There are myriad lenses through which it's possible to explore Tokyo. From a gourmand tour of the capital's 229 Michelin-starred restaurants to its wide range of museums and galleries, Tokyo is a treasure trove for the avid explorer. Architecture, however, is one avenue that grants both first-time visitors and lifelong Tokyo residents an equally intimate view of the metropolis' nooks and crannies.
But in a city of this size, even narrowing your focus to architecture can feel overwhelming — where to begin? "Concrete Tokyo Map" (Blue Crow Media, 2017), edited by American architect Naomi Pollock, is an elegant solution to this quandary. Pollock, a longtime Tokyo resident who writes extensively about Japanese design, has selected 50 of Tokyo's most "unique and influential" concrete buildings and laid them out strikingly: a detailed map locating all the buildings within the city on one side, a bilingual introduction and addresses on the other. Concrete may bring to mind bleak and blocky Soviet-esque structures, but in the hands of Japanese architects — who often use it as a signature building material — it can be in turns whimsical, fluid and even delicate.
Some of the buildings mentioned in "Concrete Tokyo" are private residences and can, therefore, only be viewed from the outside. However, many are easily accessible public buildings, and here are 10 particularly worth visiting.