JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED RESEARCH LABS13 labs
The labs behind brands you know
Suntory, Nissin, Kewpie, Yakult, Shiseido, Sony, Yamaha, Panasonic, Nikon, Calbee, Morinaga and Mizuno: where the makers of familiar Japanese products do their research, and how the spaces are designed.
Open areas of wooden terraces that shift and overlap
A research centre shaped like noodles and the blade that cuts them, with cup-shaped displays
A “mille-feuille” that alternates research floors and office floors
A research building surrounded by woods and water, with labs right next to offices
An urban research base with a lounge of tents and lawn
A Kyoto lab whose desks are whole logs from Hida
One of Japan's largest anechoic rooms, and development floors joined by a central stair
A research base with a misty green wall and a four-storey atrium
150-metre offices joined by a 6-metre-wide “band core”
A workspace of Tochigi timber and Oya stone under a big roof
A sweets company's lab with a big wooden staircase and colourful walls
A sports research base with a running track and a gym inside
A sports research building with an all-weather running track inside
Planning a visit
Architects and visiting for these 13 labs
| Lab | Area | Design | Can you visit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suntory World Research Center | Seika | Takenaka Corporation (design and construction) | Not open to the public |
| Nissin Foods the WAVE | Hachioji | — | Not open to the public |
| Kewpie Sengawa Kewport | Sengawa | Nikken Sekkei | Mayo Terrace, Kewpie's mayonnaise museum, inside Sengawa… |
| Yakult Central Institute Basic Research Building | Kunitachi | Takenaka Corporation (design and construction) | Not open to the public |
| Shiseido Global Innovation Center | Yokohama | — | Shiseido Beauty Park, on the ground and 2nd floors: a skin… |
| Sony CSL Kyoto | Shimogyo | Loftwork / Fumihiko Sano (FUMIHIKO SANO studio) | Not open to the public |
| Yamaha Innovation Center | Hamamatsu | — | Innovation Road, Yamaha's corporate museum, inside Building… |
| Panasonic Technology CUBE | Kadoma | — | Not open to the public |
| Nikon Headquarters / Innovation Center | Nishi-Oi | Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei | Not open to the public |
| Calbee R&D Center | Utsunomiya | Plantec | Not open to the public |
| Morinaga R&D Center | Yokohama | Shimizu Corporation | Facility tours at Morinaga's Tsurumi site |
| MIZUNO ENGINE | Nanko | — | Not open to the public |
| ASICS Institute of Sport Science, East Building | Hyogo | Takenaka Corporation | Not open to the public |
From each company's or architect's official page. “—” means it does not say. “Not open to the public” means the official pages we used offer no public visits.
Questions visitors ask
Can I visit any of the labs in this collection?
Kewpie Sengawa Kewport, Shiseido Global Innovation Center, Yamaha Innovation Center and Morinaga R&D Center have a space open to visitors: Kewpie Sengawa Kewport — Mayo Terrace, Kewpie's mayonnaise museum, inside Sengawa Kewport (Required, online or by phone; you may enter 20 minutes before your time); Shiseido Global Innovation Center — Shiseido Beauty Park, on the ground and 2nd floors: a skin diagnosis lab, a café (Shiseido Kitchen Lab), fibona Lab and an art space (see the official page); Yamaha Innovation Center — Innovation Road, Yamaha's corporate museum, inside Building 21 of the head office site (Required, up to 90 days ahead; up to 50 people per slot. Staff-guided tours (Fridays and Saturdays) need a separate phone booking). The research areas themselves are not open.
Who designed the labs in this collection?
Suntory World Research Center: Takenaka Corporation (design and construction); Kewpie Sengawa Kewport: Nikken Sekkei; Yakult Central Institute Basic Research Building: Takenaka Corporation (design and construction); Sony CSL Kyoto: Loftwork / Fumihiko Sano (FUMIHIKO SANO studio); Nikon Headquarters / Innovation Center: Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei; Calbee R&D Center: Plantec.
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