The BnA Hotel, Tokyo

The unique project merges art with hospitality beyond the guest room to support local artists

Finding a unique and affordable hotel in Tokyo can be challenging, largely due to the premium placed on space in the city. This premium has also influenced the suppression of art galleries, as locals have little space to display art in their homes and galleries require a lot of space to show work—a combination that makes selling art a difficult job. The Bed & Art …

Japan’s New Bullet Train Will Blend Into the Environment

Award-winning architect Kazuyo Sejima is designing a new high speed express train for Japan that will blend into the environment. The proposed design is a stark contrast to previous Japanese trains, whose bold, retro-striping was once the norm. The new design will adapt to its surroundings as it travels through the city and countryside. A rendering of the concept shows it cloaked in a matte …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

America's secret society branding, original designs for Super Mario Bros on graph paper and more in this week's look around the web

1. Japan’s Ongoing Nuclear Clean-Up, Five Years Later Five years after a catastrophic earthquake and its resulting tsunami hit Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, workers continue to tirelessly clean up radiation. Ahead of the disaster’s 3.11 anniversary, National Geographic traveled to Fukushima to document remediation efforts. Where fertile farmlands once produced many of the regions crops, mountains of black sacks filled with contaminated soil …