Art, architecture and travel in Japan
Let Wallpaper* guide you through the worlds of art, design and architecture in Japan - and discover where to go and what to see when you travel to Japan.
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A new book captures the kitschy allure of Japanese ‘love hotels’
For his latest project, French photographer François Prost documents the whimsical façades that characterise these erotic roadside venues.
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
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A first look at Expo 2025 Osaka's experimental architecture
Expo 2025 Osaka prepares to throw open its doors in April; we preview the world festival, its developments and highlights
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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The Wallpaper* wellness report: thermal bathing is an ancient art set to rise in 2025
In this Wallpaper* wellness report, Emma O’Kelly investigates the rise of thermal bathing, an ancient art taking the world by storm in 2025 and beyond
By Emma O'Kelly Published
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Tangerine shapes the trains for Japan’s longest Shinkansen line, due in service in 2030
The UK-based consultancy has created the interiors and livery of the East Japan Railway Company's new E10 Shinkansen trains
By Jonathan Bell Published
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Ten contemporary homes that are pushing the boundaries of architecture
A new book detailing 59 visually intriguing and technologically impressive contemporary houses shines a light on how architecture is evolving
By Anna Solomon Published
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All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeys
Stay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
By Tianna Williams Published
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At Arpa Studios, a new chapter begins for perfumer Barnabé Fillion
Founder of Arpa Studios Barnabé Fillion catches up with Wallpaper* to talk about the latest chapter of his multisensory fragrance brand and research project
By Madeleine Rothery Published
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Wallpaper* checks in at Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu: a soothing onsen hotel
In Japan’s bucolic northeast, Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu breathes new life into a sleepy hot spring village without betraying its ancient roots
By Eric Millman Published
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And the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 goes to... SANAA!
The RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 winner is announced – Japanese studio SANAA scoops the prestigious architecture industry accolade
By Ellie Stathaki Published
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Architect Sou Fujimoto explains how the ‘idea of the forest’ is central to everything
Sou Fujimoto has been masterminding the upcoming Expo 2025 Osaka for the past five years, as the site’s design producer. To mark the 2025 Wallpaper* Design Awards, the Japanese architect talks to us about 2024, the year ahead, and materiality, nature, diversity and technological advances
By Sou Fujimoto Published
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Tokyo Auto Salon 2025: custom cars and one-off creations from the Japanese home market
What began as a celebration of Japan's custom car culture is a now a major event for many of the country's biggest automakers. We round up the news from Tokyo Auto Salon 2025
By Jonathan Bell Published
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The new hotels you’ll want to stay at in 2025
Where to stay in 2025? Let six of the most-read-about hotel openings of the past 12 months inspire your escape – from a tiny Tokyo bolthole to a Tanzanian safari retreat
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
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2025 getaways: where Wallpaper* editors will be travelling to this year
From the Japanese art islands of Naoshima and Teshima to the Malaysian tropical paradise of Langkawi, here’s where Wallpaper* editors plan to travel to in 2025
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
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The most whimsical hotel Christmas trees around the world
We round up the best hotel Christmas tree collaborations of the year, from an abstract take in Madrid to a heritage-rooted installation in Amsterdam
By Tianna Williams Published
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Diffar is a new Japanese hair brand making perfume oil at the foot of Mount Fuji
Diffar, a newly founded Japanese beauty brand, creates perfume oils for hair in its Mount Fuji laboratory that are set to travel the world
By Minako Norimatsu Published
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Six brilliant bars for your 2025 celebrations, hot off the Wallpaper* travel desk
Wallpaper’s most-read bar reviews of the year can't be wrong: here’s inspiration for your festive and new year plans, from a swanky Las Vegas lounge to a minimalist London drinking den
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
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Time, beauty, history – all are written into trees in Karimoku Research Center's debut Tokyo exhibition
The layered world of forests – and their evolving relationship with humans – is excavated and reimagined in 'The Age of Wood', a Tokyo exhibition at Karimoku Research Center
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Wallpaper* checks in at Yoruya, a Japanese inn where less is always more
Yoruya, which transforms a 110-year-old former kimono merchant shopfront and residence in Kurashiki, is an exercise in graceful restraint and craft
By Joanna Kawecki Published
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Minimal curves and skilled lines are the focal point of Kengo Kuma's Christmas trees
Kengo Kuma unveiled his two Christmas trees, each carefully designed to harmonise with their settings in two hotels he also designed: The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon and The Tokyo Edition, Ginza
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Tranquil and secluded, Lemaire’s new Tokyo flagship exudes a sense of home
In Tokyo’s Ebisu neighbourhood, Lemaire’s tranquil new store sees the French brand take over a former 1960s home. Co-artistic directors Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran tell Wallpaper* more
By Joanna Kawecki Published
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Claesson Koivisto Rune on 30 years of their often Japan-inspired designs, charted in a new book
‘Claesson Koivisto Rune: In Transit’ is a ‘round-the-world journey’ into the Swedish studio's projects. Here, the founders tell Wallpaper* about their fascination with Japan, and the concept of aimai
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Fender Hello Kitty Stratocaster marks 50 years of Sanrio’s finest cartoon cat
Hello Kitty reaches her half-century in 2025 and Fender Japan is out to celebrate with guitars and new merchandise, including a revival of its cult Squier Hello Kitty Stratocaster
By Jonathan Bell Published
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Teruhiro Yanagihara's new textile for Kvadrat boasts a rhythmic design reimagining Japanese handsewing techniques
‘Ame’ designed by Teruhiro Yanagihara for Danish brand Kvadrat is its first ‘textile-to-textile’ product, made entirely of polyester recycled from fabric waste. The Japanese designer tells us more
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Tadao Ando: the self-taught contemporary architecture master who 'converts feelings into physical form’
Tadao Ando is a self-taught architect who rose to become one of contemporary architecture's biggest stars. Here, we explore the Japanese master's origins, journey and finest works
By Edwin Heathcote Published
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First look: Noma Kyoto returns and aims to ‘double-wow’ diners
Noma Kyoto opens on 8 October for a ten-week pop-up inside Ace Kyoto. Thomas Lykke, co-founder of OEO Studio, tells us of the interiors’ autumn-forest inspiration
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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The mibot is a tiny single-seater ‘mobility robot’ for traversing Japan’s crowded city centres
Japan is the undisputed centre of compact car culture, and KG Motors' new mibot is one of a new wave of micro-EVs that look set to take the country’s cities by storm
By Jonathan Bell Published
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Kengo Kuma’s new Kyoto hotel is ‘a sanctuary of ethereal beauty’
A former ryokan inn, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto offers onsen rooms equipped with natural hot spring water, and a contemporary take on a Noh theatre
By Danielle Demetriou Published