JAPANTRAVELING THROUG H ART,DESIG N & ARCHITEC TURE

art.japan.travel

HOKKAIDOLISTINGS BY REGION

01 Suiboku

30 Hoshinoya Tokyo

02 The Barn

31 Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo

03 Moerenuma Park

32 Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan

04 Sapporo International Art Festival

33 The Japan Folk Crafts Museum

05 Zaborin

34 Nakano Broadway

06 Space 1-15

35 The Peak Bar
36 The National Museum of Western

TOHOKU+1 Rethinking Reconstruction
07 Aomori Museum of Art

Art, Tokyo
37 Tokyo National Museum, The Galleryof Horyuji Treasures

08 Towada Art Center

38 National Museum of Nature and Science

09 Akita Museum of Art

39 Yokohama Museum of Art

10 Akita International University

40 Yokohama Triennale 2017

Nakajima Library

41 The Hakone Open-Air Museum

11 Onagawa Station

42 Sayama Forest Chapel

12 Iwate Museum of Art

43 Art Tower Mito

13 Ginzan Hot Spring Fujiya Inn
14 Yamagata Biennale 2018

CHUBU

15 Ken Domon Museum of Photography

44 Genbi Shinkansen

16 Tendo Mokko Yamagata Head

45 Echigo-Tsumari Satoyama Museum

Office Showroom

TRAVELING THROUG H ART,DESIG N & ARCHITEC TURE

of Contemporary Art / Kinare

17 Sendai Mediatheque

46 Satoyama Jujo

18 Kankaku Museum

47 Kyu-Hyuga-Bettei at Atami Hyuga Villa

19 Hajimari Art Center48 Asaba
49 Izu Photo Museum

TOKYO & KANTO+1 The Infinity of Limited Space

50 Takasugi-an

20 TOKYO CULTuART by BEAMS

52 Maru Factory

21 Kawaii Monster Café

53 D.T. Suzuki Museum

22 SunnyHills at Minami-Aoyama

54 Suzu 2017: Oku-Noto Triennale

23 Nezu Museum

55 Nakaya Ukichiro Museum of Snow

24 Taka Ishii Gallery

51 Japan Alps Art Festival 2017

and Ice25 TOTO GALLERY·MA

56 Yoshijima Heritage House

26 21_21 Design Sight

57 21st Century Museum of

27 The National Art Center, Tokyo
28 Mori Art Museum

Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
58 Mosaic Tile Museum Tajimi

29 The National Museum of Modern Art,Tokyo 59 Site of Reversible Destiny -Yoro Park, Gifu

a r t .j a pa n .trave lINTRODUCTION

In the same spirit – being aware of nature – architects, designers, andartists all over Japan have created pockets, corners, and islands fullof their imagination. From the northernmost island of Hokkaido
to the sunny beaches of Okinawa, we’ve compiled 99 spots to spark
your imagination as a traveler – be it a museum, a shop, a building,an art installation, or even everyday stopping points like Hiroshi
Hara’s imposing Kyoto Station (p.68).

99+1 | 5

introduction“In my world, people, locations, and concepts change all the time.
This keeps me focused and excited, especially the pressure not
to miss out on anything,” says Hiroshi Nakamura, summing up
what young architects think about their work in Japan. Six years
as a student under the wings of celebrated building designer
Kengo Kuma have certainly eased his way to stardom, but that’s
not the only reason for his success. More important is Nakamura’s
unique sense to wed his structures with nature, such as designinga reception hall roof like a volcano to let plants grow rampant in its
crater. His mentor Kuma, on the other hand, expresses closeness tonature with intrinsic wood structures as modest as SunnyHills(spot #22), or as big as the stadium for the upcoming Tokyo 2020
Olympic and Paralympic Games.

We also made sure to get out of the cities and into more rural areas
up north in Tohoku, and down to Kyushu with its majestic volcanoes(p.104). With all that in one compact booklet, as well as on our
homepage, what spot will you discoveralong the way - by and for yourself ?
What will be the +1 that makes it 100?
We leave it up to you and wish you asafe trip home – packed with
unforgettable memories.
–Roland Hagenberg
Hiroshi Hara and Roland Hagenberg#61 - “KOU-AN Glass Tea House” by Tokujin Yoshioka

99+1 | 6
“House K” in Sapporo by Yoshichika Takagi

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HOKKAIDO

01

02

LUXURY RETREAT INSPIRED BY INKS UIB OKU | 水墨
Not many homes in this world were designed for a 2,000 meter
volcano to fit into their window frames, but Suiboku is sucha building – a stylish retreat for vacationers with ten loft-size
luxury apartments facing the slopes of Mt. Yotei. It was developed
under the supervision of architect Koichiro Ishiguro, who had
previously worked with star architect Hiroshi Hara on the 40,000
seat Sapporo Dome stadium. “What water does to ink, light
does to concrete,” he explains, referring to suiboku – an ancient
Chinese ink-drawing technique. Inside and outside Ishiguro left
the concrete walls of the five story building uncovered, with theimprints of wood-casings serving as design patterns. It is “mostbeautiful when moonlight reflecting from the volcano’s snowy
slopes casts shadows,” says the architect.
191-29 Yamada, Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido 044-0081+81-136-21-6133
Hokkaido | Niseko
Hotel

The Barn

PROTECTED FROM THE ELEMENTS
THE B ARN
A bistro-style restaurant, bar and café in Niseko, the Barn is amodern, minimalist take on the heavy-snow proof, gambrelroofed farm structure typical of Hokkaido. Its facade and backwall are faced with glass to allow the guests an unhinderedview outside – almost like a cozy, protective tunnel. Whether indaylight or at night, spring or winter, with its superb food andservice, experiences are sure to be special at the Barn.
170-323 Yamada, Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido 044-0081+81-136-23-0888
Hokkaido | Niseko
Restaurant

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Window view at Suiboku with Mt. Yotei

Moerenuma Park is a treat tovisit all year round. Situatedjust outside Sapporo City,
this public park infuses thesurrounding nature withbrightly colored playgroundequipment and sculptural art
by Isamu Noguchi. The park
project was initiated in 1988
to realize Noguchi’s lifelong
dream of creating a park forchildren. Although the artist
had a fundamental role in
the planning of this museum,
he did not live to see its
completion in 2005.
1-1 Moerenuma-koen, Higashi-ku,
Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 007-0011+81-11-790-1231
Hokkaido | Sapporo
Park

ART A ND M U SI C
SA PP O RO
I NT E R NAT I O NA L
A RT FESTIVAL| 札 幌 国 際 芸 術 祭 201704

Sapporo International Art
Festival, the first of its kindin the region, launched in2014 with musician Ryuichi
Sakamoto as its Guest Director.
It makes its return in 2017with artist and musician
Otomo Yoshihide in thatleading role. The next edition
will incorporate an open callcomponent to further involve
the public.
Across Sapporo City
+81-11-211-2314
Hokkaido | Sapporo
Event

Ryuichi Sakamoto + Daito Manabe, “Sensing Streams - invisible,
inaudible”, 2014, at Sapporo International Art Festival 201403

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PL AYIN G IN T H E
MO UN TA IN S
MOERENUMA PARK
| モエレ沼公園

05

06

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CA STLE OF D RE A MSS PACE 1 -1 5

SE REN E H OT S P R IN G R E SO RT
Z AB OR IN | 坐忘林
Australian photographer, producer and art director Shouya Grigg
turned Zaborin into a stylish ryokan spread over 15 villas. His
art works – a dreamy interpretation of Hokkaido’s nature – areon permanent view throughout the buildings that also feature agallery, library, and private indoor and outdoor hot spring baths.
The architecture’s serene atmosphere seems to have influenced eventhe meticulously prepared kaiseki meals by chef Yoshihiro Seno.
76-4 Hanazono, Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido 044-0084+81-136-23-0003
Hokkaido | Niseko
Hotel
Shouya Grigg

Space 1-15 was formerly a residential building called “Château
de rêves” (Castle of dreams) in which a soap dealer decided toopen shop in one of the rooms. Since that simple beginning, thevintage structure is now a complex of intimate stores that hosts
numerous destinations for art and design lovers alike. Its offerings
range from handmade ceramics to cheese, artist books to usedrecords, organic clothes, and even photography classes. Open only
on weekend afternoons, Space 1-15 also organizes seasonal events
such as morning markets and summer festivals.
15-1-319 Minamiichijo-nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido 060-0061
Hokkaido | Sapporo
Complex99+1 | 14
#08 - “Wish Tree for Towada” by Yoko Ono at Towada Art Center, © Yoko Ono All Rights Reserved

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TOHOKUR ET H IN KIN G
R EC O N ST RU CT IO N

Toyo Ito at Sendai Mediatheque

When Pritzker Architecture
Prize winner Toyo Ito started
work on his Mediathequein Sendai he envisioned theseven-story glass library as
an artificial forest, where
people could stroll around,electronic gadgets in hand,
Toyo Ito at Sendai Mediathequemeeting friends or retreating
to hideouts to study – all thewhile communicating withthe world. He completed thebuilding in 2001 with 13 innertubes branching out frombottom to top like giant treestems. “We live inside twobodies. One is virtual, createdby communication technology
expanding continuously. The
other is primitive, limited,and has not changed forthousands of years,” explains Ito.

We live inside two bodies.
“ One
is virtual, the other isprimitive. Between them,architecture can be
the interface.
-Toyo Ito
“Home-for-All” for children in Soma City by Toyo Ito and Klein Dytham architecture”

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To support the reconstruction
efforts, Ito and like minded
contemporary architects
started Home-for-All, aJapanese npo that createshouses in disaster stricken
areas around Tohoku, with
15 buildings finished so far.
These are gathering spaces for
those in temporary housing,for kids to play in, and forfarmers and fishermen to
get back on their feet. At thesame time Home-for-All
also serves as a role model.
“Shelters and support facilities
should not be dull containers
or warehouses but places
with a pleasant, uplifting
design,” says architect Mark
Dytham. He and partner
Astrid Klein created a building“ Besides designing,affordable housing is
one of my main concerns.
That explains my interestin new construction
materials.

”- Yasuhiro Yamashita
for children in Soma City withan intricate wooden ceilingand roof structure. Homefor-All members Toyo Ito,
Kumiko Inui, Sou Fujimoto,and Akihisa Hirata even useddebris and trees broken by thetsunami to create a buildingin Rikuzentakata where 1,800
people had lost their lives. It
was so unusually designedthat the prestigious Venice
Biennale architecture event
exhibited the structure.
Others, like Tokyo-basedarchitect Yasuhiro Yamashita,
went out on their own“Earth Bricks” - Japan’s first earth structure house by Yasuhiro Yamashita

to help. High salt levels
had made farmland along
the coast non-arable, butsince Yamashita and hispractice, Atelier Tekuto, had
experience using earth as aconstruction material, hedeveloped a new method tomake use of the damaged
earth of Minamisanriku for an
emergency supply warehouse.
Shigeru Ban too put his
ingenuity to work (spot #11).
For decades, the awardwinning architect helped
out all over the world wheredestruction, war, or famine
threatened survival: withemergency structures madeof simple paper tubes. The

technique he developed makes
transport easy and assemblingof building structures quick
and painless, with the bonusof being a creative design
alternative to nondescript
shelter containers. -rh

Recipient of the Pritzker Architecture
Prize and disaster relief innovator
Shigeru Ban

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99+1 | 18“We still need sleep andfood and cannot escapegravity, but architecture canbe the interface between
those bodies.” The Tohoku
Earthquake 10 years later
proved him right, as theMediatheque withstood thedevastating seismic shocks
and the people inside survived– their “virtual bodies”
connected to the whole world.

D ESIGN M EETSA RC HEOLO GY
AOMORI M US EUM
OF ART | 青森県立美術館

The museum is situated next
to the excavation site of the
Sannai-Maruyama ruins fromthe Jomon Period (10,000 300 BC). Architect Jun Aoki’s
idea was to dig trenches as if
they were from an excavationsite. Works of domestic andinternational artists make up
the permanent collection –among them Yoshitomo Nara,
Shusaku Arakawa (spot #59),
Marc Chagall, and Paul Klee. A
theater, restaurant, and shop
are also part of the four-story
structure.
185 Chikano, Yasuta, Aomori-shi,
Aomori 038-0021+81-17-783-3000
Aomori | Aomori
MuseumWHITE CUBESTOWADA ART CENTER| 十和田市現代美術館

08

Occupying an entire blockon the city’s main avenue,
Towada Art Center iscomprised of 16 white cubes
interconnected by glass
hallways. The cubes, somethemselves with walls ofglass, allow for a dialogue
between city and museum,
between passersby looking inand museum goers looking
out. Ryue Nishizawa’s uniquedesign creates an open,
inviting space that serves tohighlight the museum’s 38
site-specific works.
10-9 Nishi-nibancho, Towada-shi,
Aomori 034-0082+81-176-20-1127
Aomori | Towada
Museum

FOUJI TA’S
MA STERPI ECESAKI TA MUS E UM
OF ART | 秋 田 県 立 美 術 館

09

THE BO OKCOLOSS EUMAKITA INTERNATIONAL
UNI V E RS I T Y NAK A JIMA
L I B R ARY | 国 際教養大学

10

Centrally located in Akita,
this museum designed by
Tadao Ando houses Masakichi
Hirano’s collection ofsignificant works by Leonard(Tsuguharu) Foujita (1886-1968),
which the local businessman
had amassed through arelationship with the expatriate
artist in the 1930s. Hirano
later established a foundationthat eventually merged withthe state museum, and today
the comprehensive collection
includes paintings, watercolors,and sketches.

中 嶋 記 念 図 書館

1-4-2 Nakadori, Akita-shi, Akita 0100001+81-18-853-8686
Akita | Akita
Museum193-2 Okutsubakidai, YuwaTsubakigawa, Akita-shi, Akita 010-1292+81-18-886-5907
Akita | Akita
LibraryThis magnificent university
library designed by Mitsuru
Senda is open to serve its
students 24 hours a day, 365 daysa year, and is held together withbare wood beams and columns
made of local cedar, forming
what resembles a large umbrella.
With rows of bookshelves inthe stadium seats, watchingover the students and theirdesks situated in the arena, thebuilding is conceptually referred
to as a “book colosseum”.

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99+1 | 2007

12

SH IGERU BA N IN TO H OKU
ON AG AWA STAT I O N | 女 川 駅 舎

S EE THE WORKS OF JA PA NES E MOD ERN MAST ERSI WATE MUS E UM OF ART | 岩 手 県 立 美 術 館

Onagawa Station on the jr Ishinomaki Line was one of themany train stations that lost its buildings and trains to the 2011
tsunami, and less than a decade since, the Onagawa Station
area has been revamped through the town’s revitalization
efforts, with the station itself as a shining example. Designed by
Shigeru Ban, the wide and soaring three-story structure featuresa latticed wood ceiling that yields generous amounts of light. It
also functions as more than a train station, with retail shops anda spacious hot bath “Yupoppo” decorated with contemporary
murals. New businesses, such as the Seapal-Pier Onagawa
shopping center, are opening near the station as well. Onagawa
Station may be the last stop on the train line, but today thebuilding stands as a starting point for many.

Opened in 2001 within Morioka City’s Chuo Park, the Iwate
Museum of Art holds a large collection of works by artists fromthe region, namely Tetsugoro Yorozu, Shunsuke Matsumoto, andYasutake Funakoshi; all important figures in shaping Japanesemodern art. The museum also organizes exhibitions with
contemporary artists, as well as young artists from Iwate. Nearby
in Chuo Park are the Study Museum of Archeological Site, theChildren’s Science Museum, and the Morioka Memorial Museumof Great Predecessors, all worth visiting.

1-10 Ohara, Onagawahama, Onagawa-cho, Oshika-gun, Miyagi 986-2261
Miyagi | Onagawa
Station12-3 Matsuhaba, Motomiya,
Morioka-shi, Iwate 020-0866+81-19-658-1711
Iwate | Morioka
Museum99+1 | 23

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13

HOT WAT ER
GINZ AN H OT S P RI N G F UJ I YA I NN | 銀 山 温 泉 藤 屋
This historic inn is situated in a valley just broad enough for a noisy
creek and a row of dreamy ryokan on either side. 400 years ago thevillage was booming with 30,000 miners trying their luck in silver,
but when the last piece of metal had been extracted and carted off, thefortune hunters disappeared. Today there are a mere 120 people living
in Ginzan, pumping and sharing the same 60°C hot spring waterfrom 10 meters underground as their ancestors did for centuries.
Fujiya Ginzan’s original 300 year old structure was redesigned by
Kengo Kuma, whose cozy minimalism immediately catapulted thevillage onto the pages of international lifestyle magazines. “Anybody
from the street is now welcome to step in,” says the proprietor, “notonly guests, and they can have a cup of tea in the lobby to enjoy thearchitecture.” Doors to the guest rooms seem to disappear and blend
into the surrounding walls, as do drawers and cupboards, whichkeep you prisoner in a labyrinth of relaxation.

The second edition of this art
festival in Yamagata Prefecture
took place in 2016, with the
Tohoku University of Art
and Design campus and the
Yamagata Cultural Centerat the center of operations.
The festival invited artistsof various mediums, both
local and new, to explore thearea through fine arts, music,
fashion, food, poetry, as well as
nature. The third installmentof the Biennale is scheduled totake place in 2018.

443 Shinpata, Ginzan, Obanazawa-shi, Yamagata 999-4333+81-237-28-2141
Yamagata | Obanazawa
Hotel

Across Yamagata City
+81-23-627-2091
Yamagata | Yamagata
Event

15

A PHOTO GRAPHER& HI S FRI E NDS
KE N D OMONMUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY| 土 門 拳 記 念館
Ken Domon (1909-1990)
is perhaps one of themost prolific 20th century
photographers, having
worked in a wide range offields from photojournalism
to portraits of cultural icons
and Buddhist statues. The
museum collection consistsof 70,000 of Domon’s works,
gifted by the photographer
himself to his hometown of
Sakata. It opened in 1983 inscenic Iimoriyama Park.
2-13 Iimoriyama, Sakata-shi, Yamagata
998-0055+81-234-31-0028
Yamagata | Sakata
Museum99+1 | 25

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14

A RT I N THE
MOUNTA I NSYAMAGATABIENNALE 2018
| みちのおくの 芸 術 祭 山 形
ビエンナーレ 2018

Butterfly Stool by Sori Yanagi

E V E RY B O DY ’S
GL ASS PAL AC E
S E NDA I
M E D I AT H EQ U E| せんだいメディアテーク

In the town of Tendo, where
there has been a long
tradition of woodcraft, Tendo
Mokko developed its own
bent plywood technology in
1947, and has been fabricating
plywood furniture withrenowned designers andarchitects including Sori
Yanagi, Arata Isozaki, Bruno
Mathsson, and Kenzo
Tange. Factory tours are alsoavailable, though reservations
are required.

This Toyo Ito-designed
cultural institution withgalleries, cinema, and alibrary is one of Japan’s
modern architectural
masterpieces, and hasreceived international
acclaim. The intrinsic glass
structure withstood themassive earthquake thatshook the Tohoku region in
2011, and became a symbol
for Japanese engineering
ingenuity that doesn'tcompromise great design.

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16

1-3-10 Midarekawa, Tendo-shi,
Yamagata 994-8601+81-23-653-3121
Yamagata | Tendo
Showroom

2-1 Kasuga-machi, Aoba-ku,
Sendai-shi, Miyagi 980-0821+81-22-713-3171
Miyagi | Sendai
Interactive Library

17

GET IN TOUCH WITH
YOUR S ENS ESK ANK AKU MUS E UM
| 感 覚ミュージアム

18

Opened in 2000, visitors of
all ages come to the Kankaku
Museum, designed by Kijo
Rokkaku, to explore all fivebodily senses. In collaboration
with artists and engineers, themuseum has incorporated
new technology with basic
ideas to create fun, interactive
installations, as well as ameditation area for cultivating
one’s inner creativity withthose honed senses.
100 Shimokawara-machi, Iwadeyama,
Osaki-shi, Miyagi 989-6434+81-229-72-5588
Miyagi | Osaki
Museum

TO NEW
BEGI NNI NG SHA JI MARI ART
CE NTE R | はじまりの美術館

19

Located in a renovated 19th
century sake brewery, theYoshiji Takehara-designed
Hajimari Art Center is aunique art brut art center
which opened in 2014 to foster
a better understanding of theworks of artists not commonlyplaced within the traditional
and institutional trajectoriesof the fine arts. It is also oneof the very few art centersaround the world operated
by a support facility for
individuals with disabilities.
4873 Ara-machi, Inawashiro-machi,
Yama-gun, Fukushima 969-3122+81-242-62-3454
Fukushima | Inawashiro
Art center

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ART OF PLYWOODTE N D O M O KKO
YAMAG ATA H E AD
OFFIC E SH OWRO O M| 天童木工 本社ショールーム

TOKYO & KANTO
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Fuji TV building by Tange Associates

THE IN F IN IT Y O F
L I MI T E D S PACE

Tokyo International Forum by Raphael Viñoly

TOD’S building in Omotesando by Toyo Ito

Visitors to a mega-city likeTokyo are always fascinated
how buildings fit into themost unlikely places, witha high rise structure next toa three-story family home
next to a designer shop or ashrine. Just walk along the
Omotesando shopping avenue
with its narrow side streets,and you understand why
space management is one of
the biggest challenges for any
contemporary architect inJapan. How can they design
an appealing structure on
a plot of land confined to asmall corner, and how can tiny
rooms project largeness andindividuality? Does natureeven have a chance withinthese confines?

“I concluded that spaciousness
is not so much a matter of
how far you put walls apart.
More important is to provoke
new and unfamiliar feelings,”
says Makoto Tanijiri, one
of Japan’s successful newgeneration architects, whose
practice suppose design
office has branches in Tokyoand Hiroshima. “As if you
suddenly see a pink or purple
apple falling from a tree!”That’s why Tanijiri designs
rooms boxed into each otherto form a maze of surprises
where floor levels and ceilings
often overlap.
A case in point is SunnyHills
by Kengo Kuma (spot #22),
which looks like a giant fabric

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of chopsticks, or perhaps awooden porcupine. The rooms
inside appear bigger withthe help of elaborate design
patterns and witty surprises
like the microscopic garden
sneaking into the entrance
area. Translucent paper walls
give way to alcoves where one
can catch a view of Tokyo’s
skyline: packed but spacious.
Kuma decided to become
an architect in 1964 at age
10. “The way Kenzo Tange
had designed the gymnasiumfor the Tokyo Olympics, andhow he explained it on TV,
convinced me to choose his
profession,” remembers thefamous architect. The irony ofhistory would have it that, halfa century later, Kuma himself
is giving shape to the stadium
for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic
and Paralympic Games.
And then there’s theflagship store of Italian shoe
manufacturer Tod’s, with its
skin of criss-crossed concrete
braces that mimic the zelkova
trees lining Omotesando.
Toyo Ito built it on an L-shaped
lot in 2004, and nine years
later Norihiko Dan faced thechallenge of squeezing anotherflagship store into the spaceinside Ito’s “L” – the Hugo
Boss Keyaki Building. The two
structures, with the eight-

Yoshiharu Tsukamoto andMomoyo Kaijima represented
Japan at the 2010 Venice
Biennale under the name Atelier
Bow-Wow. Their architecture isoften compared to M.C. Escher’s
drawings, where everything
starts and nothing ends – always
in the service of space illusion.
In Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, thecouple built a family residence
that’s only three meters wide,
called Split Machiya (split
townhouse). “For every
design detail, we took thebuilding’s three-meter-width
into consideration,” explains
Tsukamoto. “The furnitureis slightly lower and therestroom under the stairway.
Copper partially covers
walls to reflect the garden
outside.” Multifunctionality
is an effective architecturaltool, as also demonstrated in
the entrance area, where thewardrobe serves as a pianoroom. As for their source ofinspiration, Tsukamoto andKaijima refer to a meditation
room on top of their studiobuilding not far from Split
Machiya, a room just big
enough for a person to sit
down and absorb the neverending horizon of Tokyo andits endless possibilities oflimited space. -rh

that spaciousness“isI concluded
not so much a matter of how
far you put walls apart. More
important is to provoke new andunfamiliar feelings.
- Makoto Tanijiri”

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99+1 | 32“Garden and House” in Tokyo by Ryue Nishizawa

story Keyaki building slightly
higher, seem only centimetersapart as if hugging each other.
“Competing for attention, they
nevertheless had to projectsynergy,” says Dan. “Otherwise
both would look awkward.”
Dan’s solution was to let
multiple leaf-shaped columns
form a funnel that breaks
out from the “L” towards thesky. It is space management
at its best: practical andcompromising, vying forattention, and breaking out of
norms. Summed up, it defines
Tokyo’s sophistication.

CURATED POP CULTURE CREATIVITYTOKYO CULTUART BY BEAMS | トーキョー カルチャート BY ビームス
Located on the 4th floor of the new beams japan flagship store
in Shinjuku, tokyo cultuart by beams hand-picks an everchanging selection of art, fashion, and design products from famousand underground Japanese artists and designers. Their collection
includes everything from skate decks to vinyl figures, prints, books,
graphic t-shirts, and even refurbished Japanese boomboxes fromthe 70s and 80s. It’s a great place to find contemporary art foreveryday life, and discover something to take home that you won’t
find anywhere else.
BEAMS JAPAN B1F-5F, 3-32-6, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022+81-3-5368-7300
Tokyo | Shinjuku
Shop

21

RAWR!!!
K AWAI I MONSTE R C AFÉ

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20

After window shopping in Omotesando with its domestic
designers and international flagship stores, relax in a fantasy
world reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Kawaii Monster Caféfeatures manga-inspired waitresses, food in psychedelic colors,
and an oversized décor of glowing mushrooms and blinking
cakes for just the right degree of fashionable weirdness.
YM square building 4F, 4-31-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001+81-3-5413-6142
Tokyo | Harajuku
Café

Kawaii Monster Café22

PRE-MOD ERN
A S I A N A RT I N A
MOD ERN
JAPANESE CONTEXTNEZU MUSEUM | 根津美術館

CONTEMP ORARY
JA PA NES E ART
TAK A I S HI I G ALLERY| タカ・イシイギャラリー

Nezu Museum was founded
in 1941 to conserve and exhibit
the collection of pre-modern
Japanese and East Asian art thatbusinessman Nezu Kaichiro(1860-1940) had accumulated.
Among the 7,400 items are
paintings, ceramics, andsculptures. Architect Kengo
Kuma designed and supervised
the re-building of the museumin 2009, which carries his
signature style of vertical lines.
The adjacent Japanese garden is
one of the most exquisite in Tokyo.

This leading contemporary
gallery specializes inphotography and has a branch
in New York. Taka Ishii lists
dozens of Japanese as well
as foreign artists – among
them Daido Moriyama,
Martin Kippenberger, andcontroversial photographer
Nobuyoshi Araki. Publications
and editions add to the varietyof the gallery program.

A LL THE C OZ IN ESS O F A P I NE AP P L E
S UNN YH I L LS AT M IN AM I -AOYA M A | サニーヒルズ南青山店
From the outside it looks like a giant nest made of randomly piled
up wooden planks, and absent any signage or even a hint of what's
inside. Positioned along a side street leading to the Prada flagshipstore on Omotesando, one might assume that it has something
to do with fashion, but of all things it's a sweets shop owned by
Taiwanese pineapple cake maker SunnyHills. Architect Kengo
Kuma playfully recreated the rough surface of a pineapple, andinside the stylish environment visitors can enjoy pineapple cakeand tea while they take in the atmosphere.
3-10-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062+81-3-3408-7778
Tokyo | Omotesando
Shop

SunnyHills interior

6-5-1 Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107-0062+81-3-3400-2536
Tokyo | Omotesando
Garden, Museum

24

3F, 6-5-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
106-0032+81-3-6434-7010
Tokyo | Roppongi
Gallery

Nobuyoshi Araki

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25

Among the founding membersof toto gallery·ma in 1985
were design luminaries such as
Tadao Ando and Ikko Tanaka.
Since then every Japanesearchitect that has left a footprint
on the international stage
started out here, or was rewarded
with an exhibition. toto
provides two floor spaces and an
open terrace for experimental
presentations that sometimes
even involve constructing
sections of a building.
TOTO Nogizaka Building 3F, 1-24-3
Minami-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0062+81-3-3402-1010
Tokyo | Nogizaka
Gallery

ARC H I T EC T U R E &D E SI GN M EC CA
21_21 DESIGN SIGHT

26

The establishment of this space
was realized by the Japanesedesign world’s dream team:initiated by Issey Miyake,architecture by Tadao Ando,and currently co-directed by
Miyake, Taku Satoh, and Naoto
Fukasawa. 21_21 design sight
opened in 2007 on the groundsof Tokyo Midtown with thegoal of making a space to holdprograms based on everyday
things. The three directors taketurns organizing and curatingexhibitions of their specialties,
including architecture, craft,
product design, and more.
9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0052+81-3-3475-2121
Tokyo | Roppongi
Exhibition space

K UROK AWA’S STATE OF THE A RT MUS EUM
THE NATI ONAL ART CE NTE R , TOKYO | 国 立 新美術館
The National Art Center, Tokyo, opened in 2007, boasting oneof the largest exhibition spaces in Japan. It doesn’t have its
own permanent collection, but is capable of organizing a wide
variety of art exhibitions, in addition to artist associations
and competition exhibitions unique to Japan. The building,completed in 2007, is the last museum designed by the architect,
Kisho Kurokawa.
7-22-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-8558+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Roppongi
Museum

Kisho Kurokawa

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99+1 | 38

JAPAN’S LEADINGARC HITEC T UR E
G ALLERYTOTO G A L L ERY · M A| TOTO ギャラリー・間

28

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Louise Bourgeois’ “Maman” and Mori Tower

A RT IN T H E S K Y
MORI ART MUSEUM | 森美術館
Mori Art Museum, a contemporary art museum founded byreal estate developer Minoru Mori in 2003, has come to be
an important and indispensable presence in the art scene
today. Known for organizing solo and group exhibitions ofincomparable quality and scale, the museum also actively works
with young emerging artists, stages discourses on historicalmovements, and publishes handsome catalogs.
Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 53F, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-6150+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Roppongi
Museum

The momat, Japan’s firstnational art museum, boasts
one of Japan’s largest art
collections of more than 13,000
works, and presents modern
Japanese art from the 20th
century to the present. The
museum’s “A Room With aView” relaxation space offers amust-see view of the Imperial
Palace grounds, and the Craft
Gallery is housed in the former
Imperial Guard headquarters,
an Important Cultural Property.
3-1 Kitanomaru-koen, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
102-8322+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Takebashi
MuseumLUX URY RYOKANI N THE CI T Y
HOS HI NOYATOKYO | 星のや東京

30

Hoshino Resorts has a historyof managing luxury hotels
in numerous vacation spots
around the country. This is
its first ever branch in Tokyo,
much less an urban setting.
Centrally located near the
Imperial Palace, the hotel
offers a traditional Japanese
inn setting with modern
touches and impeccable
hospitality. It also offers
natural hot spring onsen on
the 17th floor (yes, with aview), perfect for unwinding
after a long day out in the city.
1-9-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
100-0004+81-50-3786-1144
Tokyo | Otemachi
Hotel

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99+1 | 40

ART HISTORIES 101
THE NATI ONAL
MUS E UM OF
MODE RN ART, TOKYO| 東京国立近代美術館

31

HOUS E OFTOMORROWJI Y U G AKUE N
MYONI CHI K AN
| 自 由 学 園 明日 館

Located in the center of a bustling business district, Mitsubishi
Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo offers an escape from the rushof city life. The building opened in 2010 within Marunouchi
Brick Square, surrounded by offices, shops, and restaurants.
The complex is a reconstruction of Mitsubishi’s previous
home, first built in 1894 by Josiah Conder and in use until
1964. Programming at the museum reflects the period ofmodernization undertaken by Japan during the 19th century,and holds exhibitions themed around the era. The museum’s
permanent collection is home to works by Redon, ToulouseLautrec, and many other turn of the century Western artists.
2-6-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Marunouchi
MuseumFOR A LL MING EIENTHUS I A STS
THE JAPAN
FOL K CR AF TS
MUS E UM | 日本民藝館

33

Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan
was built in 1921 as the mainbuilding of a private allgirls’ school establishedby publishers Motoko andYoshikazu Hani. Designedby American architectFrank Lloyd Wright, his
prairie-style architecture is
implemented here to create
a warm, domestic learning
environment with basic
materials of wood and plaster,large windows, and low,
approachable structure.

Tucked away in a quiet
residential neighborhood is
a museum with a traditional
wood and stone structure,
dedicated to the folk art
movement Mingei. It was
initiated in the 1930s by thinkers
and artists Soetsu Yanagi (whocoined the word "mingei"),
Shoji Hamada, and Kanjiro
Kawai (spot #65). The museum
strives to preserve and researchtraditional forms of arts andcrafts particularly those found invarious parts of Japan and in Asia.

2-31-3 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku,
Tokyo 171-0021+81-3-3971-7535
Tokyo | Ikebukuro
Event space

4-3-33 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
153-0041+81-3-3467-4527
Tokyo | Komaba
Museum99+1 | 43

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ME IJI RESTO R AT IO N
MITSUBISHI ICHIGOKAN MUSEUM, TOKYO | 三菱一号館美術館

32

34

OTAK U HAV EN
NAK AN O BROADWAY | 中 野ブロードウェイ
Nakano Broadway is where the real anime geeks hang out in Tokyo
now. With Akihabara’s otaku scene exhibiting mass culturaltendencies, this shabby shopping arcade/mall has become Tokyo’s
character culture mecca. Manga? Check. Anime? Check. Kaiju?
Double-check. Whether it’s a record store devoted to progressive
German and Japanese music, vintage and indie bookshops, orTokyo’s tallest soft serve ice cream cones, you’ll find it all next toeverything from fortune tellers to a Takashi Murakami gallery.
Only a responsible, sensible adult would skip an hours-long trek
through Nakano Broadway and a coffee or drink at Bar Zingaro.
5-52-15 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0001+81-3-3388-7004
Tokyo | Nakano
Mall

35

There are many locations
around Tokyo where one cangaze at the city in its twilightand night-time glory, and The
Peak Bar is one of the best.
Situated on the 41st floor of thePark Hyatt Tokyo in Shinjuku(also home to the famed
New York Bar from Lost in
Translation), guests are invited
to walk through a bamboo
grove to get to this view,
unhindered by construction
cranes or other buildings.
Park Hyatt Tokyo 41F,
3-7-1-2 Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo 163-1055+81-3-5323-3461
Tokyo | Shinjuku
Bar

WESTERN ART
I N JA PA N
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM
OF WESTERN ART, TOKYO| 国立西洋美術館

36

Situated at the main entranceof Ueno Park, the National
Museum of Western Art is asymbol of French-Japanesecultural relations. The museum
exhibits works from the
Matsukata Collection as well
as works created from theRenaissance through the early
20th century. In July 2016, 17
works by Le Corbusier, including
the nmwa Main Building were
designated by unesco as World
Heritage Sites.
7-7 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 1100007+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Ueno
Museum99+1 | 45

99+1 | 44

Mandarake Nakano Store HenyaI NTOX I CATI NG
VIEW OF THE CITY
THE PEAK BAR| ピーク バー

38

TRE ASUR ES F RO M T H E 7T H C E NT U RYTOKYO N AT IO N AL M US E U M , T H E G A L LE RY O F H O RY UJI
TRE ASU RES | 東京国立博 物 館 法 隆 寺 宝 物 館

PU TTI NG FUN I N S CI ENCE
NATI ONAL MUS E UM OF NATURE AND S CI ENC E| 国立科学博物館

The dramatic approach to The Gallery of Horyuji Treasuresforeshadows the equally dramatic use of space and lightingthat awaits inside the spacious foyer, halls, and galleries thatgive an otherworldly experience to visitors. Designed by Yoshio
Taniguchi and opened in 1999, the museum houses over 300
valuable pieces dating from the 7th to the 8th century that were
gifted from the Horyuji Temple in Nara to the imperial family
in 1878, and then transferred to the museum after World War II.
Boasting state-of-the-art conservation technology, the museum
also has a digital archive featuring the entire collection.

nmns is the nation’s only state-administered comprehensive
science museum, as well as the largest, with over 4.4 million
specimens in its collection. Established in 1877, the main activitiesof the institution are to research, collect and preserve, and educate
through exhibits and programs, with a goal to deepen the public’s
appreciation for science. Over 10,000 items are on permanent
exhibition in the two main buildings (Japan Gallery and Global
Gallery), in addition to a special temporary exhibition. The
museum also contains “Theater 360”, featuring spatial, audio,
and visual presentations on themes such as space, dinosaurs,
and evolution.

13-9 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8712+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Ueno
Museum7-20 Ueno Park, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-8718+81-3-5777-8600
Tokyo | Ueno
Museum99+1 | 47

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Shinro Ohtake, “Retinamnesia Filtration Shed”, 2014, at Yokohama Triennale 2014

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A RT IN T H E PO RT C IT Y
YOKOH AM A M USEUM O F A RT | 横 浜 美 術 館
The Kenzo Tange-designed Yokohama Museum of Art opened in
1989 in one of the pavilions built for the Yokohama Expo that had
taken place earlier that year. The Tange structure stands immense,
and the Grand Gallery entrance hall is particularly cavernousand overwhelming in scale. The museum is home to a large
collection of Japanese and Western artworks from the 19th century
up to present day. It also has a strong photography collection
which upholds the city’s reputation as one the birthplaces ofphotography in Japan.
3-4-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 220-0012+81-45-221-0300
Kanagawa | YokohamaMuseumSince its inauguration in 2001, the Yokohama Triennale has becomea staple destination in the international art exhibition circuit. It's
not an exaggeration to say that of all the art exhibitions in Japan,
Yokohama does its best at addressing contemporary global issues
while attempting to contextualize the Japanese art scene within
the discourse. The 6th installment takes place from August 4
to November 5, 2017, with the theme “Islands, Constellations &Galapagos”. The main venues are Yokohama Museum of Art by
Kenzo Tange and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No.1, which will
be linked together by shuttle bus service.
Yokohama Museum of Art / Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse No. 1+81-45-663-7232
Kanagawa | Yokohama
Event

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GLOBA L A RT D I S COURS E
YOKOHAMA TRI E NNAL E 2 0 1 7 | ヨコハマトリエンナーレ 2017

U LT R A-P R EC I SI O NSAYA M A FO R E ST
CH A PE L| 狭山の森 礼拝堂

41

Hakone has more to offer thanjust hot springs, and the unique
Open-Air Museum takes typicalart viewing out of the box andplaces it under the open sky. It
is filled with monumental art
by modern to contemporary
artists such as Rodin, Calder,
Moore, Hepworth, Okamoto,
Niki de Saint Phalle, andVangi. Some of the collection,
including Brancusi’s Kiss
sculpture, Giacometti bronzes,
and Picasso’s ceramics, arehoused indoors.
1121 Ninotaira, Hakone-machi,
Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa
250-0493+81-460-82-1161
Kanagawa | Hakone
MuseumSayama Forest Chapel byarchitect Hiroshi Nakamura
is part of the Sayama Lakeside
Cemetery. Ultra-precision
construction technology wasused to create a frame that
doubles as the building’s
surface, and the altar was
positioned so worshippers
can face the forest where,
during morning services, thesun lights up the surrounding
trees. Pillars join at the top
to form a “sasu” (truss-like)frame, and the roof wasthatched with sand-castaluminum tiles handcraftedby local artisans. “Creating a
comfort zone or the feelingof comfort does not mean wehave to exclude the harshnessof nature,” explains Nakamura.
“Of course we should protect
ourselves from storms, cold

Hiroshi Nakamura#42 - Sayama Forest Chapel

winds, and hot summers, as long as we don’t forget to contemplate
how they have always been part of our existence. Doing so provides
the ultimate feeling of comfort.” Nakamura’s unique sense to
wed his structures with nature is a concept that was also observedby Wallpaper magazine, whose editors honored the 42-yearold innovator with their prestigious Design Award in 2015. For
Nakamura, the link to nature is wood. “When we touch it, we can feelits grooves and this reminds us of our own skin, the pattern of our
fingerprints. Wood creates a constant feedback-loop between us anda natural environment that we run danger of cutting off completelyfrom our city lives.” No wonder that Nakamura created the first
3D computer program that helps protect roots and branches whenhouses are built between trees. It can simulate and predict the growthof the plant, as well as the swaying of branches during typhoons, andalso suggests how to best place foundations to protect roots.
2050 Kamiyamaguchi, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama 359-1153+81-4-2922-4411
Saitama | Tokorozawa
Chapel99+1 | 51

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ART U N DER
N AT U RA L LIG H T
TH E H AKO N E O P EN AIR MUS EUM| 彫 刻の森美術館

42

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43

T HE C IT Y ’S SYM B O L
ART TOW ER M I TO | 水戸 芸 術 館
Art Tower Mito, a multi-art complex designed by Arata Isozaki
consisting of a theatre, a concert hall, and a contemporary art
museum, was opened in 1990 as a means of revitalizing the area.
Each of the three major facilities has an active programming topromote its respective field. The museum is widely known for its
exhibitions with subject matter unconventional to the white cube
environment, such as graffiti/street art, fashion, and young upand-coming artists from Asia.
1-6-8 Goken-cho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki 310-0063+81-29-227-8111
Ibaraki | Mito
MuseumArchitect Arata Isozaki at Art Tower Mito

#43 - Art Tower Mito

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CHUBU#56 - Yoshijima Heritage House

SPEED ART IN G
GE N BI SHI N K AN S EN | 現 美 新 幹 線
The new Genbi Shikansen is the “fastest museum” yet conceived.
Running close to 210 km/h down Japan Railway’s Joetsu
Shinkansen line, it allows the passengers to relax in an artclad environment during their 54 minute ride between EchigoYuzawa and Niigata stations. Eight contemporary artists weretapped to decorate the seven cars with their artwork, ranging
from photography (Mika Ninagawa), paintings (Kentaro Kobuke),
fabric (Nao Matsumoto), video work (Brian Alfred) and, perhaps
most befittingly, a plastic train rail installation (Paramodel). In
addition, the train is equipped with a nursery for children, and acafé that offers local Niigata snacks and coffee.
Niigata Station to Echigo-Yuzawa Station
Nigata | Niigata / Echigoyuzawa
Transportation

45

A RT FOR A LL S E A S ONSECHI GO -TS UMARI SATOYAMA MUS E UM OF
CONTE MP OR ARY ART / KI NARE
| 越 後 妻 有 里 山 現 代 美 術 館 ［キナーレ］
Architect Hiroshi Hara (Kyoto Station, Sapporo Dome) decided onpure geometric shapes, exposed concrete, and lavish use of glass togive the museum a quiet appearance. “Rooms are boxed inside eachother, a traditional form in Japanese architecture found in sacredplaces such as temples and shrines,” explains Hara. “In summer,
cultivate the fields – in winter, cultivate the mind” is an old Japanese
saying and the leading theme for the museum. It organizes festivals
and outdoor shows in summer, and enriches the exhibition programs
inside with lectures during cold seasons. 200 permanent art works
are scattered outdoors in the region.
6 Hon-cho, Tokamachi-shi, Niigata 948-0003+81-25-761-7767
Niigata | Tokamachi
MuseumHiroshi Hara

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44

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Satoyama Jujo is a hot spring resort with a 150 year old woodbuilding that creative director Toru Iwasa meticulously restored.
High-tech utilities are hidden behind handcrafted wood, andchairs by legendary designers such as Finn Juhl and Arne
Jacobsen enrich the lobby. Iwasa’s other passion is to gently
educate his guests how to live a healthier and more balanced life.
“That’s why I grow my own rice, promote local farm produce,and develop my own recipes,” he says. “Less cooked, less salty,
but with more flavor.”
1209-6 Osawa, Minami-uonuma-shi, Niigata 949-6361+81-25-783-6777
Niigata | Minami-uonuma
Hotel, Shop

BAUHAUS EX PERI MENTKYU-HYUGA-BETTEI AT ATAMI HY U G A V I L L A| 旧日向別邸 ブルーノ・タウト「熱海の家」
Rihei Hyuga was a successful businessman who made his riches
supplying match factories in Japan with phosphorus. When
Hyuga wanted a room extension for ping-pong tables, he met oneof the most important city planners, designers, and architectural
thinkers of his time: Bruno Taut. The German polymath had foundhimself out of work when fleeing Nazi Germany in 1933, andHyuga’s job offer was a gift from heaven. The centerpiece of Taut’s
annex became a ballroom that he equipped with light bulbs on
a string used by Japanese fishermen to lure fish. The ping-pongtables never had a chance.
8-37 Kasuga-cho, Atami-shi, Shizuoka 413-0005+81-557-81-2747
Shizuoka | Atami
Museum99+1 | 59

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AWARD -WINN IN G DESIGNER HOTELSATOYAMA JUJO | 里山十帖

49

PHOTO GRA PHY A ND PE ACEFUL G A RD ENSI ZU P HOTO MUS E UM
RO O M S W IT H N O H V IE W
ASAB A | あさば
Half a millennium ago, Yakuro Yukitada Asaba founded Shuzenji
temple. At the gate he positioned monks as guards and housed
them in a lodge which still exists today, albeit as one of Japan’s
most exquisite hot spring resorts, featuring a small lake, a cafésalon with minimalist art, Harry Bertoia chairs, and a Noh theaterfrom the 19th century. A seventh generation Asaba family member
assembled the theater with parts from an old shrine that hetransported all the way from Tokyo, and today the gold masks of
the actors reflect in the surrounding waters while guests enjoy theNoh performances directly from their rooms.
3450-1 Shuzenji, Izu-shi, Shizuoka 410-2416+81-558-72-7000
Shizuoka | Shuzenji
Hotel

Izu Photo Museum opened in 2009 to explore works of photography
and film. Since then, it has organized a wide range of exhibitions
addressing the many issues surrounding photography and timebased media. The interior space and garden were designed byartist Hiroshi Sugimoto, and the details that belie this can bereadily spotted: crystal glass, shadow and light, and tearoom-like
tranquility. Plan your trip to include visits to the other museums at
the Clematis no Oka art complex, such as Bernard Buffet Museum,
Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum, and Yasushi Inoue Literary
Museum. Be sure not to miss the restaurants either.
347-1 Clematis no Oka, Higashino, Nagaizumi-cho, Shizuoka 411-0931+81-55-989-8780
Shizuoka | Nagaizumi
Museum99+1 | 61

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With its archaic simplicity,
Takasugi-an (too-high-house)is one of Terunobu Fujimori’s
best known creations. It is ateahouse on stilts that stands
on a property belonging to
his family, now turned into an
outdoor museum. Fujimori
has designed dozens ofbuildings in Japan with thesame playfulness as Takasugian, yet doesn’t consider
himself an architect; rather anarchitecture historian.
Jinchokan Moriya Historical Museum389-1 Miyagawa, Chino-shi, Nagano
391-0013+81-266-73-7567
Nagano | Chino
Teahouse

ART I N T H E AL P S
JA PA N A L PS A RT
F E ST I VA L 2017
| 北アルプス国際芸術祭 201751

The first Japan Alps Art
Festival is slated to take placefrom June 4 to July 30, 2017,with the promising theme“Shinano-Omachi Food and
Art Corridor”. The organizers
have tapped curator Fram
Kitagawa to take the directorial
position and to put together
an exhibition with artworks
and projects that reflect thehistory, culture, and naturefound in and around Omachi
City, located at the foothills of
the Japan Alps.
Across Omachi City
+81-261-22-0420
Nagano | Omachi
Event

FA BRI CS FROM A FA RMHOUS EMARU FACTORY
In the mountainous region of Nagano, textile designer and artist
Tadashi Maruyama brought a 300-year-old farmhouse backto life and turned it into “Maru Factory”. With a keen eye fordetails, he restored the wood structures, the original furniture,and even the fireplace in the kitchen floor. The traditional
lifestyle of a bygone era inspires him when creating delicate
kimono fabrics with a minimalist touch, and the coloring andthe sewing are all done by hand.
4762 Ookaotsu, Nagano-shi, Nagano 381-2703+81-26-266-2890
Nagano | Nagano
Shop

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A TE AH O US E TO
MED ITAT E
TAKASUGI-AN | 高過庵

53

Daisetz T. Suzuki (1870-1966)
was a Buddhist philosopher
who was crucial to the spreadof Zen teachings in the West.
Opened in 2011, the architect
Yoshio Taniguchi designed thespace to reflect the landscapein Kanazawa, as the museum
is surrounded by stone walls
and a reflective pond while set
against impressive plateaus.
The museum is structured sothat the visitor goes throughstages of observing, learning, andcontemplating about the ideas
and achievements of D.T. Suzuki.
3-4-20 Honda-machi, Kanazawa-shi,Ishikawa 920-0964+81-76-221-8011
Ishikawa | Kanazawa
MuseumT I P P I NG P O I NTS U Z U 2017:
O KU -NOTO
T R I E NNA LE| 奥能登国際芸術祭 2017

A MERCHANT ’SHOMEYOS HI JI MA
HE RI TAGE HO USE| 吉島家住宅

54

Located at the very tip of theNoto Peninsula on the northerncoast of Japan, the small cityof Suzu will be hosting its firsttriennale. The festival plans
to invite more than 40 artists
and designers from around theworld to make works in thecontext of the city’s diverse andplentiful nature (designatedas one of Globally Important
Agricultural Heritage
Systems), as well as its current
issue of depopulation, andhas incorporated an open callprogram as well.
Across Suzu City
+81-768-82-7720
Ishikawa | Suzu
Event

A RT OF I CE
NAK AYA UKI CHI RO
MUS E UM OF S NOWAND I CE| 中谷宇吉郎雪の科学館

55

56

Dr. Ukichiro Nakaya (19001962) is renowned for his
research on snow, and forbeing the first to create
artificial snowflakes. The
museum, dedicated to the lifeand research of the physicist
and science writer, and tofoster a deeper understandingof snow and ice, is housed inarchitecture by Arata Isozaki.

The Yoshijima Heritage
House, a nationally designated
Important Cultural Property,
was built in 1907 by renowned
traditional carpenter Isaburo
Nishida as a house and shop fora sake merchant (p.52). There aremany architectural elements
worth noting: the large central
pillar around which beams andpillars are structured to createa lofty foyer, the high windowsthat allow dramatic presenceof light and shadow, and therich tones of wood from varied
polishing and use.

i-106 Ushiozu-machi, Kaga-shi,Ishikawa 922-0411+81-761-75-3323
Ishikawa | Kaga
Museum

1-51 Oshin-machi, Takayama-shi, Gifu
506-0851+81-577-32-0038
Gifu | Takayama
House, Museum

99+1 | 65

99+1 | 64

STEEP YO URS EL F
IN Z EN
D.T. SUZUKIM USE U M | 鈴木大拙館

99+1 | 66

57

99+1 | 67

ME RGING A RT & A RC HI T EC T U R E
21ST CENTURY MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART,K ANA Z AWA | 金沢 2 1 世紀美 術 館

Designed by the Pritzker Prize winning architect team sanaa(Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa), the 21st Century Museum ofContemporary Art is centered in Kanazawa City and designed asa park for people to gather and meet. The circular glass structure
allows accessibility from multiple directions, the starting point
for many of their creations are dozens of models. “After that, we
compare and think about more options,” says Sejima. “We repeat
this process several times. Somewhere along the way ideas evolvethat will shape the character of a building,” say the architects.
1-2-1 Hirosaka, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa 920-8509+81-76-220-2800
Ishikawa | Kanazawa
Museum#57 - 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

59

BAC K TO E A RT H | M OSA I C T I L E M US E U M TA J I M I| 多治見市モザイクタイルミュージアム
The area around Tajimi City has the country’s largest production
output of mosaic tiles, so it comes as no surprise that a museum
recently opened to house 10,000 artifacts relating to the history ofthis building material, collected over the years by local volunteers.
In Terunobu Fujimori they found the perfect designer andhistorian to put the design of the building in the right context.
“In ancient times the human dwelling in its most reduced form
has always been made of earth piled in the shape of a simple
mound,” says Fujimori. “Earth is the source of tiles, and so I gave
the museum the appearance of an ancient mound.”2082-5 Kasahara-cho, Tajimi-shi, Gifu 507-0901+81-572-43-5101
Gifu | Tajimi
MuseumTerunobu Fujimori inside “Flying Mud Boat”

A RT YOU CA N WA LK ON
S I TE OF RE V E RS I B L E DE STI NY - YORO PAR K , GIF U| 養老公園 養老天命反転地
Outdoor sculpture museums usually don’t allow walking andclimbing on art works, but Site of Reversible Destiny is an exception.
Conceived by the late New York based artists, Shusaku Arakawa
and Madeline Gins, it features caves, walls, hidden enclosures, andsecret rooms. From the names that Arakawa and Gins bestowed
on the numerous and carefully designed environments you cansense that they are conceptual artists: Exactitude Ridge, Critical
Resemblance House, or Kinesthetic Pass to name a few. The couple
could not foresee that their work, built in 1995, would still be one of
the most popular art adventure spots in Japan, even 22 years later.
1298-2 Takabayashi, Yoro-cho, Yoro-gun, Gifu 503-1267+81-584-32-0501
Gifu | Yoro
Park

99+1 | 69

99+1 | 6858

99+1 | 70
Kyoto Station by Hiroshi Hara

99+1 | 71

KANSAI

Concept room by Shiho Ukaji

C O N C EPT A RT H OT EL
H OT E L AN T ERO O M KYOTO
Just one stop south of Kyoto Station, this hotel has turned
its reception area into an exhibition space, the entrance
into a sculpture museum, and the comfortable guest rooms
into galleries: A cherry blossom-wallpapered room by Mika
Ninagawa, for instance, or a double-bed with a giant silver
wardrobe hook overhead by Kenji Yanobe. Even the smokers’
corner underwent a witty transformation reminiscent of Pop Art
installations of the 1960s.
7 Aketa-cho, Higashi-kujo, Minami-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 601-8044+81-75-681-5656
Kyoto | Kyoto
Hotel

TRA NS LUCENT
MOD ERNI T Y ON
TEMPLE PL ATFORM
KOU-AN GLASS TEA HOUSE| ガラスの茶室 - 光庵

61

JAPANESE SWEETS
IN MODERN WOOD
AMBIENCETORAYA KYOTO ICHIJO SHOP
| 虎 屋 菓 寮 京 都一条店

The transparent structure,
constructed of thick glass
panels, is a modern explorationof traditional Japaneseculture designed by Tokujin
Yoshioka, whose creations
are displayed in permanent
exhibitions such as MoMA
and the Musée d’Orsay. Glass
Tea House currently standson the wooden observation
deck of Seiryuden Temple
in the eastern mountains of
Kyoto overlooking the ancientimperial capital.

Toraya Confectionery was
founded in the early 16th century
in Kyoto, but with the move of
the imperial family to Tokyo in
1868, the headquarters of thecompany followed suit. Hiroshi
Naito, a specialist in intrinsic
wood structures, redesigned
the old store opposite the Kyoto
Gyoen National Garden. His
expertise shows in the curved
ceiling of tearoom, and his open
design lets the garden optically
flow into the building.

28 Zushiokukacho-cho, Yamashina-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 607-8456+81-75-771-0390
Kyoto | Kyoto
Teahouse

62

415 Hirohashidono-cho, Ichijo-kado,
Karasuma-dori, Kamigyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 602-0911+81-75-441-3111
Kyoto | Kyoto
Shop, Café

99+1 | 73

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60

63

CONNECTI NG
V I S UA L
HI STORI ES
THE NATI ONAL MUS E UM
OF MODE RN ART, KYOTO| 京都国立近代美術館

64

Handmade curtains, old doors from condemned buildings,
flowers and plants – everything is a reflection of architect
Katsumi Yasuda’s own warm and sensitive personality. Locatedin Kyoto’s historic quarter for kimono makers, Somushi is ahaven of tranquility with a meditative quality. “When you design
something, it is vital to allow time to go over everything in detail,”
explains Yasuda. “Here in Kyoto, the pace of life is just that bit
slower, so there’s always time!”
73 Ogura-cho, Nishi-iru, Karasuma-sanjo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-8166+81-75-253-1456
Kyoto | Kyoto
Cafémomak was established in
1963 to link traditional arts andcrafts to 20th century ideas andvision, and Japanese modern
art movements to those of theWest. The current building was
designed by Fumihiko Maki,and today is host to manyhigh-calibre exhibitions suchas the recent Mary Cassatt
and James McNeill Whistler
retrospectives.
Okazaki Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 606-8344+81-75-761-4111
Kyoto | Kyoto
MuseumKatsumi Yasuda

65

The potter Kanjiro Kawai(1890-1966) was one of thecentral figures of the Mingei
movement, which strove tobring out the aesthetic beautyin everyday traditional crafts
and readily available nature.
The museum offers a thoroughsurvey of Kawai’s wide rangeof works, including ceramics,
calligraphy, woodwork,
brasswork and furniture, as
well as his selection of artifacts
from around the world.
569 Kanei-cho, Gojozaka,
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
605-0875+81-75-561-3585
Kyoto | Kyoto
Museum99+1 | 75

99+1 | 74

H AVE N O F T R A N Q UIL I T Y
SOM USH I | 素夢子

MI NGEI HOUSEK AWAI K ANJ IRO’SHO US E| 河 井 寬 次 郎記念館

66

To commemorate the 500th
memorial of its priest Rennyo(1415–1499), the unifier of the
Jodo Shinshu school, the temple
Higashi Honganji built a new
visitor center. Designed by Shin
Takamatsu, the structure is rare
for its modern design, and wasmade three-stories deep in orderto preserve the temple's historicscenery. The circular ceilingsymbolizes the sun and themoon, and after dark the light
pouring from the undergroundconstruction creates a crescent.
Shichijyo-agaru, Karasuma-dori,Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
600-8505+81-75-371-9181
Kyoto | Kyoto
TempleJ E W E L B OX O F A
G AL L E RY
K A H O G A LL E RY
| カホ・ギャラリー67

One of Kyoto’s best-kept
art secrets, this residential
gallery opened in 2012 near
the Tofukuji Temple grounds.
Its commercial gallery
programming has shown
works by masters such as
painter Toshio Arimoto andsculptor Katsura Funakoshi,
as well as young contemporary
Japanese artists. The intimate
and intense space creates for
an ideal location to immerse
oneself in art.
15-778-1 Hon-machi,
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto
605-0981+81-75-708-2670
Kyoto | Kyoto
Gallery

KYOTO’S NATIONAL
TRE A S URES
KYOTO NATI ONAL
MUS E UM, HE I S E I
CHI S HI NK AN| 京都国立博物館 平成知新館

68

The Yoshio Taniguchidesigned Heisei Chishinkan
wing of the Kyoto National
Museum opened in 2014.
The new structure was built
to house and exhibit its
collection of over 12,500
artworks and treasures fromover 12,000 years, many ofwhich are National Treasuresand Important Cultural
Properties.
527 Chaya-cho, Higashiyama-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 605-0931+81-75-525-2473
Kyoto | Kyoto
MuseumS C ULPTI N G
TEX TI LESK ATAYAMABUNZABURO SHOTEN| 片 山 文 三 郎商店

69

Shibori is the Japanese word fortechniques that shape textiles
and preserve their form, evenwhen dyed. Kazuo Katayama is
the third-generation presidentof this company that keeps
up the century-old tradition.
“Shibori tie-dye’s concaveconvex characteristics achieve
unique and daring designs,”
he says. “Fashion and art
fuse and thereby turn into
a complete new form of
wearable art.”
221 Hashibenkei-cho, Takoyakushidori, Karasuma Nishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-8151+81-75-221-2666
Kyoto | Kyoto
Shop, Museum

99+1 | 77

99+1 | 76

MOD E RN IST
T E M PLE
HIGASHI HONGANJI| 真宗大谷派 東本願寺

71

GET SC H O O L ED IN M A NG A
KYOTO IN T ERN AT I O N AL M A NG A M US E U M| 京都国際マンガミュージアム
Kyoto International Manga Museum opened in 2006. Its main role
is to record, preserve, and present the long history of comic books
and cartoons, and how humor has helped humankind overcome
some challenging times. The museum’s growing collection
currently consists of some 300,000 books and rare prints, andmany of the current titles can be picked up from the “manga wall”
to be read in any part of the former elementary school building,and outside on the lawn.
Oike-agaru, Karasuma-dori,
Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-0846+81-75-254-7414
Kyoto | Kyoto
MuseumS CHO OL’S OU T
KYOTO ART CE NTE R | 京 都 芸 術センター
In 2000, Kyoto Art Center opened as a means to bring artistsof all genres, from traditional to contemporary, to work under
the same roof. Established in a former elementary school, today
the classrooms function as art studios, galleries, and workshop
rooms. There are exhibitions and performances that are open to
the public, as well as a library and a café. The wooden hallways ofthis Showa Era building make it a great place to wander.
546-2 Yamabushiyama-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-8156+81-75-213-1000
Kyoto | Kyoto
Cultural Center

99+1 | 79

99+1 | 7870

73

W H EN IN N A R A ...
N AR A NAT IO N AL M US EU M | 奈 良 国 立 博 物 館

UND ERGROUND A RT MUS EUM
THE NATI ONAL MUS E UM OF ART, OSAK A | 国立国際美術館

The Western-style structure of the “Nara Buddhist SculptureHall” is representative of the Meiji Era. The new wing, designed
by Junzo Yoshimura in 1972, houses one of the most importantcollections of Buddhist art in Japan. The museum frequently
changes its permanent exhibition display of statues, sculptures,and scrolls, and offers the opportunity for Buddhist art lovers toreturn frequently to its galleries.

First established in 1977, the museum was relocated to its
current space in 2004, and the César Pelli-designed building is a
primarily underground structure. Visitors can only see the winglike arch structure protruding from the ground at first, and haveto descend to the basement floors for more. The museum offers
stellar in-house exhibitions.

50 Noborioji-cho, Nara-shi, Nara 630-8213+81-50-5542-8600
Nara | Nara
Museum

4-2-55 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 530-0005+81-6-6447-4680
Osaka | Osaka
Museum99+1 | 81

99+1 | 80

72

THE WORLD’SS HA RPEST
K NI V ES
SAK AI CI T Y TR ADI TI ONAL
CR AF TS MUS E UM
| 堺伝統産業会館

600 years ago, when Kyoto wasstill the imperial capital, nearby
Sakai City in Osaka was where
the best blades in the world
were forged. Even today, local
community blacksmiths andsharpeners work in pairs tokeep up the tradition, and Sakai
City Traditional Crafts Museum
explains the forging process.
A great variety of knives are
exhibited and available in themuseum and shop for thoseinterested in learning about
this important craft.

#74 - Blacksmith and sharpener in Sakai

1-1-30 Zaimokucho-nishi, Sakai-ku
Sakai-shi, Osaka 590-0941
Osaka | Sakai
Museum, Shop

THE ULTIMATE SPAGETAWAY
AQ UA× I GNIS
| アクアイグニス

75

Situated deep in the mountainsof Mie, this modern hot
spa complex is focused onproviding the ultimate formsof healing and dining for its
guests. Aqua×Ignis consistsof Kataoka Onsen and its
natural hot spring bath andspa facilities; restaurants run
by three award-winning chefs
all using their own organicallygrown produce; and spacious
hotel rooms and villas. The
impeccable attention to detailwill be a treat for both the bodyand the mind.
4800-1 Komono, Komono-cho,Mie-gun, Mie 510-1233+81-59-394-7733
Mie | Komono
Hotel99+1 | 83

99+1 | 82

74

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99+1 | 84

76

FAIRY TALE ARCHITECTURE
TANEYA CLUB HARIE AT L A COLLINA OMIHACHIMAN| たねや クラブ ハリエ ラ コリーナ近 江 八 幡
Since 1872, the Taneya Group has been producing sweets basedon local agricultural products, recipes, and nature. Architect
Terunobu Fujimori designed the company headquarters “La
Collina”, and the giant facility includes restaurants and shops
surrounded by rice fields. Grass grows on roofs and walls curve
like mushrooms, just like something out of a fairy tale.
615-1 Kitanosho-cho,Omihachiman-shi, Shiga 523-0806+81-748-33-6666
Shiga | Omihachiman
Shop

A RT S HA NGRI -L A
MIHO MUSEUMThis private museum was opened in 1997 to house close to 2,000
pieces of art, from Ancient Greek to Roman, and Middle Eastern
to Asian works. Located high in the mountains of Shigaraki,
80% of the museum structure was built underground so as not
to hinder the natural landscape. The architectural marvel was
designed by I. M. Pei, who envisioned creating a “Shangri-La” forthe museum’s collection.
300 Tashiromomodani, Shigaraki-cho, Koka-shi, Shiga 529-1814+81-748-82-3411
Shiga | Koka
MuseumTownhouse in Kurashiki covered with clay tile roofing

99+1 | 86

99+1 | 87

CHUGOKU

79

99+1 | 88

CYC LE IN .
CYC LE O U T.
ON OMICH I U2

78

Situated in a small town facing
the Seto Inland Sea, Onomichi
U2 opened as a complex tosuit the various needs of theavid modern cyclist. The hotel
has rooms equipped with bikeracks; the restaurant, bar andcafé menus were planned withathletes in mind; and thereis, of course, a shop with bikerental service. The complex
is in a renovated warehouse
built in 1943, with a minimal
and warm interior designed byarchitect Makoto Tanijiri.
5-11 Nishigosho-cho, Onomichi-shi,
Hiroshima 722-0037+81-848-21-0550
Hiroshima | Onomichi
Complex

With structures dating backas early as the Kamakura
Period, the Shinshoji Zen
Museum and Gardens offers
a tranquil environment toexperience various practices
of Zen Buddhism. Opened
in September 2016, the vast
grounds of the Shinsho
Temple have much to offer:a reconstruction of the
teahouse designed by masterSen no Rikyu, the temple
office building by Terunobu
Fujimori, and an art pavilion
and installation work by
Kohei Nawa | sandwich arejust a few of the architectural
marvels to be found amongst
its strolling gardens.
91 Kamisanna, Numakuma-cho,
Fukuyama-shi, Hiroshima 720-0401+81-84-988-1111
Hiroshima | Fukuyama
Temple, Garden, Museum#79 - Shinshoji Zen Museum and Gardens

Z E N G AR D E NS
S H I NS H O J I Z E N
M US E U M A ND
G A R D E NS
| 神勝寺 禅と庭のミュージアム

The Adachi Museum of
Art was founded by local
businessman Zenko Adachi
in 1970, in the hope of sharing
N O GUCH I’S
his love for Japanese art andBRID GE S
gardens with the people
PE AC E BRI D G E ,of Japan. Adachi himself
WE ST P E AC E BRID G E| 平和大橋、西平和大橋
assembled its traditionalarts and crafts collection,
which is most famous for 120
Isamu Noguchi visited warquality works by the masterravaged Hiroshima in 1950
when Kenzo Tange invited him Taikan Yokoyama, and he wasalso deeply involved in theto design bridges connecting
landscaping of the rolling
the river island that is homegardens.
to the Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Park to the rest of
the city. The two bridges are
320 Furukawa-cho, Yasugi-shi,
both grandiose, organic forms Shimane 692-0064
looking upwards to the sky; the +81-854-28-7111
West Peace Bridge titled Yuku Shimane | Yasugi(to depart) was designed toMuseumresemble the bow of a Japanese
ship, and the Peace Bridge or
Tsukuru (to build) symbolizes
the rising sun.

80

99+1 | 90

81

Hiroshima Peace Boulevard
Hiroshima | Hiroshima
Bridge#81 - “The Dry Landscape Garden”, Adachi Museum of Art

AWA R D W I NNI NG
GARDENA DACH I M US E U M
O F A RT | 足 立 美 術 館

82

99+1 | 92

99+1 | 93

Onsaka no ie in Kurashiki

GU ESTH O US E C LO S E TO
T RAD ITI O N , M O DER N I N
ST Y LEONSAK A N O I E | 御坂の家
Traditional townhouses are
disappearing. To preserve
this part of Japanese culture,
npo Kurashiki Machiya
Trust restores historicalbuildings and turns them into

guesthouses – like Onsaka
no Ie (house on Onsaka
slope) – a great alternative
to staying in a conventional
hotel room. Modern facilities
and a contemporary design
blend into traditional interior,make experiencing Japan
both comfortable and unique.
Some of Machiya Trust’s
restored buildings wereoriginally constructed one
hundred years ago. Onsaka no
Ie stands on massive granite
blocks arranged like a castle
fortification that bear witness
to a long history. Inside,
however, the atmosphere islight because of wood andpaper walls and the high,sloped ceiling with exposed
beams. From Onsaka no Ie ittakes 15 minutes to the centerof Kurashiki with its landmark
townhouses covered by clay
tile roofing.
11-16 Hon-machi, Kurashiki-shi,
Okayama 710-0054+81-90-7999-6682
Okayama | Kurashiki
Townhouse, Hotel

84

Inujima Seirensho Art Museum

BOOKS AND OTHER TR E A S U R E S
MUSH I BUN KO | 蟲文庫

PEOPLE LI V I NG WI TH A RT, A RT LI V I NG WIT H PEOPL EI NUJI MA | 犬 島

Miho Tanaka loves design, art, and music. Her store, Mushi Bunko
second hand bookshop, is hidden away along a dreamy street ofKurashiki. On display are rare books, postcards, photographs,
CDs, and art objects which she carefully selects. If you're looking
for something out of the ordinary to bring back home, this is theplace. Tanaka’s other love is moss, and her observations about thisfragile plant are published in books and magazines.

Inujima is a remote island of Okayama in the Seto Inland Sea
with a population of 50 people and average age of 70, now
coexisting with contemporary art and architecture. Of note is themuseum by Hiroshi Sambuichi that houses works by Yukinori
Yanagi, and scattered across the island is the "Inujima Art House
Project" with works by artists such as Kohei Nawa, Haruka Kojin,
and Olafur Eliasson.

11-20 Hon-machi, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama 710-0054+81-86-425-8693
Okayama | Kurashiki
Shop

Inujima, Higashi-ku, Okayama-shi, Okayama 704-8153
Okayama | Inujima
Island99+1 | 95

99+1 | 9483

99+1 | 96
#90 - Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture, Imabari

99+1 | 97

SHIKOKU

86

HO M E FO R W IN D, L IG H T AND WAT E R
TE SH IM A ART M USEUM | 豊 島 美 術 館
Teshima Art Museum is a concrete shell in the shape of awaterdrop. Two oval openings allow wind, sound, and light toenter the space – a collaborative effort between architect Ryue
Nishizawa and artist Rei Naito (her installation “Matrix” is the
only work on view). “It was a structural challenge,” explains
Nishizawa. “A space that equals nine tennis courts, has nosupporting columns, and is only 4.5 meters high would normallycollapse. The minimum is 10 to 15 meters, but then you lose
the visual impact!” Nishizawa’s solution was to have the static
program rewritten for stability.
607 Karato, Teshima, Tonosho-cho, Shozu-gun, Kagawa 761-4662+81-879-68-3555
Kagawa | Teshima
MuseumRyue Nishizawa

I NOK UMA-S A N’S LI FE & WORKMARU G AME GE NI CHI RO -I NOKUMA MUS E U M OF
CONTE MP OR ARY ART | 丸 亀 市 猪 熊 弦 一 郎 現代美術館
Artist Genichiro Inokuma (1902-1993) is known for his paintingsand drawings of animals and people, depicted in bold lines andcolors in a style that masterly fuses both the abstract and thefigurative. The museum celebrates the life and work of this artist.
Designed by Yoshio Taniguchi in conversation with Inokuma,
the facade of the building features a large mural by the artist
that also plays as a backdrop to the outdoor sculptures and thetown square. The museum houses 20,000 pieces of work in its
permanent collection and a vibrant exhibition program.
80-1 Hama-machi, Marugame-shi, Kagawa 763-0022+81-877-24-7755
Kagawa | Marugame
Museum99+1 | 99

99+1 | 98

85

87

88

A RT ISL A N D H O P PIN G
SE TO U C HI T RI EN N AL E | 瀬 戸 内 国 際 芸 術 祭
Set against the scenic waters of the Seto Inland Sea, the Setouchi
Triennale first launched in 2010 to bring domestic and global
awareness to the area and its issues of declining population. The
2016 edition took place on 12 islands and 2 ports from spring toautumn, with site-specific works by 226 artists. Many of these
are large-scale outdoor installations that remain even after thefestival, and become a part of daily life for the island's inhabitants.
Islands in the Seto Inland Sea and the coastal cities of Takamatsu and Uno+81-87-813-0853
Kagawa | Setouchi
Island, Event

THE ST UD I O THAT NO GUCHI BUI LT
THE I SAMU NO GU CHI G ARDE N MUS E UM JAPAN| イサム・ノグチ庭 園 美 術 館
Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) first
visited Kagawa in 1956 on a trip to source material for a landscapecommission from the unesco Headquarters in Paris. Taken by the
scenic mountains and the isolation in which he could concentrateon his art-making, he founded a studio in the town, and divided
his time between New York and Takamatsu until his death. The
museum can only be visited by booking a tour, which allows thevisitor to walk inside the artist’s studio (formerly a sake cellar)
with his final works just as he had left them, around his home, andup to the sculpture garden which the artist built himself.
3519 Mure, Mure-cho, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa 761-0121+81-87-870-1500
Kagawa | Takamatsu
Museum99+1 | 101

99+1 | 100

Marine station “Naoshima” by SANAA

99+1 | 102

89

EAST MEETS WEST
KAGAWA PREFECTURAL GOVERNMENT OFFICE E AST WING
| 香川県庁舎
Completed in 1958, the East building was formerly the main hallof the Kagawa Prefectural Government office building, designed
by Kenzo Tange, who incorporated many elements inspired by Le
Corbusier. Tange was introduced to the then-governor throughartist Genichiro Inokuma, which led to a collaboration of sorts,
with Inokuma creating vibrant tile murals installed in the lobby.
4-1-10 Bancho, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa 760-8570+81-87-831-1111
Kagawa | Takamatsu
Government office#89 - Kagawa Prefectural Government Office East Wing

90

91

PL ACE OF PILGRIMAGE FOR ITO FANSTOYO ITO M USEUM O F A RCH I T ECT U R E , I M A B A R I| 今治市伊東豊雄建築ミュージアム

THE FE ATS OF THE FATHER OF JA PA NE SE BOTANYTHE KO CHI P RE FECTUR AL MAKI NO B OTAN IC AL G AR D EN
| 高知県立牧野植物園

Imabari is the hometown of Japan’s great postwar architect Kenzo
Tange, so when Pritzker Architecture Prize winning architect Toyo
Ito was offered the opportunity to build a museum there in his
own name, he was hesitant out of modesty. The mayor, however,convinced him, and now the town has two landmark structuresthat make up the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture: Steel Hut for
exhibitions and Silver Hut for workshops - both overlooking theSeto Inland Sea.

First opened in 1958 to honor the achievements of Tomitaro
Makino (1862-1957), the “father of Japanese Botany” and a Kochi
native, this botanical garden sprawls across six hectares on themountainside of Godaisan. Within are 3,000 species of plants,
many of which Makino himself studied, a conservatory (openedin 2010), an exhibition hall, shops, a café, and a restaurant open to
the public. The garden also has a herbarium and a research centerwith limited access to the public.

2418 Urado, Omishima-cho, Imabari-shi, Ehime 794-1308+81-897-74-7220
Ehime | ImabariMuseum

4200-6 Godaisan, Kochi-shi, Kochi 781-8125+81-88-882-2601
Kochi | Kochi
Garden99+1 | 105

99+1 | 104

Toyo Ito

KYUSHU &OKINAWAAso volcano

99+1 | 107

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Kyushu National Museum

Unsen volcano

VO LCA N OWO RLD S

Manai Falls, Takachiho Gorge

Unzen volcano

In the late 1960s, the American
artist Robert Smithson coined
the term “land art.” Works are
not simply placed outdoors, but
created as part of nature and thelandscape (spot #59). One of the
proponents of this movement,
James Turrell, even turned
an entire volcano in Arizona
into an art installation. Whichbrings us to the southern islandof Kyushu with its 30 active andinactive volcanoes. They arepart of a fascinating landscape,where nature has created its own
version of land art that visitors
to Japan should not miss. It
is the awareness of powerfulforces designing nature thatis so inspiring when hiking
along crater rims, especially forarchitects or artists.

Our tour begins in Kagoshima,a city with 600,000 inhabitants
and a picturesque bay facing
Sakurajima – the “cherry
blossom island” that is also an
active volcano. Around here,
the fruit hanging from the trees
is wrapped in white paper toprotect it, graves in cemeteries
have their own roofs, andpeople carry umbrellas despite
the sunshine, all in case it
suddenly starts raining ash.
And when it does, there’s aslight tingling on your skin as
if you were being bombarded
by tiny insects, and your lower
arms are soon covered in grey
powder the consistency of finely
ground pepper. It’s a bizarre
sensation. Often the powdery
precipitation stops after a few

99+1 | 109

99+1 | 108+1

minutes, but if it doesn’t andthe rain comes, it’s like India
ink dripping from the sky.
From there, the tour continues
in the direction of KirishimaKinkowan National Park.
Where there are volcanoes inJapan, hot springs are rarely
far away, and with themryokan, traditional Japanese
inns - many with their own
spring water supply. And
that’s another thing that sets
volcano walkers apart fromordinary mountain hikers:
after the rigors of the day, you
can take a leisurely soak ina sulfurous hot tub beneaththe stars, sake bottle within

comfortable reach. One
example is Myuken Ishiharaso,
which was partly created by
Japan’s renowned interior
designer Takashi Sugimotoof Super Potato. Here heplayfully unites postmodern
elements with traditional
Japanese features – double
glass walls, for example, filled
to the ceiling with coloredbottles. Some have walls madeof stacked-up driftwood, or apolished granite rock weighing
a ton; perfect for setting yourcocktail glass upon.
On to Kirishima-Kinkowan
National Park, which features
dozens of craters scattered

An eruption around 200 years
ago sparked a chain of events
which led to 15,000 deaths.
From another blast 26 years
ago, bizarre remnants standevery few hundred meterslike an outdoor installationof a sculpture park. This iswhere you’ll find roadsidebarriers wrapped around trees
like the curled lid of an open
sardine can, or a light-blue

Shelter at Aso crater rim

washing machine half-miredin petrified volcanic dust. To
get a better view of Unzen you
had better take to the skies ina helicopter from Nagasaki.
After 20 minutes, you cancircumnavigate the aweinspiring volcano at an altitudeof 2,000 meters.
There’s also no ignoring Mt.
Aso, Japan’s largest active
volcano with a sizable, bowlshaped caldera that’s not
only estimated to be 380km²,
but is home to a populationof 50,000 living directly on
top of it. The most popular of
Aso’s peaks, Nakadake, canbe reached by cable car andlooks like a barren moonscape,with a crater rim lined withconcrete shelters in case ofan unexpected eruption.
Together with the majestic
surroundings, they might aswell go for land art as well. -rh

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99+1 | 110

Aso crater

across the landscape, someof them filled with turquoise
lakes. At Mt. Io, the sulfur
mountain, heat hits you in
the face, and stones crumble
underfoot to reveal their
yellow innards. After that,it’s back again to fragrantmeadows and woods, andon across the water. To getfrom Amakusa to the Unzen
volcano massif, the ferryboat
has to churn through wind
and waves for 40 minutes,
pursued by gulls who divebomb you to snatch potato
chips from your outstretchedhands. After mooring, it’sanother hour’s drive to Unzen,“the cloud mountain”. It’s
currently rated as “safe”, but it
wasn’t always that way.

99+1 | 112

99+1 | 113

ART EXP ER IEN C E IN A SH O P P I NG M A L L
M ITSUB I S H I ESTAT E ART I U M | 三菱地所アルティアム

92

mitsubishi estate artium is an art gallery on the 8th floorof Inter Media Station (ims), a giant shopping mall in the heartof Fukuoka. The gallery has a genre-free approach to curation,
featuring a range of art in addition to photography, fashion,
design, architecture, and film. Exhibitions generally run for amonth at a time and feature local artists, as well as those active inTokyo and internationally.
IMS 8F, 1-7-11 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 810-0001+81-92-733-2050
Fukuoka | Fukuoka
Gallery

G ATEWAY TO A S I A
F UKU OK A AS I AN ART MUS E UM
| 福 岡アジア美 術 館

93

Fukuoka Asian Art Museum is a unique institution which
focuses its collection and exhibition programming on modern
and contemporary Asian art. This museum opened its doors in
1999, with hopes to elicit dialogues across Asian visual cultures.
In addition to residency and public education programs,
the museum organizes the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, aninternational contemporary art exhibition.
Riverain Center Building 7F & 8F,
3-1 Shimokawabata-machi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 812-0027+81-92-263-1100
Fukuoka | Fukuoka
Museum95

JAPAN A N D A S IA
KY USH U N AT I O N AL M US E U M | 九 州 国 立 博 物 館

LO CA L C ULT URE CENTER OF GLOBA L SCAL E
KY US HU GE I B UNK AN | 九 州 芸 文 館

Seeing and walking into the impressive structure is worth theslight hike from the station. Set against the mountains, theexterior glass walls of the museum, designed by Kyushu native
Kiyonori Kikutake, mirror the surrounding trees and skies. The
museum’s exhibition program strives to address the history andthe relationship between Japan and its Asian neighbors.

This public multi-purpose town cultural center, designed by
Kengo Kuma, was opened in 2013 to provide a flexible public space
for the community to come and grow together. Today, it offers
art, craft, and language classes in addition to music events and art
exhibitions. There are permanent works of art installed indoors
and outdoors.

4-7-2 Ishizaka, Dazaifu-shi, Fukuoka 818-0118+81-92-918-2807
Fukuoka | Dazaifu
Museum1131 Tsushima, Chikugo-shi, Fukuoka 833-0015+81-942-52-6435
Fukuoka | Chikugo
Museum99+1 | 115

99+1 | 114

94

97

SC E N IC C O EXIST EN C E
N AG ASAKI P REF EC T UR A L A RT M US E U M | 長 崎 県 美 術 館
Located at the edge of the Nagasaki Seaside Park, this Kengo Kuma
and Nihon Sekkei-designed institution opened in 2005 with theconcept of a “breathing museum”: To inhale what surrounds, andto coexist with the collective output of new ideas. The enormous
yet elegant glass and stone structure is surrounded by a moat
connected to the sea, and is in visual harmony with the sky andthe nearby waters.
2-1 Dejima-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 850-0862+81-95-833-2110
Nagasaki | Nagasaki
Museum

Yayoi Kusama, “INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM — early spring rain 2002 — ”, 2002

MUS EUM FOR THE CI T Y A ND I TS PEOPLE
CONTE MP OR ARY ART MUS E UM, KUMAMOTO| 熊本市現代美術館
Located in central Kumamoto, camk is one of the few
contemporary art museums in Kyushu. Opened in 2002, its goal
is to bring art closer to people’s lives, and to bring the community
closer through art. Today, it is actively engaged in providing
events for the community, and functions as a community centerof sorts. Work by James Turrell is permanently installed amongst
the unique bookshelves designed by Marina Abramovic.
2-3 Kamitori-cho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto-shi, Kumamoto 860-0845+81-96-278-7500
Kumamoto | Kumamoto
Museum99+1 | 117

99+1 | 116

96

99

ART AN D N AT UR E IN ITS F U L L E ST
KIR ISH IMA O P EN -AI R M US E U M | 鹿 児 島 県 霧 島アートの 森
Situated on a hillside 700 meters above sea level, the Kirishima
Open-Air Museum is host to many site-specific sculptures and art
installations by contemporary Japanese and foreign artists. Iconic
works by Jonathan Borofsky, Dan Graham, Yayoi Kusama, andNoboru Tsubaki are just a few of the works seen on the grounds.
Its indoor space, designed by Kunihiko Hayakawa, houses many
more sculptures by notable artists such as Anish Kapoor, Marisol,
and Takashi Murakami. In addition to its impressive permanentcollection, the museum holds temporary exhibitions and events.
6340-220 Koba, Yusui-cho, Aira-gun, Kagoshima 899-6201+81-995-74-5945
Kagoshima | Yusui-cho
Museum
Yayoi Kusama

OK I NAWA’S HI STORY I N A GUS UK U
OKI NAWA P RE FECTUR AL MUS E UM AND ART MUSEU M| 沖縄県立博物館・美術館
This museum complex in Naha has an expansive programming
geared at preserving and researching its local history and culture.
Artifacts embedded with unique Okinawan folklore and traditions
are on display, while the art museum elicits active dialogues
regarding Okinawa’s complicated modern history throughexhibitions of contemporary works by local artists.
3-1-1 Omoro-machi, Naha-shi, Okinawa 900-0006+81-98-941-8200
Okinawa | Naha
Museum99+1 | 119

99+1 | 118

98

ACKNOWLED G EMENTSC O N T RI B U TO RS

RO L A N D H AG ENBERGED ITO R IN CH I EF, W R I T ER

IA N LY NA M
DESIGNER

99+1 JAPAN: TravelingA b out JN TO

thro ug h a r t , d esig n &Japan National Tourism Organizationa rchit e c t ure is a pocket(JNTO) is a government body

publication borne out of our love forwhose aim is to promote Japan

integrating creative experiences withinternationally as a leisure,travel. The “+1” for any trip in Japan isconference, meeting, and eventthe unexpected location that makes

destination. Consisting of offices

the trip extra special, from a backstreet

around the world, JNTO is the ultimatebookstore to a mountain hike into

resource for travel-related information

inspiring scenery. What’s your +1?

on Japan.

Special thanks to everyone who

www.jnto.go.jp

contributors

the museums, galleries, and other

Publisher

spaces that provided support andJapan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)

encouragement.

4-4-1, Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
160-0004

We also send our thanks to:
Zenbon Tei and Ryo Ito for getting
this project moving forward;
Nao Arai, Mayu Otani, and everyone
R E N N A O KUBOWR IT ERM ICHA EL KEFERL
DIREC TOR

at NAVITIME Japan for keeping
everything on track; Don Kennedy forimage editing; Jan Fiedler andMarky Star for proofreading our work;
Keiko Sakabe and Yutaka Akahoshi for
coordinating locations.

Printed by Kousoku Printing Co.,Ltd.
Published January 2017
M I MMO CANG IANO BELC UO RE
C R E AT IV E D IR ECTOR

YOKO KITA KO G A
PROJEC T MANAGER

All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy or any storage andretrieval system, without permission in writingfrom the publisher.

acknowledgements

made this book happen, especiallyPH OTO C R E DI TS© Roland Hagenberg: cover, pp.3, 4, 6, 15, 17(bottom), 22, 24 #17, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33(bottom), 34 (bottom), 35 #24 (bottom), 37 (bottom),38, 43 #35, 49, 50 (bottom), 55 (bottom), 57, 58(bottom), 61, 68, 72 (bottom), 74 #66, 80, 84, 90, 92,
96 (bottom), 102, 104-105, 109, 110, 116 (bottom)

photo credits© Said Karlsson: pp.32, 33 (top), 34 (top)Cited:
p.2 - Keiko Sakabe
p.8 #03 - Courtesy of MOERENUMA PARK
p.8 #04 - Fujiko Nakaya, “FOGSCAPE #47412”,
2014, installation view at Sapporo International Art
Festival. Photo: Keizo Kioku / Courtesy of Sapporo
International Art Festival Executive Committee
p.9 - Ryuichi Sakamoto + Daito Manabe, “Sensing
Streams - invisible, inaudible”, 2014, installation viewat Sapporo International Art Festival 2014, Photo:
Keizo Kioku / Courtesy of Sapporo International Art
Festival Executive Committee
p.10 - Shouya Grigg
p.12 - Yoko Ono, “Wish Tree for Towada”, © Yoko Ono
All Rights Reserved
p.14 - Koichi Torimura
p.16, 17 top - Courtesy of Atelier Tekuto
p.18 #7 - Courtesy of Aomori Museum of Art
p.20 - Courtesy of Onagawa-cho
p.23 #15 - Courtesy of Ken Domon Museum of
Photography
p.24 #16 - Courtesy of Tendo Co.,Ltd
p.25 #19 - Shin Suzuki
p.35 #23 - © 藤塚光政 Fujitsuka Mitsumasa
p.35 #24 top - Taka Ishii Gallery
p.36 #25 - Daici Ano
p.36 #26 - Masaya Yoshimura
p.39 #30 - Courtesy of Hoshinoya Tokyo
p.43 #36 - © The National Museum of Western Art,Tokyo
p.44 - Akira Satop.45 - Courtesy of National Museum of Nature andSciencep.46 - Yasuyuki Kasagi
p.47 - Shinro Ohtake, “Retinamnesia Filtration Shed”,
2014 © Shinro Ohtake, Courtesy of Take Ninagawa,Tokyo, installation view at Yokohama Triennale 2014.
Photo: TANAKA Yuichiro / Courtesy of Organizing
Committee for Yokohama Triennale
p.48 #42 - Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
pp.50 top, 51 - Courtesy of Art Tower Mito
p.55 - Hiroshi Hara + Atelier Φ, Echigo-Tsumari
Satoyama Museum of Contemporary Art, KINARE /Photo by ANZA ï
p.56 - © Satoyama Jujo
p.59 #49 - © Hiroshi Sugimoto / IZU PHOTO
MUSEUM
p.62 #53 - Courtesy of D.T. Suzuki Museum
p.62 #54 - Naoki Ishikawa
pp.64, 65 - Osamu Watanabe / Courtesy of 21stCentury Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
p.66 - © Akitsugu Kojima
p.67 - © 1997 Estate of Madeline Gins
p.70 #61 - Courtesy of Anteroom
p.71 #62 - Akiyoshi Fukuzawa
p.72 top - © Katsumi Yasuda
p.73 #64 - Kunihiro Shikata
p.75 #68 - Toshiharu Kitajima
p.77 - Toshie Kusamoto
p.82 - © La Collina
p.86 #78 - Tetsuya Ito / Courtesy of DISCOVERLINK
Setouchip.87 - © SANDWICH
p.89 - “The Dry Landscape Garden” / Courtesy of
Adachi Museum of Art
p.93 - Daici Ano
pp.94-95 - © Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture
p.96 - Noboru Morikawa
p.97 - Tadasu Yamamoto
p.98 - Marine station “Naoshima” by SANAA
p.99 - Courtesy of The Isamu Noguchi Garden
Museum Japan
pp.100, 101 - Courtesy of Kagawa Prefecture
pp.106, 107, 108 - Steven West
p.112 - Courtesy of Kyushu National Museum
p.115 - Yayoi Kusama, “INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM
— early spring rain 2002 —”, 2002, Contemporary
Art Museum, Kumamoto

KANSAISHIKOKU

60 Hotel Anteroom Kyoto

85 Teshima Art Museum

61 KOU-AN Glass Tea House

86 Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma

62 Toraya Kyoto Ichijo Shop

Museum of Contemporary Art

63 Somushi

87 Setouchi Triennale

64 The National Museum of Modern

88 Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum Japan89 Kagawa Prefectural Government

Art, Kyoto
65 Kawai Kanjiro's House

Office East Wing
90 Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture,

66 Higashi Honganji
67 Kaho Gallery

Imabari
91 The Kochi Prefectural Makino

68 Kyoto National Museum, Heisei

Botanical Garden

Chishinkan
70 Kyoto International Manga Museum

KYUSHU & OKINAWA+1 Volcano Worlds

71 Kyoto Art Center

92 MITSUBISHI ESTATE ARTIUM

72 Nara National Museum

93 Fukuoka Asian Art Museum

73 The National Museum of Art, Osaka

94 Kyushu National Museum

74 Sakai City Traditional Crafts Museum

95 Kyushu Geibunkan

75 Aqua×Ignis

96 Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum

76 Taneya Club Harie at La Collina

97 Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto

69 Katayama Bunzaburo Shoten

98 Kirishima Open-Air Museum

Omihachiman

99 Okinawa Prefectural Museum and

77 Miho Museum

Art Museum
CHUGOKU
78 Onomichi u2
79 Shinshoji Zen Museum and Gardens
80 Peace Bridge, West Peace Bridge

TOHOKU

81 Adachi Museum of Art

p12–2582 Onsaka no Ie

HOKKAIDO
CHUBU

83 Mushi Bunko

p04-11

p52–p67

84 Inujima

KANSAI
p68–83CHUGOKU
p84–93

TOKYO & KANTO
KYUSHU
OKINAWA
p104–117

p26–51SHIKOKU
p94–103

Get off the beaten path and onto a more creative trajectoryby planning your trip to Japan around art, design, andarchitectural experiences. Featuring 99 unique locations
covering every region in the country, you’ll be able toeasily put a trip together or enhance your current plans.
Comments by architects and designers, and feature essays
by writer Roland Hagenberg provide additional insights.
HOKKAIDO
TO H O KUTOK YO & K A N TO
CHUBU
K A N SA I
C H U GO KU
S H I KO KU
KY US H U & O K I N AWA“We are all travelers. So, how shall we best traverse
the Japanese archipelago? Here’s the answer.”- Hiroshi Hara, architect“An indispensable guide to creative travel in Japan from some of
the most knowledgable experts on the subject.”- Mark Dytham, architect
Find the full comprehensive guide and suggested itineraries atart.japan.travel
Cover photo: Terunobu Fujimori’s Flying Mud Boat and Takasugi-an