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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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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Team Ikuzawa brings the art of Daniel Arsham to motorsport
Creative director Mai Ikuzawa has overseen a new capsule clothing collection, a collaboration with artist Daniel Arsham that also honours her racing driver father Tetsu Ikuzawa
By Josh Sims 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
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The Kumagaya House in Saitama is a modest family home subdivided by a soaring interior
This Kumagaya House is a domestic puzzle box taking the art of the Japanese house to another level as it intersects a minimal interior with exterior spaces, balconies and walkways
By Jonathan Bell Published
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A minimalist teahouse makes a serene addition to a Tadao Ando-designed Kyoto hotel
Ogata at The Shinmonzen is a contemporary reinterpretation of a Japanese teahouse that sells traditional blends, confectionery, crafts and fragrances
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Shigeru Ban wins 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture Award
The 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture Award goes to Japanese architect Shigeru Ban
By Ellie Stathaki Published
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Tour the new Four Seasons Osaka, where time stands still
Set within a 49-storey tower, Four Seasons Osaka takes the traditional ryokan experience to new heights
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Pace Tokyo is a flowing Sou Fujimoto experience that ‘guides visitors through the space’
Art gallery Pace Tokyo, designed by Sou Fujimoto in a Studio Heatherwick development, opens in the Japanese capital
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Deathmatch wrestling’s behind-the-scenes moments and bloody glory
A new limited-edition book explores the intersection between art and deathmatch wrestling at a sold-out show held in Tokyo
By Anne Soward Published
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Aman Residences Tokyo float high above the Japanese capital
Aman Residences Tokyo, Aman Group’s first standalone branded residences, feature dramatic yet serene interiors by Yabu Pushelberg
By Dan Howarth Published
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How the Arc’teryx Tokyo Creation Centre is all about craft, openness and cross-pollination
Arc’teryx launches its Tokyo Creation Centre, a hub for craftsmanship designed by Torafu Architects, embodying the brand's ethos
By Daniel Scheffler Published
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Cartier celebrates Japan’s artistic legacy in Tokyo
‘Musubi – Half-Century of Cartier in Japan and Beyond’ is a major new exhibition at Tokyo National Museum, celebrating jewellery, Japanese art and creative exchange
By Danielle Demetriou Published
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Elle Fanning and Sofia Coppola unite on a Japanese craft gin inspired by the seasons
Elle Fanning and Sofia Coppola collaborate on a campaign for The House of Suntory’s Roku Gin – a seasonal blend inspired by Japan’s floral botanicals
By Tianna Williams Published