Get a taste of Tokyo by way of Kensington

Japan House London — JHL — the new cultural platform of Japan in the UK, opens today on Kensington High Street. A symbol of friendship from the Japanese people to the British people, it aims to increase understanding of our country and help both nations build on our strong and cordial relationship for shared success.

This new centre is a permanent and significant addition to London. Your city is one of the world’s greatest, a place rich in diversity, creativity, commercial vitality and new thinking. It is the perfect home for JHL: a centre for art, food, innovation and technology.

The concept of Japan House was born from our shared belief that nations prosper both culturally and economically through collaboration and the exchange of ideas. This includes celebrating both the things which connect nations and the things which make them unique.

The first exhibition JHL is presenting is Sou Fujimoto: Futures of the Future, showing the work of one of Japan’s most creative contemporary architects. His vision of the future is not a fully imagined set of assumptions — but something which can adapt, and to which, at the exhibition, visitors can contribute.

Such ingenuity is merely an example of what Japan has to offer. Take a walk around JHL, as I already have, and I am sure there will be much to attract your attention — books, an elegant shop, a stand selling snacks, Japanese teas and “Nel” drip coffee — as well as a stylish restaurant, Akira, serving mouth-watering Japanese cuisine and, of course, delicious sake.

The warmth of the Japan-UK friendship has long been underpinned by dynamic economic ties. Japan is the second largest non-EU investor in the UK after the US.

Much of this investment is centred around the manufacturing industry, which makes excellent products in sectors such as automobiles and pharmaceuticals, backed by the UK’s high standards of science and technology.

Our two countries are increasingly collaborating in areas of advanced technology, and this type of co-operation is another important avenue JHL intends to showcase. You will have much to see in the months ahead.

Japan is busily preparing to host the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are planning to carry out a number of cultural activities during the period bridging these two major international sports events, which we are calling “Japan Season of Culture in the UK”.

I hope the “Season”, in addition to the sporting spectacles, will make you even more intrigued by Japan and eager to go there. If so, a visit to JHL will provide you with all the information you need to plan your journey.

And if you can’t make it to Tokyo yet, JHL is the next best thing. I hope to see you there.

• Koji Tsuruoka is the Japanese Ambassador to the UK