Japan’s Must-See Spots Off the Tourist Trail

From the cutting-edge architecture of Tokyo’s Omotesando shopping street to the retro alleyways of Osaka’s Shinsekai, Japan’s futuristic feats and coolest spots often fly under the radar. Whether you’re planning your first visit or wanting to dive deeper into its artistic heart, here’s your guide to the nation’s most under-the-radar experiences and innovative designs. 

See the below and more on our exclusive, 12-day Signature Series tour across Japan’s design marvels. From cutting-edge installations on Japan’s ‘art islands’ and modern marvels in Tokyo to ancient Zen temples and wabi-sabi pavilions, join Anthony Burke – professor of architecture and host of Grand Designs Australia – on an exploration of the design, art and culture that makes Japan a destination like no other.

1. Shop your way across Omotesando’s architectural masterpieces in Tokyo  

A tree-lined boulevard running between Harajuku and Aoyama, Omotesando is Tokyo’s luxury shopping destination – the sophisticated, older sister of the playful Harajuku area. Multi-storey department stores here don’t just offer fashion, fragrances and fine food – those luxuries come second to the architecture. Taking the elevator into Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Omokado feels like entering a portal to an alternate universe, with its kaleidoscopic, mirror-clad entrance. 

DIOR Tokyo Omotesando is another example of retail doubling as art. Monolithic in form and sheathed entirely in glass, its stacked levels vary in ceiling height. By night, it glows stark white. Don’t miss the Prada Aoyama store by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, a glass and steel masterpiece distinguished by its signature diamond-grid facade, or Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo – an airy, glass-clad exhibition space perched above the Louis Vuitton flagship store. 

2. Experience the future of art at teamLab Borderless in Ginza, Tokyo 

teamLab Borderless in the MORI Building Digital Art Museum places you in an immersive digital world, where light, mirrors and motion-reactive art blur the line between reality and imagination. Among its most iconic exhibits is the Forest of Resonating Lamps, where hanging lanterns glow in response to movement, reflected infinitely in mirrored floors and walls. 

3. Explore the avant-garde at Odawara’s Enoura Observatory 

Retreat to the coastal hills of Odawara, where this open-air museum by renowned photographer and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto sits high above Sagami Bay. Bamboo groves and citrus trees border walking paths dotted with stone sculptures, while a slender, contemporary art gallery stretches 100 metres long, 100 metres above sea level. Aligned with the summer solstice sunrise (usually in Japan’s mid-June), the gallery floods with light along its entire length. Nearby, a stage-like platform overlooks an endless blue ocean and is framed by amphitheatre-style stone seating, designed to draw focus to the horizon. 

4. Contemplate shoin-zukuri architecture at Kyoto’s Katsura Imperial Villa  

Only accessible by guided tour, Katsura Imperial Villa is a historic palace on the outskirts of Kyoto and an exemplar of shoin-zukuri architecture – a traditional residential style featuring the ‘shoin’, a study alcove that originated from Zen Buddhism. Completed in 1645 AD for the Katsura family, a branch of the Imperial line, the pinwheel-shaped villa is characterised by tatami-floored rooms and delicate fusuma (sliding doors); nestled within bamboo groves, dense woodland and encircling a central pond, the villa is complemented by teahouses and pavilions. 

5. Explore the ‘Art Islands’ of the Seto Inland Sea 

Scattered across Japan’s central Seto Inland Sea, tiny islands Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima are home to the country’s most progressive art scene – where minimalist architecture and contemporary works exist in harmony with quiet fishing villages and untouched coastline.  

Highlights include Yayoi Kusama’s iconic spotted pumpkins and the subterranean Chichu Art Museum, an underground space by minimalist architect Tadao Ando, where five of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies paintings are illuminated entirely by natural light. Equally striking is the otherworldly Teshima Art Museum, an empty concrete structure shaped like a water droplet or grounded UFO, with two elliptical openings that let wind, sound and light gently drift in throughout the day.

6. Experience the Showa era in style in Shinsekai, Osaka 

Shinsekai, a neighbourhood in Osaka, offers a gritty, retro glimpse into Japan’s post-war past. Originally developed in 1912 with design influences from Paris and New York’s Coney Island, it thrived during the economic boom of the 1950s and 1960s but has remained largely untouched since, preserving neon signs, vintage izakayas (pubs) and kissaten (old-school coffee shops). Don’t miss trying kushikatsu (deep-fried skewers) at one of the bustling local eateries. 

7. Witness Shinto rituals at its liveliest at a sumo match in Ryogoku, Tokyo 

For a glimpse of Japan’s spiritual heart at full throttle, catch a sumo tournament in Ryogoku, Tokyo’s historic sumo district. Rituals before each match – like throwing salt to purify the ring from evil spirits – echo centuries of Shinto tradition. Inside the arena, the charged atmosphere and passionate fans transform this ancient sport into a spectacle of power, ceremony and local pride. 

8. Visit Spa World, one of the coolest onsens in Japan 

One of the largest onsens in the world, Spa World in Osaka is more theme park than day spa, where you can soak in pools inspired by global cultures, from Roman baths to a Finnish bath house and a Blue Grotto-inspired room. With water slides, saunas, kids’ zones and a rooftop pool overlooking the city, it’s a playful spin on a centuries-old Japanese tradition.  

9. Discover a modern water temple in Osaka 

Tucked away in a quiet suburb of Osaka, the Church of the Light by architect Tadao Ando is an example of modern spiritual design, with a thin, cruciform-shaped opening allowing light into the chapel. Ando’s lesser-known Water Temple (Honpukuji) on nearby Awaji Island also stuns. Crowned by a flat lotus-covered pool, the Buddhist temple is entered by descending a dramatic flight of stairs cut through the centre of the water. Below, the main hall is raw concrete and proof that sacred architecture can be both traditional and innovative.  

10. Go beyond the blossoms of Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto 

While most visitors stroll the famous Philosopher’s Path to admire cherry blossoms and the canal, don’t miss the chance to explore and appreciate the lesser-admired Japanese aesthetics that define this route. The path begins at Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion), a 15th-century retreat embodying wabi-sabi – the appreciation of beauty in imperfection and simplicity. Along the way, traditional gardens showcase shakkei (borrowed scenery), which incorporates the surrounding landscape into the garden’s design. This walk offers a living lesson in Higashiyama culture, shaped by Zen Buddhist principles. 

Feature image: Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkin on Enoshima Island.