In the 2025 edition of the Prix Versailles, an international architecture award announced at UNESCO headquarters, a total of four buildings from Japan have been ranked among the “World’s Most Beautiful Architectures.
Although no Japanese stations were selected in the “Train Stations” category announced on November 3, 2025, the following buildings received awards in the “Airports,” “Commercial Facilities,” and “Hotels” categories.
Airport Category] Kansai International Airport Terminal 1
A terminal building where international and domestic flights arrive and depart. The new domestic flight area opened in October 2022, the first large-scale renovation since the airport opened in 1994, and the new international departure area opened in December 2023. The new international departure area opened in December 2023, with a grand opening on March 27, 2025.
📍 1 Senshu Kuko Kita, Izumisano-shi, Osaka
Directly connected from 🚇Kansai Airport Station
👉Official website
Commercial Facilities】Rolex Boutique Lexia Ginza flagship store
Rolex’s flagship boutique opened on Ginza Chuo-dori in April 2024. The store, which consists of four floors from the first basement to the third floor above ground, is decorated with interiors and motifs that embody Rolex’s philosophy and world view, and the exterior is decorated with the fluted bezel that symbolizes Rolex watches.
📍 3-5-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku
🚇About 1 minute walk from Ginza 1-chome Station Exit 8
👉Official website
Commercial Facilities】Toraya Ginza Bldg.
Renovated and reopened in April 2024, the building will feature BALENCIAGA’s first flagship store in Ginza on the 1st to 3rd floors, TORAYA GINZA on the 4th floor, Ginza Kuroda Toen on the 5th floor, and French star chef Kei Kobayashi’s restaurant ESPRIT C. KEI GINZA and Crystal Maison on the 11th to 12th floors. The 11th to 12th floors will house “ST LOUIS BAR by KEI,” a bar bearing the name of SAINT-LOUIS by Crystal Maison.
📍 7-8-17 Ginza, Chuo-ku
🚇 5 min. walk from Ginza Station Exit A2
👉Official website
Hotel Sosei Sapporo M Gallery Collection
Opened in January 2024, the Paris-based Accor boutique hotel collection. The hotel design is based on the theme of “a pioneer-era residence reborn in the 21st century,” a modern reconstruction of the scene as seen by pioneers of the time. At the entrance, guests will be greeted by a three-dimensional sculpture featuring the motif of hops, an important ingredient in beer, as a tribute to the pioneering history of the area.
📍 Sapporo Factory West Wing, Kita 2-jo Higashi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Approximately a 4-minute walk from 🚇Sapporo Station
👉Official site