Once every two years, Brussels turns its Grand-Place into a living work of art. This year, artist Hiro Sugiyama transformed the cobblestones into a vibrant floral display as the Belgian capital celebrates the 24th edition of its Flower Carpet featuring one of Japan’s most-iconic images.
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Is it a park? A building? A pathway? A Landscape? It’s one of our most-anticipated architecture project of 2026, and it just opened yesterday (August 7) in Fukuoka, just steps away from Hakata Station. Meiji Park is a new 3,572-square-meter urban park designed by Sou Fujimoto. Architecture and landscape are woven together vertically, creating a continuous environment of terraces, elevated paths, plazas, and greenery.
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Japanese architect Kiyo Takeda belongs to a new generation of designers challenging the long-held notion that architecture should impose order on nature. Instead, his work embraces unpredictability, creating buildings that evolve over time as plants, weather, and the surrounding ecosystem become active collaborators.
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For more than a century, Kokuyo has been quietly refining the humble tools of the desk. Beyond a pursuit of quality and utilitarianism, the Osaka-based maker of stationery tools has always tried to “pique the curiosity of those who hold it.” Their newest “Transparent Mechanism” collection doesn’t introduce new functions so much as reveal the engineering that has been there all along.
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For decades, Japan’s convenience stores have been admired for, well, their convenience. By being sweetly attuned to utilitarian consumer needs, the ubiquitous 24/7 conbini has spread across Japan, achieving an unparalleled density that is perhaps second only to vending machines. This week, FamilyMart, one of the largest operators of conbini, launched their new FAMIMA concept store aimed at reimagining the conbini experience.
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Minimal lifestyle brand MUJI has been in the homebuilding business for over a decade. And in recent year they have expanded their focus to not just building new homes but renovating old kominka folk homes. The latest offshoot of that business is nihon no kokagu, an initiative launching this month that breathes new life into tables, cabinets, chests and other household furnishings that have been collected from traditional homes across Japan.
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Most of us erase mistakes without a second thought. The curled ribbons that gather beneath an eraser are little more than evidence of revisions before they’re brushed into the trash. But Saya Irie sees them differently. For Irie , they’re the beginning of something entirely new. The Japanese artist erases images and then uses those eraser shavings to recompose the images into three-dimensional form, transforming the byproduct of erasure into delicate works of art.
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In Japan, it’s not unusual to see people treating cherished objects with a surprising degree of reverence. Dolls receive memorial services, broken sewing needles are honored in annual ceremonies, and even discarded electronics are occasionally given ritual farewells. Now, the country’s long tradition of animistic belief has found perhaps its most adorable expression yet: Japan’s first shrine dedicated entirely to plush toys. Earlier this week, on a rainy morning, over 200 people carrying their beloved stuffed animals passed through a torii gate with ears and made their way to the opening ceremony of this new shrine that had opened in northern Kyoto.
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Japanese artist Daisuke Tajima has built a career drawing cities that seem to exist somewhere between science fiction and reality. His sprawling black-and-white landscapes are packed with towering structures, tangled infrastructure and dizzying perspectives that appear to expand endlessly beyond the edges of the paper. In his latest solo exhibition, Infinite Emptiness (Mugen Kyomu), Tajima turns that visual intensity toward a timely question: what happens when endless growth begins to feel hollow?
Continue readingThere’s no better time to escape Tokyo than the summer. While beaches and mountain retreats offer temporary relief, there’s another way to flee the capital: follow the art. From giant robotic insects in rural Aomori to a celebration of one of Japan’s most beloved manga artists in Tottori, these five exhibitions offer compelling reasons to venture beyond the usual museum circuit.
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Japanese Aquarium Drops 2026 Version of Flowchart Illustrating Their Penguin Relationships. This Year There’s an English Version.
Tatsuo Horiuchi | the 73-year old Excel spreadsheet artist
Kirie Artist Carves Playful Narratives Into Tree Leaves
Discarded Tatami Mats are Reborn as Contemporary Furniture
Senko Hanabi Earrings are the Perfect Summer Accessory
