Pale oak walls and muted furnishings aim to create a calming environment for patients inside this dispensing pharmacy in Tokyo by Japanese firm Hiroyuki Ogawa Architects (+ slideshow). More about Hiroyuki Ogawa Architects opts for "tranquility and kindness" with Fuji Pharmacy interior
Raw concrete surfaces dominate inside this stark apartment in Nagoya, Japan, that Japanese studio Airhouse Design Office has renovated for a fashion lover (+ slideshow). More about Concrete apartment by Airhouse Design Office features display space for "precious clothes"
This office and workshop for a theatre designer in Osaka was designed by Japanese studio Mattch to look like a glazed box hovering between two solid curtains (+ slideshow). More about Set design studio in Japan by Mattch plays with theatrical imagery
Designer Reiichi Ikeda inserted boxy partitions that follow the pattern of existing ceiling trusses into this clothing boutique in Osaka, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Reiichi Ikeda divides narrow Japanese clothing boutique with boxy partitions
Rows of rectangular windows are designed to frame rooms like an "advertisement board for well-designed living" on the facade of this apartment block in Tokyo by local studio PANDA (+ slideshow). More about PANDA's Asakusa Apartments feature rows of "picture frame" windows
Japanese studio Level Architects squeezed this all-black house onto a narrow plot in Tokyo's Fukasawa district, adding sloping offset walls around the lower floors to protect residents' privacy (+ slideshow). More about Black house in Tokyo by Level Architects reveals little to its neighbours
Japanese architect Eto Kenta has hidden a narrow garden behind the metal-clad exterior of this house in Ōita Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Metal-clad house in Japan by Eto Kenta conceals its garden
A concrete tunnel slices through the base of this Tokyo house by Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada, creating a round hole in the facade that reveals the underside of a staircase (+ slideshow). More about Curving concrete creates a tunnel through Tokyo house by Makiko Tsukada
This narrow building in Tokyo by local studio Apollo Architects & Associates accommodates an 85-year-old restaurant within its base, while its upper floor is a residence with a cantilevered balcony (+ slideshow). More about Switch by Apollo Architects gives a new home to an 85-year-old restaurant
This metal-clad house in Chiba, Japan, was designed by architect Yuji Kimura to fill its site, meaning a car-parking space and balcony had to be slotted within its boxy volume (+ slideshow). More about House in Chiba by Yuji Kimura hides a garage and balcony behind its walls
Japanese architect Tsubasa Iwahashi has added hanging plants and a shed-like meeting room to an office in Osaka, which workers can take a peek at through boxy windows (+ slideshow). More about Office interior by Tsubasa Iwahashi brings the outside in with hanging baskets and a shed
Illuminated glass droplets full of bubbles appear to fall from the ceiling in this installation by Japanese studio Torafu Architects (+ slideshow). More about Torafu Architects suspend bubbly balloons of light for Tokyo installation
Pointed doorways and openings throughout this house in Kyoto, Japan, were designed by Alts Design Office to mimic the building's gabled profile (+ slideshow). More about House-shaped doorways puncture Hazukashi House by Alts Design Office
Charred cedar clads the walls of this house in Aichi, Japan, by architecture studio MDS, while exposed wooden beams create a rack-like effect on the underside of the diagonally slanted roof. More about Charred timber clads walls of Okazaki House by MDS
Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates built this unusually skinny house on a three-metre-wide site in a residential district of Aichi Prefecture, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Katsutoshi Sasaki's Imai house is just three metres wide
Japanese studio NI&Co. Architects has built a small sound-proofed cabin in Nagoya where its owners can retreat to play the piano. More about Piano House by NI&Co. Architects offers a secluded spot for making music
A grid of chunky timber beams criss-crosses a void between the ground and first floors to allow light to circulate in this Studio Aula-designed house in Shiojiri, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Criss-crossing wooden beams fill a void inside Studio Aula's Cocoon House
The three-layered facade of this riverside house in Tsukubamirai, Japan, was intended by local studio Kichi Architectural Design to reference rippling water (+ slideshow). More about Three white walls front Ripple house by Kichi Architectural Design
A crimped wooden screen with a triangular hole through its centre divides the spaces of this beauty salon in Osaka by Japanese designer Yusuke Seki (+ slideshow). More about Beauty salon by Yusuke Seki features crimped screens and golden curtains
This cube-shaped house in Ibaraki Prefecture with small square windows dotted around its facades is the second project we've featured by Japanese studio Kichi Architectural Design (+ slideshow). More about Kichi Architectural Design completes cube-shaped House of Kubogaoka