The “Tokyo Architecture Festival” returns this year, featuring “special open houses” that open up buildings and spaces not usually accessible to the public, as well as guided tours and talk events, all set against the backdrop of Tokyo’s architecture.
The event debuted in 2024, covering the Nihonbashi/Kyobashi, Otemachi/Marunouchi/Yurakucho, and Ginza/Tsukiji areas. In 2025, the Ueno/Yushima/Hongō, Kanda/Kudan, and Minato Ward areas were added, and this year—the third edition—the program expands to Shibuya. A record 151 buildings are scheduled to participate.
Special Public Viewing
Here is a selection of buildings that are normally off-limits to the public but will be open to visitors during the Tokyo Architecture Festival.
Sakuraen-so (Former Karakida Family Residence)
Sakuraen-so (the former Karakida Family Residence), a traditional folk house built during the Taisho era , will be open to the public for a special exhibition immediately following its renovation. This approximately 100-year-old residence overcame the threat of demolition and was designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2024. While preserving its original design and structure, the building underwent seismic retrofitting and the addition of new functional spaces. Through the renovated spaces, visitors can experience firsthand how historic buildings are passed down to future generations.
Tokyo National Museum Japanese Garden Tea House
Tea rooms situated in the Japanese garden at the rear of the Tokyo National Museum’s Main Building will be open to the public for a special viewing.The doors of Shunsoro, Ten’go-an, and Rokusou-an—which are usually closed—will be opened, allowing visitors to view the interiors. Visitors will also be able to enter the Kujo-kan . You can experience spaces that are normally closed to the public, each with its own distinct era and background, including the winding corridors, transoms carved with wisteria flower patterns on a single slab of karin wood, and paintings of pagodas and landscapes by the Kano school .
Noah Building
The Noa Building, a landmark at the Azabudai-Iikura intersection, is the work of Seiichi Shirai, known as the “philosophical architect.” Its exposed-brick base and elliptical tower finished in copper sulfate bring a sculptural tension to the cityscape. For this event, the main entrance and the area in front of the underground entrance will be open to the public. Visitors can experience the charm of the interior space, where softness and rigidity, light and shadow intertwine—from the design featuring numerous arches and the depth created by light reflecting off the black granite, to the meandering pathways and starlike lighting.
Mitsui Main Building
As the oldest surviving American-style office building , the building’s “General Partnership Entrance”—which tells the story of its construction to centralize the headquarters functions of direct subsidiaries such as Mitsui & Co., Ltd., the former Mitsui & Co., and Mitsui Mining —along with the elevator and the 5th-floor office space, will be specially opened to the public. Features preserved from the time of its construction include the beautiful black-and-white stone flooring, the intricate decorations of the coffered ceiling, and the stately elevator, which remains in active use today.
Meiji Seimei Hall
The “Meiji Seimei Kan” is renowned as a masterpiece of the Classical style. In 1997, it became the first Showa-era building to be designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. To coincide with the Tokyo Architecture Festival, the 7th-floor auditorium—usually closed to the public—will be opened for a special viewing. The grand auditorium on the 7th and 8th floors, featuring a double-height atrium, has been restored to its original state. We invite you to fully appreciate its magnificence, including the wall reliefs and window frame designs that unfold beyond the cinema-style doors.
In addition, a total of 27 programs will be held to explore the depths of architecture, including guided tours led by building owners, architects, engineers, researchers, and others deeply connected to the site—people with whom visitors rarely have the opportunity to interact—who will share insights and anecdotes not usually heard, as well as talk events, networking sessions, and workshops.
