Vibrant color photography and compelling text make this the ultimate guide to modern Japanese life. Readers the world over will marvel at this collection of 21st-century commercial sites in Japan. Seven of the country"s foremost architects showcase their ideas in 34 shops, restaurants, salons, bars and spas. In collaboration with a new generation of entrepreneurs, these designers are reshaping basic concepts of how contemporary Japanese eat, work and shop. Beautifully photographed, the locations in this book reflect everything from postmodern industrialism to suggestive eroticism. A whole new language of design, propelled by the Japanese penchants for innovation, has given this generation a carte blanche to redefine Japan as the world"s next cultural superpower, unhindered by the barriers of tradition.