsmanship to create beautiful items for babies, from clothing to dishes. She says she hopes that by instilling a love of Japan's traditions into children from a young age, she can help prevent some of these arts from dying out.
After all five talks were finished, I left Hills Breakfast feeling inspired by the presenters, as well as by the many people who took time out of their busy schedules to be there. What a great way to start the day! I think this time I won't wait so long before going back again.
Kelly