Japan Plaza (Shochiku)

The Japan Plaza is a low, concrete commercial building featuring a repetitive, grid-like facade that houses a small slice of Japanese retail culture. Shochiku, a Japanese film and theater company, opened this space in the nineteen eighties to serve the growing community of Japanese expatriates working for corporations in Düsseldorf. For years, the basement level contained a quiet cinema screening Japanese films, while the ground floors held bookstores and grocery shops. The cinema eventually closed, but the building remains a hub for local residents.