buildings

Japan’s Three Most Disappointing Tourist Sites: Sapporo Clock Tower

Why does this top tourist spot fall short of so many people’s expectations?

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Blackboards in the west, hallways in the north: Japanese school layouts spark discussion online

Are all Japanese schools designed the same way???

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Neighbors Kamikitazawa introduces us to the cool side of shared Tokyo apartment rentals

Where neighbours become good friends…

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Is this the tiniest teleworking space in Japan?

Small building comes with a big price tag. 

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Shibuya Loft’s new Mini Log House: The perfect hideaway for a stylish staycay

Tiny cabin makes big dreams come true.

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China’s “Little Kyoto” shut down by government after complaints of Japanese culture “invasion”

The future of the newly opened Japan-themed complex now remains unclear. 

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Tokyo Olympics Village looks like an eerie ghost town

Athletes Village could be the real-life setting for a disaster film right now.

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Japanese convenience store overtaken by nature and vending machines, looks like a Ghibli movie

Street-corner shambles holds a magical allure

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Twitter searches for the mysterious Shinsekis…and their potty-trained rabbit

A surprise message left in the walls of a home leads to a widespread search for the previous homeowners.

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Japanese architecture firm unveils plans for world’s tallest wooden skyscraper in Japan

The new building is a feat of environmentally conscious engineering that will stand taller than Tokyo Tower.

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Japanese family lives and works in a milk carton house in Hiroshima

Forget the little old lady who lived in a shoe; there’s a Japanese family who lives in a milk carton.

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Rare photos from inside North Korea’s mysterious buildings

Kim Jong Suk Creche, Pyongyang Oliver Wainwright

For 10 days, architect, photographer, and architecture and design critic for The Guardian, Oliver Wainwright, traveled to Pyongyang, North Korea where he got tours inside buildings, with permission to photograph.

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Japanese photographer captures gorgeous photos of timeless building facades in Tokyo

It must take Hitoshi Kobayashi a long time to walk anywhere if his collection of photographs is any indication. The photographer has been gaining attention online for his galleries of photos dedicated solely to the facades of local buildings tucked away in the quiet streets and alleyways of suburban Tokyo. In fact, taking a stroll through his pictures is almost like being spirited away to another world and time altogether. 

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Shibuya Station 2019: one step closer to the Neo-Tokyo of our dreams

If you’ve been to Shibuya Station recently, you’ll have seen one area in particular that’s filled with crowds, noise and trucks; and it’s not the meeting place around the famous statue of Hachiko.

It’s the massive redevelopment project currently underway to revitalise the district and deliver a completely new-looking Shibuya by 2027. Latest pictures of the next high-rise in the pipeline reveal just how amazing life in Neo-Tokyo will be.

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Buildings in China slowly collide, shoddy worksmanship suspected

The Leaning Tower of Pisa might be able to draw huge crowds due to the fact that it’s a bit on the wonky side, but generally we prefer our buildings to stand upright. It’s no surprise, then, that locals in Shanghai, China were quite rightfully a bit flustered when these two apartment buildings decided to lean on each other for a bit of a rest. But what prompted these separately-constructed buildings to start nuzzling each other, and is this really safe?

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China’s “paper building” looks like it would topple over if we pushed hard enough

It’s no secret that the apartments and houses in Japan are incredibly small, especially in saturated areas such as Tokyo. But even Japan’s tiny homes are no match for this extremely narrow “paper building” in Shanghai, China! How do people even live in there?!
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China’s 10 weirdest buildings as chosen by foreigners, People’s Daily Building debuts at #1

Last year the netizens of China got together and voted on the most bizarre buildings in the “Outrageous Architecture Championship of China”. This event helped raise awareness about the ever-receding limits of Chinese design since the booming economy began.

This year, voting was held again. However, rather than Chinese nationals, foreigners were called upon to judge which buildings were the funniest, gaudiest, and most confusing of the lot. The results were presented by Ben Hedges in his program: A Laowai’s View of China. Let’s see what they were.

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