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Tiny house by Muji finally goes on sale in Japan

Oona McGee
Apr 25, 2017
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The long-awaited release of the Muji Hut has finally arrived, and the first lots for sale come complete with a garden.

Japan
(architecture • design • muji • MUJI HUT • Mujirushi Ryohin • tiny homes • tiny houses)

Tiny house in Japanese woods is the getaway we’d love to escape to【Video】

Oona McGee
Mar 21, 2017

A getaway home becomes a family home, with a young father who says his ties to family are stronger thanks to downsized living.

Japan
(architecture • cabins • nature • tiny homes • tiny house • tiny house movement • tiny houses)

We visit the breathtaking “House of Light” in the Japanese countryside

Oona McGee
Jan 9, 2017

With an “Outside-in” room and a bath lit by fibre optics, this is one of Japan’s most unique places to stay.

Japan
(accommodation • architecture • Echigo Tsumari • Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale • hotels • inns • James Turrell • Niigata)

Tomaya: The old Japanese inn that only accepts reservations by post

Oona McGee
Dec 10, 2016

The mysterious guesthouse is so unique it has a slew of repeat guests who have fallen in love with its rustic charms.

Japan
(accommodation • architecture • cool • hotels • inns • tourism • tradition • traditional Japan • travel • wow)

Japanese company iJet 3-D prints Tokyo in 100 little pieces for Kickstarter campaign

Andrew Kane
Oct 18, 2016

Ever wanted to own a piece of Tokyo real estate? Now a tiny piece of the megalopolis can be yours, thanks to this Japanese company.

Japan
(3D printing • architecture • Kickstarter • Tokyo)

Tiny houses are back and more versatile than ever with Yadokari and Enjoyworks’ Skeleton Huts!

Shannon McNaught
Jul 19, 2016

Would you like your new tiny house in Small or Large?

Japan
(architecture • tiny homes • tiny house)

Yamaha gives us a glimpse into the future of transport with two awesome new mobility vehicles

Oona McGee
Jun 27, 2016

A boat-inspired vehicle and a three-wheeler with built-in protection from the elements have been created in conjunction with a respected Japanese architect.

Japan
(architecture • cars • concept cars • cool • design • Omishima • resort • technology • transport • vehicles • Yamaha)

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

Oona McGee
Jun 19, 2016

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

Culture, Cute, Japan
(architecture • buildings • country life • cute • Hiroshima • houses • milk)

Rare photos from inside North Korea’s mysterious buildings

BUSINESS INSIDER
Jun 16, 2016

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.

Culture, North Korea
(architecture • buildings • North Korea • photography)

Look for one of the weirdest looking buildings in Tokyo to find some very delicious pineapple cake

KK Miller
Apr 1, 2016

You would never be able to guess it’s a pastry shop from the outside.

Japan
(architecture • awesome • cake • cool • free • restaurants • SunnyHills • sweets)

New Tokyo Olympic stadium architect responds to accusations of plagiarism

Jessica
Jan 18, 2016

It seems controversy over the new National Stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics isn’t over yet.

Global, Japan
(2020 Olympics • architecture • design • National Stadium • plagiarism • sports • Tokyo)

Japanese architect turns eight one-room apartments into quirky Cubism-inspired family home【Video】

Philip Kendall
Jan 14, 2016

Built with wooden frames and light materials, the majority of Japanese homes are torn down and rebuilt from scratch once they begin to age. But one architect in Chiba had a slightly different idea…

Japan
(Apartment • architecture • conversion • design • Fair Companies • homes • Japan • Kirsten Dirksen • video)

Muji enters the tiny house game, showcases its line of wonderfully minimalist ‘Muji Huts’

Philip Kendall
Nov 10, 2015

Japan does small better than pretty much any other country in the world. From intricate origami to beautiful bonsai to sushi made with barely a dozen grains of rice, the Japanese people are known for their dexterity and attention to detail.

It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that Japanese retailer Muji is now getting into the tiny house movement and recently showcased its range of prefabricated ‘Muji Hut’ minimalist homes and hangouts.

Japan
(architecture • home design • MUJI HUT • photos • retreats • tiny house movement)

Five beautiful pylon designs that belong in Japan

Oona McGee
Oct 8, 2015

Whenever we see something that’s cute, huge and blows our minds, we generally look to Japan as the source behind the creation. While they’ve proved they can be design innovators in oversized sushi, and the creation of fluffy giant cats, there’s one area where Japan has a lot to learn from other countries, and its something that exists around the country in abundance: power lines.

Often seen towering over rice fields, propped up on the side of mountains and jutting out beyond the high rises, wouldn’t it be significantly more amazing if the ordinary-looking transmission tower had the occasional smiley face or pair of gigantic arms like a colossal Titan? We take a look at some amazing electricity pylon designs from around the world, in the hope that one day, Japan will turn its keen design eye in their direction.

Global
(architecture • art • design • electricity • energy • Iceland • infrastructure • pylon competition)

We visit Tokyo’s Reversible Destiny Lofts, the apartments designed to make you live forever【Pics】

Fran W
Sep 14, 2015

Incongruous in their grey surroundings, these multicoloured buildings looks like something in a children’s playground, or perhaps an outsized set of toy building blocks. But these colourful constructions are Reversible Destiny lofts—rental apartments in Tokyo’s Mikata City. And the inside of these eccentric properties is just as extraordinary and confusing as the exterior.

But what is “Reversible Destiny” anyway? And how is living in a playful apartment supposed to make you immortal? We sent a reporter from our Japanese sister site Pouch to find out.

Japan
(Arakawa • architecture • art • design • Madeline Gins • Mikata Reversible Destiny Lofts • Tokyo)

You’d never guess this strange bubble house village is located in Japan

Mike
Sep 8, 2015

The architecture in Japan tends to look pretty much the same in most neighborhoods. It’s always a mix of older, traditional homes with sloping roofs and those distinctive, old-timey shingles, which butt up against the blockier modern buildings, plus decaying shanty houses on an alarming number of corners that all look like they could come crashing down at any moment. Sure, there is the occasional bizarre Halloween village out of nowhere, and the skyscrapers and such can be cool and varied, that’s generally the pattern.

So imagine how extra disorienting it would be to stumble upon this largely unheard-of village of beautifully weird polystyrene bubble houses in the Middle of Nowhere, Japan.

Japan
(architecture • hotels • resorts • travel • Wakayama • weird)

Sayonara, stadium! Tokyo tosses out design for 252 billion-yen Olympic site, starts from scratch

Casey Baseel
Jul 18, 2015

I’ve got nothing but love for Tokyo, and I’ve spent a good chunk of my adult life working and playing in Japan’s city of cities. Still, I remember having mixed emotions when it was announced as the site of the 2020 Olympics.

Like everyone at RocketNews24, I truly believe Japan is an awesome place, and I’m happy whenever something happens that gets people to take a peek at what’s going on here. But I was worried that in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics, Japan would embark on a glut of overly extravagant construction projects, building needlessly expensive stadiums that would fall into disuse or disrepair soon after the Games ended, as has happened in so many other host cities.

That certainly seemed to be what was happening with Tokyo’s New National Stadium. Every few months came a new report that cost estimates had been revised up yet again, and the expected price tag recently soared to 252 billion yen (US$2.02 billion). Finally, though, the Tokyo Olympics organizers have said enough is enough, and they’ve decided to toss out the existing design completely and start over from scratch.

Japan
(architecture • Olympics • sports • Tokyo • Tokyo Olympics)

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

Oona McGee
Jul 6, 2015

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.

Japan
(architecture • buildings • design • Shibuya • Tokyo • travel)

Japanese “minimal house” is both irresistibly cute and surprisingly cheap

Scott Wilson
Apr 15, 2015

With a population of over 100 million in a land area smaller than California, space is not cheap in Japan. Because of that, many people live in apartments stacked on top of each other, and the idea of living in a house is, for many, just a very expensive dream.

But not anymore! The modern-home companies Yadokari and Azumaya have teamed up to release “Inspiration,” a “minimal house” which they advertize as only costing about the same price as a new car. It’s cute, efficient, built to last, and we want one really badly!

Japan
(architecture • cute • japanese design • small houses • tiny houses)

Narita Airport’s new budget terminal has running track floors, mattress-inspired sofas 【Video】

Casey Baseel
Apr 10, 2015

Narita Airport is the Tokyo area’s largest access point for air travelers. This month, the terminal added a new terminal specifically designed for low-cost carriers and budget travelers, but as this sneak peak video shows, affordable can overlap with innovative and stylish, as Terminal 3 is set to prove that you don’t have to spend big to help people travel in ease and comfort.