Meguro Gajoen’s Hundred Steps staircase hosts works both huge and small.

Located in downtown Tokyo’s Meguro district, the Hotel Gajoen Tokyo, also known as Meguro Gajoen, describes itself as “a museum hotel of Japanese beauty.” Designated an official Tokyo cultural property, the current building has a number of artwork pieces and interior rooms carried over from the hotel’s original opening in 1931 and is best known for the Hyakudan Kaidan, “the Hundred Steps,” an opulent staircase and hallway preserved as it was roughly a century ago.

▼ The Hyakudan Kaidan

The Hyakudan Kaiden may be Gajoen’s biggest claim to fame, but right now it’s also serving as the venue for a beautiful exhibition of miniature art, as well as installations that will make visitors feel like they themselves have shrunken down in size. The A Miniature World x Hyakudan Kaidan event is taking place in seven rooms found along the Hyakudan Kaidan, where guests can gaze upon exquisitely detailed dioramas and recreating a street scene of modern Tokyo, a British dollhouse crafted in the 18th century, and amazingly realistic, and tiny, foodstuff replicas.

For many, though, the most memorable part of the experience will be the Alice in “Wa”nderland section, which puts a wa (Japanese-style) aesthetic twist on the scene in which the heroine is shrunk down and wanders amongst the flowers of Wonderland.

The Hyakudan Kaidan has also long been associated with Hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) celebrations, in which displays of dolls in ornate classical court clothing are placed in the homes of Japanese families with young daughters. This year, over 1,000 pieces will make up the hina doll display in one of the stairway’s rooms.


A Miniature World x Hyakudan Kaidan is going on from now until March 9, open every day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with adult admission priced at 1,600 yen (US$10.60). Tickets can be reserved online here or purchased at the venue.

Source, images: PR Times
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