Modern Japanese architecture is known worldwide for its minimalism and other aesthetics, and there’s no better place to see it than at its testing grounds, the Zelkova-lined boulevard running from Meiji Shrine called Omotesando. While also known for its couture boutiques, Omotesando (sometimes referred to as “Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées”) is a veritable laboratory for contemporary Japanese architects.
  At the Meiji Shrine end of Omotesando is the National Gymnasium built by Kenzo Tange in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics. Its abstract spiraling structure was a symbol of a revitalized post-war Japan emerging onto the world stage, as well as of a distinct Japanese architectural modernism.
  Toyo Ito’s playful design for fashion brand Tod’s flagship store uses seemingly cold minimalist glass and concrete, so essential to Japanese architectural modernism, for the bracing, but crisscrosses the building to reinterpret the silhouette of the Zelkova trees lining the street below.
  Bookending Omotesando with Meiji Shrine is Kengo Kuma’s One Omotesando building. Its façade of Japanese larch boards placed vertically is meant to imbue a sense of old Japan, and also connect it with Meiji Shrine at the other end of the boulevard. “Omotesando is a sando (approach) to Meiji Shrine, which is built of wood. That’s why I wanted to create a wood building,” Kuma said.

From left: The National Gymnasium, Tod’s flagship store and One Omotesando Building