#009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK40 Years Since "The Day the Music Walked".

Presenting the stories of 40 celebrities including Ichiro Yamaguchi of Sakanaction, Tanaka, Nozomi Iijima, and more.

Duration: July 1 (Mon) - September 1 (Sun), 2019

*Open to the public starting at 17:00 on the first day, July 1 (Mon)

June 25, 2019

Sony Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Ginza Sony Park is a limited-time experimental park in the middle of the city which will be open until fall 2020, offering programs such as live performances and a variety of interactive events and experiences that stimulate surprise and playful enjoyment throughout the year. The park has had over 3 million visitors (as of May 12, 2019) since first opening on August 9 last year.

The Walkman was first released to the market on July 1, 1979, "The Day the Music Walked." July 1 (Mon), 2019 will mark a milestone 40 years since that day, and it will be the first day of #009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK - an experimental 40th anniversary program that focuses in on the people for whom the Walkman has been a part of everyday life. "My Story, My Walkman" shares Walkman episodes from the lives of 40 celebrities, while the Walkman Wall presents around 230 versions of the Walkman from throughout history, synchronizing stories of people's music experiences with the various changes Walkman has undergone over the years in this fascinating program that we invite you to come and enjoy.

#009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK 2019.7.1(mon) - 9.1(sun)

The original unveiling event for the Walkman 40 years ago began at the old Sony Building that stood where Ginza Sony Park is now. Overturning the common conception at the time that "Music is something to be enjoyed indoors," the Walkman blazed a new trail as a personalized experience that allows people to listen to their music outdoors. #009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK is a program that celebrates this original experience by sharing the various changes Walkman has undergone through technological advancements and playful imagination over the years, while focusing in on people who have always lived with music close by their side.

Interactive exhibit My Story, My Walkman presents Walkman-related stories from 40 different celebrities including musician Ichiro Yamaguchi of the band Sakanaction, actor Tanaka, and ballet dancer Nozomi IIjima, sharing memories spanning from 1979 until the present. At the same time, visitors will have the chance to hear the songs those celebrities used to listen to, on the actual Walkman devices from each respective era.

Various other projects and features will also be offered throughout Ginza Sony Park during the event, including Walkman Wall which allows visitors to see the fluid evolutionary path of the changes to Walkman over the years with a display of around 230 Walkman models from the vaults of history, the Custom Walkman exhibition of playfully customized artist renditions of the Walkman, as well as commemorative t-shirts and original menu items only available during this event.

Those who collect Walkman logo stamps as they walk throughout Park during the event will also receive the 40th Anniversary Booklet as a commemorative gift. Please come and take this opportunity to be part of the fun. (Booklets are limited in supply. Once they run out, no more be distributed.)

40 years have passed since "The Day the Music Walked." Come and enjoy the Walkman music experience from all sorts of different angles at #009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK.

#009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK Event Overview

Duration July 1 (Mon) - September 1 (Sun), 2019
Open Hours

10:00 - 20:00

*Open to the public starting at 17:00 on the first day, July 1 (Mon)

Venue Ginza Sony Park, GL/Ground Level - B4/Basement 4
Admission Free
URL https://www.ginzasonypark.jp/e/ginza/015/
Social Media Accounts @ginzasonypark (instagram, twitter, facebook) #ginzasonypark #walkmanpark
Organizer Ginza Sony Park, Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Products Inc.

Exhibit Overview

My Story, My Walkman

Forty artists, creators, and other celebrities from each different generation share their Walkman memories in one-year intervals from 1979 until the present. Learn about their stories while enjoying to the songs they used to listen to, using the actual versions of the Walkman from those times. See the varied changes to Walkman models in each era while strolling through Park and enjoy 40 years' worth of musical experiences from 40 celebrities.

Venue B1/Basement 1 - B3/Basement 3

We invite you to also share your own Walkman memories in "My Story, My Walkman" by posting in Instagram with hashtag #mywalkman. Your post will then appear at the venue on a later date.

*The venue (Actual venue may differ from the image shown here)

Walkman Wall

Across a six-meter stretch of the outer wall on floor B4, there will be a collection of around 230 generations of Walkman units on display starting from those sold in the year 1979. From the nostalgic older models that remind us of times past, all the way up to the latest models, this exhibit allows visitors to take in the changes in designs, specifications, and media formats over the years, all in one place.

Venue

B4/Basement 4

*Exhibit may not be available for viewing when an event is taking place on B4.

*The exhibit(Models actually on display may differ from the ones shown here)

Custom Walkman

The extra open space available at Ginza Sony Park will feature a limited-time exhibit displaying freely customized renditions of the Walkman that were created by artists. The Walkman broke new ground in music devices, and now we invite you to see it in these customized, creative forms. Displays are expected to be changed periodically throughout the duration of the event.

The first artist for the exhibit whose works will be on display starting July 1 (Mon) is Funny Dress-up Lab, creator of artwork using miniature four-wheel-drive car decoration stickers.

Venue

B2/ Basement 2

*Artists and their exhibit durations from the second artist on will be announced via the Ginza Sony Park website and social media accounts.

Profile: Funny Dress-up Lab

Born 1978 in Chiba, JAPAN. Funny Dress-up Lab is a collage artist only using by Mini 4WD Dress-Up Stickers. He was fascinated by Mini 4WD Dress-Up Stickers which made it for Tamiya's Mini 4WD toys to dress up itself. Mass produced sticker has"distinctive shapes","vividly colored", and"defective printed or shape", all those reasons made him to use it for his art. Deeply in his mind in his art. Never change the original shape and ended up to use these massive of Mini 4WD Dress-Up Stickers in the world.

https://www.instagram.com/fxdul/

*Artwork from Funny Dress-up Lab

Big Walkman

There will be a massive 2.5-meter-tall sculpture art fixture of a Sony Walkman appearing on GL/Ground Level. Everyone visiting Ginza Sony Part will be greeted by this huge rendition of the WM-F5, the first "Sports" Walkman model, with its pop design ideal for summer. Come check it out, and don't forget to take a picture with it.

Venue

GL/Ground Level

*WM-F5

Stamp Rally (stamp hunt) / Walkman 40th Anniversary Booklet Giveaway

Collect Walkman logo stamps from all four stamp locations in Ginza Sony Park while enjoying the program, then bring them to the Information Desk on B1 to receive a 40th Anniversary Commemorative Booklet as a prize. This anniversary booklet with a cassette tape design illustrates the 40-year evolution of the Walkman with 83 successive models shown in time-series order, from the original model TPS-L2 up to the current A50 Series. The booklet comes in one of five different cover illustrations. Handouts distributed throughout the venue are the base sheets for collecting the stamps, making it easy to join in and have fun collecting them all.

  • Booklets are limited in supply. Once they run out, no more be distributed.
  • Participants will not be able to choose which cover illustration they receive.
  • Design may partially differ from the final product.

*Walkman 40th Anniversary commemoration booklet

Original Merchandise for the Program

Limited-time original merchandise

WALKMAN IN THE PARK/ Walkman 40th anniversary t-shirts

These t-shirts created through collaboration with Jun Co., Ltd. which operates THE CONVENI at Ginza Sony Park are only available to buy for a limited time.

Nine different designs of these anniversary t-shirts, including designs for kids, are expected to be released for sale in successive order starting on July 1 (Mon). They will only be available while supplies last, so make sure not to miss this opportunity.

Sale start date and location for each item will be announced via the Ginza Sony Park website and social media accounts.

Price for 40th anniversary t-shirts 5,940 yen, kids 4,320 yen (incl. tax)

*40th anniversary t-shirts (design may partially differ from the final product)

TORAYA CAFÉ・AN STAND Limited-time Menu Items

An paste shaved ice with rice flour dumplings (Hassaku orange and matcha flavor)Shaved ice you can carry and eat

An paste shaved ice from this pop-up store has been drawing rave reviews, and it will be offered in a new original flavor for a limited time only. This extravagant flavor combines the sweetness of an paste with two delicious syrup flavors—a superbly balanced hassaku orange syrup plus the standard matcha, with rice flour dumplings on top. This special flavor will also come with a Walkman 40th Anniversary sticker and will only be available in limited quantities of 20 per day.

Come give this special portable shaved ice a try, alongside your portable Walkman if you've got one.

Location TORAYA CAFÉ・AN STAND GINZA POPUP STORE (GL/Ground Level)
On sale July 1 (Mon) - 31 (Wed)
Price 702 yen (incl. tax)
Limited quantities 20 per day (planned)

*An paste shaved ice with rice flour dumplings (Hassaku orange and matcha)

Special Website for the 40th Anniversary of Walkman

Sony will be conducting projects to commemorate the 40th anniversary since the release of the original Walkman model TPS-L2. In addition to anniversary program #009 WALKMAN IN THE PARK at Ginza Sony Park, a special 40th anniversary website is also in the works. The website will feature interviews about "What Walkman meant to me" with Musician Hama Okamoto of Okamoto's, journalist and media activist Daisuke Tsuda, record producer Kenichi Makimura, and other celebrities from various circles, in addition to discussions between celebrities on the topic of "How Walkman changed the music industry." Planned interviews will also cover ways that audio devices and sound technologies starting with the Walkman have been deployed to deliver music experiences that bring emotion and excitement to the world. The website will also include a condensed video history of the Walkman.

*Officially open on July 1 (Mon)

About the Ginza Sony Park Project

The Ginza Sony Park Project is a two-phase project for the renovation of the old Sony Building which was originally built in 1966. The first phase of the project is to expand Sony Square, the public space next to the entrance of the Sony Building which is known as the "Garden of Ginza" and has been present since the Sony Building first opened its doors. This public space will be open for a limited time until autumn 2020 as "Ginza Sony Park." The second phase is to complete the construction of the new Sony Building scheduled for 2022 with the new park concept of Ginza Sony Park vertically incorporated into both the upper and lower levels.

Ginza Sony Park official website and social media accounts

Web https://www.ginzasonypark.jp/
instagram https://www.instagram.com/ginzasonypark/
twitter https://twitter.com/ginzasonypark/
facebook https://facebook.com/ginzasonypark/
Hashtagu @ginzasonypark #ginzasonypark

*Walkman®, and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation in Japan and in other countries.

*All product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony or the respective companies.