Tokyo
The Designer’s Guide

Dossier

Featured
It’s Soba on the Rocks at this Tokyo Eatery and Wine Bar
It’s Soba on the Rocks at this Tokyo Eatery and Wine Bar

VS redefines the term ‘raw bar’, delivering delicate bowls of soba downstairs and an outpost of natural wine bar and retailer Virtus upstairs in delightfully unpolished concrete confines

A Day in the Life with Naoto Fukasawa
A Day in the Life with Naoto Fukasawa

We spend a day with legendary product designer Naoto Fukasawa in his Tokyo home and studio space

A New Horizon
A New Horizon

A New Horizon — a Showcase of Contemporary Design from East Asia excavated the trends, philosophies, ideas and materials that underpin modern lifestyles through works by designer from Japan, South Korea, mainland China and Taiwan

What to See at Designart Tokyo 2023
What to See at Designart Tokyo 2023

We round up some of the highlights of Designart Tokyo, which runs from 20 to 29 October and is the biggest edition of the festival to date, with more than 100 exhibitions scheduled across the city

DESIGNART Tokyo in Review
DESIGNART Tokyo in Review

This October, DESIGNART Tokyo celebrated its sixth edition, bringing together nearly 100 exhibitions under the theme Together. Here we round up some of the highlights from the city-wide event

DESIGNART Takes a Chance on New Talent
DESIGNART Takes a Chance on New Talent

The theme of ‘chance’ inspired this year’s DESIGNART, Tokyo’s annual design and art festival, with more than 80 events across in neighbourhoods across the capital. We round up our highlights of the inspiring roll call of emerging talent

Designart Tokyo 2020 in Review
Designart Tokyo 2020 in Review

Stable COVID-19 rates and a scattered format convinced the Designart organisers to go ahead with this year’s event, placing Tokyo in the creative spotlight. Dozens of exhibitions and product launches (many originally scheduled for Milan) took place across 70 sites — here we round up some of the highlights

Tokyo’s Toilets Get a Makeover
Tokyo’s Toilets Get a Makeover

Leading architects and designers, including Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma and Marc Newson, have joined the Tokyo Toilet Project to redesign 17 of Shibuya’s public toilet facilities, turning them into beautiful public/private spaces

Collaborative Craft
Collaborative Craft

Karimoku Case Study is a collaborative project between Japan’s largest wooden furniture producer and top architects from around the world

In Praise of Emptiness: A Conversation with Kenya Hara
In Praise of Emptiness: A Conversation with Kenya Hara

Acclaimed designer and theorist Kenya Hara shares his thoughts on simplicity versus emptiness

Designer DIY and woodworking expertise come together in Ishinomaki Laboratory by Karimoku
Designer DIY and woodworking expertise come together in Ishinomaki Laboratory by Karimoku

The new brand offers updated versions of classic Ishinomaki Laboratory pieces produced by furniture manufacturer Karimoku’s master craftsmen

Q&A with Kenya Hara
Q&A with Kenya Hara

On a recent trip to Tokyo, Design Anthology sat down for an insightful conversation with venerable design theorist, author and art director of Japanese lifestyle brand MUJI, Kenya Hara

Tokyo Seeds
Tokyo Seeds

A group of international designers explore new directions for Tokyo's iconic JR Yamanote line

Japanese Simplicity
Japanese Simplicity

Shinichiro Ogata is a designer who transcends categorisation, yet a vision combining traditional Japanese aesthetics with a modern sensibility permeates all of his projects, from interior design to restaurateuring and product design.

Style

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Rethinking Traditional Menswear with Tokyo Label Kontor
Rethinking Traditional Menswear with Tokyo Label Kontor

Style Department’s in-house label Kontor rethinks traditional menswear through innovative silhouettes and experimental fabrication methods

Wanderlust

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Inside Aman Group’s First Janu Hotel in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills
Inside Aman Group’s First Janu Hotel in Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills

Janu Tokyo marks Aman Group’s first step into a more connected, urban hospitality experience, blending local influences with a global spirit, all designed by longtime Aman collaborator Jean-Michel Gathy’s Denniston

Tokyo’s Second Edition Hotel Brings Understated Charm to Ginza
Tokyo’s Second Edition Hotel Brings Understated Charm to Ginza

The EDITION brand’s second Tokyo property opens in the heart of high-end retail hub Ginza, delivering a standout offering to a neighbourhood short on luxury hotels

Japan’s First Edition Hotel Opens in Tokyo
Japan’s First Edition Hotel Opens in Tokyo

The newly opened Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon — the brand’s first Japan outpost — has all the trappings for which founder Ian Schrager has come to be known, combined with the minimal and contemplative touches of renowned architect Kengo Kuma

The 2020 Wanderlust List
The 2020 Wanderlust List

We’re dreaming of the new and upcoming designer hotels in wanderlust-inducing destinations to keep us inspired

Paradise Imagined at Sen Hakone Resort
Paradise Imagined at Sen Hakone Resort

Tokyo-based firm Curiosity has conceived a ‘virtual hotel’ in Hakone that reflects the designers’ approach to space and design as they extend their practice beyond the retail projects for which they’re best known

A Micro-Hotel in the Heart of Tokyo
A Micro-Hotel in the Heart of Tokyo

Making its home in a 70-year-old former geisha house, TRUNK(HOUSE) is a one-of-kind hospitality project that offers an interactive and personalised experience

The Iconic Hotel Okura Reopens in Tokyo
The Iconic Hotel Okura Reopens in Tokyo

Rebuilt and rebranded as The Okura Tokyo, the hotel is an homage to the famed original

A Look Inside Tokyo’s Royal Park Canvas - Ginza 8
A Look Inside Tokyo’s Royal Park Canvas - Ginza 8

The new design-focused hotel brand’s third establishment has a ‘vintage modern’ style that befits its Ginza location

An Urban Ryokan and Rooftop Onsen in Tokyo
An Urban Ryokan and Rooftop Onsen in Tokyo

ONSEN RYOKAN YUEN SHINJUKU embodies the essence of traditional ryokans adapted for modern travellers

Japan’s first MUJI HOTEL opens in Ginza
Japan’s first MUJI HOTEL opens in Ginza

A heaven for lovers of the brand’s minimalist contemporary design, this expansive development also includes two design galleries, a multi-storey global flagship store, bar and restaurant

Vernissage

Featured
Beyond the Physical with TeamLab
Beyond the Physical with TeamLab

Japanese collective teamLab has taken digital art to a new level in a dedicated space in Tokyo

Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art reopens with a new look
Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art reopens with a new look

Just last Friday, following a three-year hiatus, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo reopened, sporting a minimalist update by Jo Nagasaka of Schemata Architects

Tokyo Seeds
Tokyo Seeds

A group of international designers explore new directions for Tokyo's iconic JR Yamanote line

Home

Featured
A Family Home in Tokyo with An Inner Expansiveness
A Family Home in Tokyo with An Inner Expansiveness

In a central residential suburb of Tokyo, architecture firm New Material Research Laboratory has designed a family home surrounding a central garden courtyard

Case-Real Designs a Modern Tokyo Apartment to Last 100 Years
Case-Real Designs a Modern Tokyo Apartment to Last 100 Years

In the fashionable Tokyo neighbourhood of Azabu, Case-Real has created a modern residence designed to last for a century

Vintage Soul in Tokyo
Vintage Soul in Tokyo

Yokohama-based studio moss. transformed a 1970s condominium in the heart of Tokyo’s Magome to become a modern, open-concept apartment filled with natural light

Rough Meets Refined at Kermis
Rough Meets Refined at Kermis

In designing new Tokyo restaurant Kermis, PANOF Design reinterprets Japanese aesthetics by combining recycled elements with more delicate pieces. Here head designer Yoshiaki Soma tells us more about the project

An Ingenious Stacked Mixed-Use Home in Tokyo
An Ingenious Stacked Mixed-Use Home in Tokyo

Architecture firm KOMPAS conceived a unique stacked design to create this mixed-use building in downtown Tokyo, which is both a two-storey family home and a pair of for-rent spaces. Here, architect and studio founder Mai Komuro tells us more about the project

A Hint of the Nordics in Tokyo
A Hint of the Nordics in Tokyo

Copenhagen’s OEO Studio has distilled the perfect fusion of Japanese and Scandinavian design and lifestyle elements into a serene and contemporary apartment renovation in central Tokyo

Minimalist & Modular THELIFE Show Apartment Opens in Shibuya
Minimalist & Modular THELIFE Show Apartment Opens in Shibuya

Showcasing an all-inclusive interior design concept for home renovations, I IN’s THELIFE Shibuya showroom marries open-planning and bespoke furniture with Japanese craft

André Fu-Designed SÉZANNE Opens in Tokyo
André Fu-Designed SÉZANNE Opens in Tokyo

SÉZANNE, a new culinary hotspot serving haute cuisine by chef Daniel Calvert, opens at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, with intimate contemporary interiors by Hong Kong designer André Fu

Home Remodelling in Japan Reaches New Heights
Home Remodelling in Japan Reaches New Heights

THELIFE, I IN’s apartment design concept for real estate brand SMARG, brings luxe minimalist beauty and contemporary design to Japan’s niche home renovation market

Karimoku Case Study Launches its Fourth Home Project
Karimoku Case Study Launches its Fourth Home Project

The fourth home by Japanese furniture brand Karimoku Case Study, The Azabu Residence is once again the result of a close collaboration between Norm Architects and Keiji Ashizawa Design

Coffee and Park Views at Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya
Coffee and Park Views at Blue Bottle Coffee Shibuya

Californian coffee brand Blue Bottle has added a new Japan location — a Shibuya cafe designed by Keiji Ashizawa, packed with crafted details, modern textures and bespoke furniture

Grillno is an Intimate, Inviting Experience
Grillno is an Intimate, Inviting Experience

Fun. Relaxation. Friendship. Family. These words were the inspiration behind Keiji Ashizawa’s minimalist lines and warm tones of Grillno, a new restaurant that recently opened just outside of Tokyo

Paradise Imagined at Sen Hakone Resort
Paradise Imagined at Sen Hakone Resort

Tokyo-based firm Curiosity has conceived a ‘virtual hotel’ in Hakone that reflects the designers’ approach to space and design as they extend their practice beyond the retail projects for which they’re best known

Reiko Sudo updates the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
Reiko Sudo updates the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo

Renowned Japanese textile designer Reiko Sudo shares with us about her design process and the evolution of Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo’s updated design

Force Majeure
Force Majeure

Studio OEO and former noma chef Thomas Frebel blend Japanese and Danish cultures to cook up a lushly refined Tokyo eatery

Japanese Simplicity
Japanese Simplicity

Shinichiro Ogata is a designer who transcends categorisation, yet a vision combining traditional Japanese aesthetics with a modern sensibility permeates all of his projects, from interior design to restaurateuring and product design.

Architecture

Featured
An Ingenious Stacked Mixed-Use Home in Tokyo
An Ingenious Stacked Mixed-Use Home in Tokyo

Architecture firm KOMPAS conceived a unique stacked design to create this mixed-use building in downtown Tokyo, which is both a two-storey family home and a pair of for-rent spaces. Here, architect and studio founder Mai Komuro tells us more about the project

An Experiment in Living Small
An Experiment in Living Small

Japanese architecture office UNEMORI ARCHITECTS designed House Tokyo on a small site in central Tokyo as an experiment in maximising living space and the clients’ experience of home. Here, principal Hiroyuki Unemori tells us more about the building’s unique form

Colour-Block Dreams at toggle hotel
Colour-Block Dreams at toggle hotel

Designed by Klein Dytham architecture (KDa), Tokyo’s toggle hotel suidobashi is a colour lover’s dream amid a quintessentially Tokyo cityscape

Getting to Know Daisuke Motogi of DDAA/DDAA LAB
Getting to Know Daisuke Motogi of DDAA/DDAA LAB

Conceived by founder and architect Daisuke Motogi, DDAA/DDAA LAB’s Artek stool hacks highlight the design and architecture firm’s belief that everything has the potential to evolve

nendo Designs a New Lifestyle Complex in Tokyo
nendo Designs a New Lifestyle Complex in Tokyo

Forget conventional shopping malls: a series of boxes – with glass facades, sunlit interiors and leafy roof terraces – takes centre stage at Kashiyama Daikanyama

Nurturing Nature: The Principles and Practice of Sou Fujimoto
Nurturing Nature: The Principles and Practice of Sou Fujimoto

The Japanese architect’s one-size-fits-all approach to architectural briefs has paradoxically resulted in some of the design world’s most boundary-breaking structures

Japonisme
Japonisme

Following the recent edition of Asia Now – Paris Asian Art Fair, Jae Lee had the opportunity to speak with Paris- and Tokyo-based Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto about architecture, cuisine and chaos

A Home for All
A Home for All

A conversation with Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architects about how he first came to Japan, what keeps him there and his studio's humanitarian work

The List

The top picks for where to eat, shop, sleep, drink and explore from the editors of Design Anthology