Encountering Cultural Charm Again: Shinsaibashi PARCO 1st Anniversary
Shinsaibashi PARCO celebrated its first anniversary on November 20, 2021. This time, PARCO returned to its opening theme: “Precisely because we are in an era of pandemic, we cherish and want to express things with pursuit and color, as well as art and culture that inspire sensibility.” Returning to the original spirit, to enliven the atmosphere of Shinsaibashi, the bustling area of Osaka, the entire store held the first-anniversary event — “Shinsaibashi PARCO 1st ANNIVERSARY FAIR.”
Shinsaibashi PARCO grandly reopened in November 2020 after a nine-year hiatus. It is also the 18th PARCO in Japan. “Parco” means “park” in Italian, and the PARCO brand interprets it as “a place where people gather, share time and space, and enjoy leisurely.” Since opening its first store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo in 1969, PARCO has maintained this as its business philosophy and has become a top Japanese commercial facility brand with national recognition.
Rich and Colorful Shinsaibashi PARCO Anniversary Events
Around the anniversary, stores enthusiastically launched commemorative merchandise sales, gift giveaways, and special events. Various exhibition areas within PARCO also held large-scale exhibitions, pop-up shops, lotteries, cashback promotions, and more.
1) PIECE OF PEACE – World Heritage Exhibition Made with LEGO Bricks PART-4 FINAL
For 18 years, this popular exhibition, which has attracted approximately 3.7 million visitors across Japan and various parts of Asia, held its final show at Shinsaibashi PARCO and concluded. It featured World Heritage sites built with LEGO bricks, beloved by people worldwide, and artworks created by contemporary artists.
2) HARUKIRU Empty Box Art Museum
An exhibition by the “empty box artisan” HARUKIRU, who creates artworks from food containers like cookie boxes. His works, as enchanting as a fairy-tale world, have attracted many followers, and various manufacturers have commissioned him to create art. This exhibition fully showcased his worldview of turning products into art with ingenuity and creativity.
Special Merchandise & Commemorative Gifts
Various shops prepared abundant anniversary special souvenirs and gifts. For example, from the women's clothing brand ROPÉ, you could purchase the “Stretch Wool Blend Jacket,” originally limited to the official online store; women's shoe brand DIANA launched a “1st Anniversary Limited High Heel Set” and a “1st Anniversary Limited Chunky Sneaker,” along with a limited color of Diana's popular chunky sneaker. Additionally, Kyoto's handmade frog-mouth bag brand AYANOKOJI collaborated with Osamu Tezuka to release limited items such as small pouches, key cases, book covers, and 3.3-inch wallets, available first at Shinsaibashi PARCO. Muji sold 100 colorless jute bags as a first-anniversary limited item.
Special Food Projects
PARCO Super Delicious 39 Festival
With gratitude, 35 restaurants in Shinsaibashi PARCO offered special “39 (Thank You)” menus ranging from ¥39 to ¥39,000. Participating restaurants included The New World, Shin Sushi Center, Japanese Craft Whisky Bar common, Chun Shui Tang, and others. Popular items among customers included a premium tuna belly and Indian tuna sashimi set, a “Parco 1st Anniversary Limited Set” where you could choose two items from noodles, rice, drinks, or mini tofu pudding, and a “Limited Collection Ichiro's Chichibu Whisky Tasting Set.”
Curry expert Tatsuya Mishima recommended 14 top spicy curry shops in Osaka, which joined forces to offer seven types of curry pairings available only at Shinsaibashi PARCO, each available for just two days. Additionally, 21 eateries within Shinsaibashi PARCO held a curry stamp rally. Depending on the number of shops visited, customers received fun gifts like “If you get curry on you, wipe it with this ♥ Original Towel” and “Curry splashes? No worries! Original T-shirt,” so curry lovers no longer have to worry about getting curry on their clothes.
