Naomi Pollock, FAIA

Tokyo may be among the world’s largest cities, but it has some of the smallest buildings. At critical nodes such as Roppongi and Shinjuku, the city has plenty of skyscrapers and hulking commercial complexes, yet its character is mostly defined by dense, low-scale neighborhoods where the majority of buildings are no more than five stories high.

Despite Japan's energy belt-tightening, triggered by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of 2011, dazzling lighting effects still bedeck most luxury boutiques in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district.

Far from Kyoto’s temples and tourist attractions, the Nishinoyama House sits at the edge of the city surrounded by single-family homes and small agricultural plots.

Kengo Kuma refers to the classic brewing process of a century-old Japanese soy sauce maker for a surprising shop in an urban mall.

A combination museum and funeral hall, the Teshima Yokoo House is the latest addition to the collection of art venues being developed on islands in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea under the aegis of the Fukutake Foundation.

A building within a building, the Ando Museum celebrates work on the Inland Sea island of Naoshima by one of Japan’s most influential architects.