Born in Kobe
During high school, he encountered the bird’s-eye-view drawings of the late Masashi Ishihara, a leading figure in the field, and was deeply impressed. He then aspired to become a bird’s-eye-view artist through self-study.

https://www.aoyamadaisuke.com/

kobeuw

@Kobe_UW

2011: Completed “Port Kobe Bird’s Eye Map 2008” after three and a half years of production.
2013: Published “Bird’s Eye View of Port Town Kobe 2008” (Kutoten).
2014: Produced a revised edition of the same work, adopted for Kobe City’s tsunami evacuation information boards and installed at three locations within the city.
2015: As an urban bird’s-eye view artist, released the “Osaka Umeda Bird’s-Eye View 2013,” tackling the Osaka Umeda area.
2016: Revised “Port Kobe Bird’s Eye Map 2014” into “Port Kobe Bird’s Eye Map 2017.” Alongside “Port Kobe Bird’s Eye Map 1868”—the first work depicting Kobe 150 years ago—displayed at locations including the 24th-floor observation lobby of Kobe City Hall Building 1 for the Kobe Port Opening 150th Anniversary Project.
2017 Published “Port Town Kobe: Past and Present Bird’s-Eye Views 2017 & 1868” (Kutoten).
2018 Began production of a bird’s-eye view of Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Produced a bird’s-eye view illustration for the passenger ship “Pacific Venus” (Nippon Cruise Line).
2019 Created bird’s-eye views of each cruise ship as commemorative gifts for international cruise ship arrivals for the Kobe City Port Authority.
Announced the collaborative project “Kobe Sannomiya on a Certain Day 2018” with the former Sogo Kobe Store (now Kobe Hankyu).
Featured Hakodate bird’s-eye view in JR East’s Shinkansen in-train magazine “Trans-Veil”.
Created an original Shibuya bird’s-eye view for the cover of Magazine House’s “Shibuya! New Ways to Explore”.
Produced a giant mural of the “Asuka II” for the first phase of the Kobe Maritime Museum renovation.
2020: Exhibited works in Sannomiya Center Street for NHK Kobe Broadcasting Station’s “9131: Connecting Through Art – What Happened After That Day”.
2021: Produced commemorative items for Hakone Town Tourism Division.
Published “Bird’s-Eye View of Himeji Castle Town in the Reiwa Era 2021” for the Harima Studies Institute.
2022: Illustrated the picture book “Kobe Port Story: What Grandpa Container Saw at Kobe Port” (co-authored with Natsuki Tanigawa), published by Kobe City and distributed as supplementary reading material for elementary school students.
Created “Bird’s-Eye View of Ancient Port City Hyogo-tsu,” installed at Hyogo Prefectural Hyogo-tsu Museum / Hyogo Hajimari-kan.
2023: Completed “Hakodate Bird’s-Eye Map 2018.”
Received the Kobe City Cultural Encouragement Award for Fiscal Year 2023.
2024: Picture book “A Day at the Port: Container-kun’s Journey” (co-authored with Natsuki Tanigawa) published by Waits Co., Ltd.
Published the “First-Generation Kobe Station Bird’s-Eye View” commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Kobe-Osaka Railway opening.
Published the picture book “Kobe Port Story: The Port of Kobe as Seen by Grandpa Container” (co-authored with Natsuki Tanigawa) by Seeds Planning Co., Ltd.
Received the Japan Ports Association Planning Award.
Published the picture book “Yokohama Port Story: The Port of Yokohama as Seen by Hammerhead-kun” (co-authored with Natsuki Tanigawa) by Maersk AS.

Recipient of the Kobe City Cultural Encouragement Award, Fiscal Year 2023
Recipient of the Japan Ports Association Planning Award