Jul 14, 2013 - 1 min read

Zero Odate Art Unit

Now Let´s Start from Zero

By Jeremy Yap

Community writer

Recycled Paper stamps with recycled cardboard as its handle

Taking a fancy in any of these locally designed t shirts?

Ink for your new stamp so you don´t have to go all the way to a bookshop to get the ink for your new pumpkin stamp

Promoting the community to anyone who comes in

Zero Odate Art Project is the movement that's hoping to recreate Odate as an art-inspired city. Since 2006, they have brought together environmental and community programs to promote a new image of Odate throughout Japan. Zero Odate Art boast inspiring environmentally pieces of work that include stamps made from recycled paper and molded clay. Its also relatively accessible from Hotel Crown Palais Shuhoku in Higashi Odate. Representing the art movement in Odate, its no surprise to find locally designed T-shirts aligning the front wall of the shop and yes, they are for sale at just 2000 yen apiece. What I like about the store is that it is artistically designed and it exudes a level of uniqueness which is amazing. There was even a wooden stool that was hung upside down in the store. Here, you can find a variety of brochures old and new, promoting events in and about Odate around the different prefectures in Japan (in Japanese). But still, it's refreshing to find that for a place famous for being the birthplace of Hachiko, Zero Odate Art Project is showing the world that there is more to Odate than its favorite dog.