Behind a simple concrete exterior, this house by Japanese architect Tsubasa Iwahashi contains a complex arrangement of rooms connected by three different kinds of staircase (+ slideshow). More about Tsubasa Iwahashi completes Hyōgo house containing three types of staircase
An elevated terrace stretches along one side of this narrow house in Nara, Japan, providing the residents with glimpses into the neighbourhood (+ slideshow). More about House in Nara by Keiichi Sugiyama boasts a raised cedar terrace
Volcanic ash is mixed into the concrete shell of this angular house in central Tokyo, which was designed by Atelier Tekuto for a pair of chemists (+ slideshow). More about Atelier Tekuto completes crystalline concrete home for two chemists
A traditional Japanese construction method was used for this house in Tokyo, which features four wooden columns arranged in a square to support the rest of the timber frame (+ slideshow). More about FT Architects' 4 Columns house features a traditional timber frame and minimal interior
A pair of large terraces channel through one side of this white house in Tokyo by Takuro Yamamoto Architects, providing residents with an outdoor yoga space and a sheltered parking area (+ slideshow). More about Little House Big Terrace by Takuro Yamamoto Architects features an elevated yoga terrace
Rows of wooden pillars support various split-level floors to create a forest-like feel inside the Nagoya office of Japanese architecture firm Mamiya Shinichi Design Studio (+ slideshow). More about Mamiya Shinichi Design Studio recreates "feeling of being in a grove" inside its own office
To help this community centre blend into its residential setting in Takamatsu, Japan, designer Yasunari Tsukada divided the building up into two house-shaped blocks (+ slideshow). More about Sanjo Hokusei Community Centre designed by Yasunari Tsukada to look like a pair of houses
This house in Osaka by Japanese studio Tato Architects features walls that step back and forth, worktops that merge with staircases, and windows that wrap around entire rooms (+ slideshow). More about Tato Architects' House in Toyonaka is divided into offset horizontal volumes
Surrounded by farmland in rural Japan, this house by architecture studio Tailored Design Lab features a steeply pointed roof that frames views of the landscape, and an oversized chimney that provides natural ventilation (+ slideshow). More about Family house in Japan designed by Tailored Design Lab to embrace its farmland setting
This Tokyo house and office for a funeral director has been split into three sections so that two can be removed later, in case a planned road gets built through the site (+ slideshow). More about Shingle-clad home by Starpilots can be split up to make way for a road expansion
Black textured walls give this seemingly windowless Tokyo residence by ARTechnic Architects a bunker-like appearance (+ slideshow). More about Angular black walls fold around SRK home in Tokyo by ARTechnic Architects
Children's play areas located beneath the zigzag roof of this community centre by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma have been landscaped to form a hilly indoor terrain that can be clambered over or used as slides (+ slideshow). More about Community centre by Kengo Kuma features playrooms with undulating floorboards
Both curving and straight walls overlap inside this family home in Shiga Prefecture by architect Tsuyoshi Kawata, which was designed to frame views of a nearby park (+ slideshow). More about Curving walls eclipse glazed facade of park-side house in Japan by Tsuyoshi Kawata
Large semicircles puncture the facade of this English language school in Japan by architect Naoko Horibe, framing a drive-through area for cars and vista of the park beyond (+ slideshow). More about Drive-through restaurants provide a model for Naoko Horibe's White Rose English School
Japanese studio Yuji Kimura Design has hidden this Tokyo house behind a tall white wall to maintain the residents' privacy (+ slideshow). More about Yuji Kimura Design conceals terraces at House K behind a tall wall
Japanese architect Makiko Tsukada has completed a house in Yokohama with a cave-like interior that opens out to one of two rooftop lawns (+ slideshow). More about Makiko Tsukada's Grass Cave House features rooftop lawns and a dark interior
Japanese firm Naruse Inokuma Architects has designed a shared occupancy house in Nagoya with communal areas for eating, cooking and relaxing that encourage the residents to interact in different ways (+ slideshow). More about Share House LT Josai by Naruse Inokuma Architects
This clinic by architect Kimitaka Aoki in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan is designed to look like a cluster of smaller buildings (+ slideshow). More about Y Clinic by Kimitaka Aoki of ARCO Architects
This holiday home in Kanagawa, Japan, by Japanese studios Nakae Architects and Ohno Japan comprises two separate blocks fanning outwards towards Tokyo Bay. More about Minami-Hayama duo by Nakae Architects and Ohno Japan
This motorway service station along Route 230 in northern Japan, by architects Code, has a black, rectangular form that snakes up from the ground towards a nearby mountain. More about GR230 by Code