Esoragoto “Dare to Dream” The immersive experience event “Urban Cave Esoragoto ver. 1”, which aims to rekindle imagination in the age of AI, is finally opening to the public. Supervised by Takayuki Ohira – Experience prehistoric cave paintings and the pristine starry sky in Hibiya.
ASTRUM CORPORATION, which operates the stationery brand “Pentel”, along with PLUS Corporation Stationery Company, Nippon Notebook Corporation, and The Sailor Pen Co., Ltd., will host “Urban Cave Esoragoto ver. 1” from June 19, 2026 (Friday) at Hibiya OKUROJI as part of Esoragoto “Dare to Dream”, the joint project of the PLUS Group’s four stationery brands. This immersive experience event allows visitors to experience the project’s concept.
In December 2025, the four brands – PLUS Stationery, Pentel, Nippon Notebook, and The Sailor Pen – formed “Team Esoragoto” and launched the Esoragoto “Dare to Dream” project. This is a project that asks the world, in the age of AI, “isn’t the very power to paint pipe dreams (“Esoragoto”) the seed that moves humanity forward?”
“Urban Cave Esoragoto” was planned as a place to symbolically express and allow visitors to experience the intent of the project. In January 2026, “Urban Cave Esoragoto ver. 0” was held as an invitation-only event for invited guests, under the supervision of Mr. Takayuki Ohira, a creator who continues to produce cutting-edge planetariums. An urban cave was created in Hibiya, posing the questions: “What is it that makes humans human?” and “What kind of strength ‘as humans’ will allow us to survive in the coming era?” Approximately 1,000 visitors immersed themselves in this world.
Building on the experience gained from ver. 0, Team Esoragoto is back with “Urban Cave Esoragoto ver. 1”, creating a space with an even greater sense of immersion. Surrounded by light and sound, we invite you to open your senses, gaze up at the stars, and let your thoughts wander – an experience that brings you back to the very roots of imagination and creativity.
The event will be held from Friday, June 19, 2026, to Monday, July 13, 2026, at Hibiya OKUROJI in Tokyo.
How to Experience
Please apply for this event on the event/community platform Peatix. (Advance reservation required, first-come, first-served basis)
Participation fee: 500 yen
URL: https://esoragoto2026v1.peatix.com
Event Overview
Event period: Friday, June 19, 2026, to Monday, July 13, 2026
Event hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (11 sessions per day; each session lasts approx. 40 minutes)
Supervision: Takayuki Ohira (Planetarium creator, CEO of Ohira Lab Co., Ltd.)
Music: Eric Aron (Composer, pianist, improvisational musician)
Academic cooperation: Jannu Igarashi (Doctor of Prehistory, part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts)
Space design: HAKUTEN
Location: Hibiya OKUROJI 1-7-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0011
Access: https://www.jrtk.jp/hibiya-okuroji/access/
6-minute walk from Hibiya Station, Ginza Station, Uchisaiwaicho Station, Yurakucho Station, and Shimbashi Station
Reception/meeting point on the day: Hibiya OKUROJI event space H05
Venue image: Akira Arai (Nacasa & Partners Inc.)
Taken during Urban Cave Esoragoto ver. 0
What is the Esoragoto “Dare to Dream” project?
In prehistoric times before the advent of writing, humans drew murals in caves, connected the stars shining in the night sky, and created constellations by drawing the figures of people and animals. Human intelligence may have blossomed from painting such “pipe dreams”.In modern times, people have unknowingly come to live a life of merely chasing given information; and even imagination, creation, and judging the right or wrong of things are swayed by the Internet; we live in a society that relies on AI. At this rate, we risk losing even the fundamental joy of being human and the very meaning of our existence.
The Esoragoto “Dare to Dream” project is a project started by four brands – PLUS Stationery, Pentel, Nippon Notebook, and The Sailor Pen – that asks the world, “isn’t the very power to paint pipe dreams (“Esoragoto”) the seed that moves humanity forward?” We believe that stationery is a tool that sparks the imagination.
Team Esoragoto TV commercial
This video traces the journey of how human imagination has opened up the world throughout history. We believe that stationery is a tool that supports the very power of people to think freely, come up with ideas, and paint pipe dreams.
- <Overview of the TV commercial>
Broadcasting slot: news23 commercial broadcasting slot, Mon-Thu: 11:00 to 11:56 p.m. (Fri: 11:58 pm to 12:43 a.m. (following day))
(TBS Network, 28 stations nationwide)
https://www.tbs.co.jp/news23/ - Broadcast period: Friday, May 1, 2026, to Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- Commercial video: https://youtu.be/TUANjP7iJUI
- Brand movie: https://youtu.be/MqnVQIuviNQ
- Astrum official website: https://www.astrum-st.com
- Message
Perhaps castles in the air
may be attainable.
An armchairtheory can becomefact.
Esoragoto holds dreams.
What people laugh at
as impossible is
what creates the future.
The five senses—
something only humans possess,
beyond AI.
Esoragoto “Dare to Dream”
About Planetarium Creator Takayuki Ohira
Planetarium creator. CEO of Ohira Tech Ltd., CEO of Ohira Lab Co., Ltd. Mr. Ohira began building his own planetariums when he was in elementary school, and during his third year of university, he succeeded in developing the lens projection type planetarium “Astroliner” which was said to be beyond the capabilities of an individual. In 1998, he presented “MEGASTAR”, which projects 1.5 million stars (complete model has 1.7 million stars) – more than 100 times that of a conventional planetarium – at the IPS (International Planetarium Society) London Conference. In 2004, his “MEGASTAR-II cosmos” (with 5.6 million projected stars) jointly developed and installed at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation was recognized by Guinness World Records. In 2023, his “MEGASTAR-IIA (equipped with GIGAMASK)” installed at the Hamagin Space Science Center (Yokohama Science Center) was recognized by Guinness World Records as “the most stars projected by a planetarium projector (one off)”. And in the same year, “GIGANIUM”, a new type of planetarium projector capable of filling massive dome stadiums and arenas of around 500 meters in diameter, was unveiled to an audience of 10,000 at the home of the Seibu Lions (Belluna Dome), and was recognized by Guinness World Records for having the largest projection screen area in a planetarium. Ohira’s motto is “Human beings can prove possible but cannot prove impossible”. In 2006, he received the Science and Technology Award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Understanding Promotion Category). He is a visiting Professor at Osaka University of Arts. And he established Ohira Lab Co., Ltd. in 2025.
About composer Eric Aron
Composer, pianist, and improvisational musician born in France. He was exposed to classical piano from a young age and entered a Conservatoire (highly specialized public music and dance academy) in France at the age of 16. He works across a wide range of genres, from classical to healing music and electronic music, and has released over 25 CDs. He has composed numerous original pieces for French brands such as Lancôme, Payot, and Thalgo. He has provided hundreds of pieces of music for commercials, TV, movies, and planetarium programs. In his completely improvised solo piano concerts, he is a rare performer who can start a performance with a completely blank slate. In recent years, he has composed “MEGASTAR Symphonies”, inspired by MEGASTAR. He has composed music for many planetarium programs produced by Takayuki Ohira. In collaborative concerts with MEGASTAR, he is working on a new genre that aims for a synergistic effect between visuals and music.
https://www.ericaron.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@ericaron7621
About Doctor of Prehistory Jannu Igarashi
Born in Chiba Prefecture. Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts, and completed graduate studies at the Osaka University Graduate School of Letters, before obtaining a PhD from the French National Museum of Natural History (Doctor of Prehistory). Academic collaborator for the “Lascaux International Exhibition” held from 2016 to 2017 (National Museum of Nature and Science, Kyushu National Museum, Tohoku History Museum). Part-time lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts, Keio University, Rikkyo University, Meiji Gakuin University, and Bunka Gakuen University. Her books include “Why did they do drawings in caves? A travel to seek the beginning of the Art” (Shinsensha, 2021), “Thinking about Cave Art” (Seidosha 2023), and “Why arts fascinate us?” (co-author) (Edited by Shigeru Watanabe, Kyoritsu Publishing 2025).
