A few months ago I started hearing about a phenomenal art exhibit coming to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC: Infinity Mirrors by the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. I eagerly checked the dates for the show, hoping to to catch it during our DC visit this summer. But the show ends at the Hirshhorn in May, well before our visit. [Though the show goes on to other cities! Scroll to the end for details.]

Shortly after my DC friends started posting amazing photos of their visit to the Hirshhorn, friends here in Tokyo did the same–and I was delighted to learn that a simultaneous Kusama show called My Eternal Soul is taking place at the National Art Center in Tokyo. So this morning the four of us set out to see it for ourselves.

We arrived a little before the 10AM museum opening and headed to a nearby park (OK, cemetery) to admire the blooming sakura. It’s prime season this weekend, and gorgeous! Though really, really rainy the last few days.

Then it was time for the exhibit itself. We loved it! Even the kids conceded that it was pretty cool. In addition to the artwork you see below, the exhibit included one room of infinity mirrors. Unfortunately no photos were allowed in that space.

So Yokohama and Tokyo people: Go! But go early. The galleries filled instantly right at opening time, and I can’t even imagine how jammed it got by the afternoon.

Kusama: My Eternal Soul continues through May 22 at the National Art Center in Tokyo. Advance ticket sales have ended, but visit this link to purchase tickets the morning of your visit. 

After closing at the Hirshhorn in late May, Infinity Mirrors continues on a North American tour to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleveland, and Atlanta.