Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: exhibition commissioner Kayoko Ota says Japan's pavilion celebrates the architects that "challenged the status quo" in the 1970s, in this movie filmed by Dezeen in Venice. More about Japan's biennale pavilion challenges architects to "face the real world"
A narrow white wall appears to hover around the perimeter and garden of this house and atelier – the third project on Dezeen this week by Japanese office UID Architects (+ slideshow). More about Floating fence surrounds house and doll-making atelier by UID Architects
The second project on Dezeen this week by Japanese studio UID Architects is a small gallery in Fukuyama surrounded by timber fins (+ slideshow). More about Wooden ribs frame entrance to timber-clad gallery by UID Architects
The overlapping layers of this house by Japanese studio UID Architects form terraces that extend inside and living rooms that open out to the garden (+ slideshow). More about Rectangular arches frame rooms and gardens at Cosmic House by UID Architects
Each of the rooms of this irregularly shaped family house in Kobuchizawa, Japan, were planned by architect Kawashima Mayumi to face a different mountain or patch of woodland (+ slideshow). More about Kawashima Mayumi's House for Viewing Mountains frames seven different views
A freestanding wooden framework supports the long display counter that runs through this contemporary crafts showroom in Tokyo by local architect Fumihiko Sano (+ slideshow). More about Wooden posts and beams frame displays at Tokyo shop by Fumihiko Sano
Japanese architect Kotaro Horiuchi stretched two punctured membranes across a gallery in Nagoya so visitors could pop up through the holes like moles in a popular arcade game (+ slideshow). More about Kotaro Horiuchi creates human Whac-A-Mole with membrane installation
The three volumes that make up this house in Japan by Keitaro Muto Architects stagger downwards like a huge set of stairs (+ slideshow). More about Three overlapping blocks make up Keitaro Muto's Sunomata house
Suspended wooden slats cast shadows like a sundial across the central living room of this hexagonal home in Toyota, Japan, by local office Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates (+ slideshow). More about Wooden slats create a sculptural ceiling inside Katsutoshi Sasaki's Koro House
Behind the house-shaped windows of this nursery extension in Kashiwa, Japan, architect Soichi Yamasaki has slotted small square rooms between octagonal play areas (+ slideshow). More about Soichi Yamasaki's Japanese nursery features house-shaped windows and faceted ceilings
Three concrete steps lead inside this combined patisserie and wine bar that Case-Real has completed amongst the high-rise blocks of Fukuoka, Japan (+ slideshow). More about Case-Real combines a patisserie with a wine bar in Fukuoka
A combination of curved and diagonal beams gives an asymmetric profile to this home in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, by Tokyo studio International Royal Architecture (+ slideshow). More about KHT House by International Royal Architecture is made up of two halves
Huge wooden barrels traditionally used in the making of soy sauce are suspended over the heads of customers at this shop designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates for a sauce manufacturer in Nihonbashi, Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Kengo Kuma suspends wooden barrels over Japanese soy-sauce shop
Fresh loaves and sugary treats are presented alongside wooden surfaces, ceramic tiles and plants at this renovated bakery in Kiryu, Japan, by architecture studio SNARK (+ slideshow). More about Style Bakery by SNARK features tiled walls and oak shelving
Tokyo studio PANDA has slotted a boxy family house onto a plot hemmed in by other residences on all four sides (+ slideshow). More about PANDA's House in Jingumae slots in between four existing homes
The living room of this home in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, by Tokyo architect Soichi Yamasaki, features a dog pen so the owner's pets can be involved in family life without running riot (+ slideshow). More about Playpen for dogs installed within Soichi Yamasaki's S Residence
The front wall of this small white house in Japan appears to have been folded down like the corner of a piece of paper (+ slideshow). More about Folded facade gives a paper-like weight to Yukio Hashimoto's F-House
Japanese studio Sabaoarch has built a concrete house with tiny windows on a narrow strip of land in Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Sabaoarch build three-metre-wide concrete house in Tokyo
Japanese architect Yoichi Yamamoto has suspended colourful strips of wood from the ceiling of an Issey Miyake boutique in Tokyo, which from certain angles look like five solid chairs (+ slideshow). More about Hanging sticks create illusions of chairs at Issey Miyake boutique in Tokyo
Japanese design and architecture firm Torafu Architects has collaborated with Australian skincare brand Aesop to design the interior of its Osaka shop, with cedarwood blocks used to create multiple display areas at varying heights (+ slideshow). More about Torafu Architects uses Japanese cedar columns for fifth Aesop shop interior