From polka-dot emporiums and oceanfront observatories to a new-generation castle museum, a raft of eclectic new cultural spaces have been showcased over the past year across Japan. Here are a few highlights that have either opened or been renovated across the country in recent months.

Scai Park, Tokyo

This new opening is the brainchild of Scai the Bathhouse, the small space with a five-star list of artists located in a former bathhouse in Tokyo's Yanaka district and one of the city's most celebrated independent galleries. In March, its charismatic founder Masami Shiraishi unveiled a new sister space: Scai Park.