Japan

You might think we'd have discovered of all the big animals by now, but Japanese scientists have found a previously-unknown whale species.

​​Recreating the tranquility of one of Japan’s more famous gardens in a dense neighborhood of Kyoto was always going to be a tall order. Local firm Tomohiro Hata Architect and Associates approached this problem by building its Loop House around a garden, rather than the other way around.

Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu has revealed a hotel suite that features a flight simulator. The Superior Cockpit Room will be available for bookings from the July 18 and boasts a professional Boeing 737-800 aircraft simulator.​

In a bid to help those with limited mobility get to the gate, Tokyo Narita International Airport is set to welcome a number of self-driving wheelchairs to its floors. With the ability to navigate the airport all on their own, the new wheelchairs are hoped to streamline foot traffic.

​​Tiny glassy particles that litter the beaches near Hiroshima in Japan are likely the resolidified remains of the city destroyed by a US atomic bomb on the morning of August 6, 1945, according to the results of a newly published study.

Dubbed Love 2 House, this cleverly conceived concrete home from Japanese architectural studio Takeshi Hosaka Architects is built on a micro block of land, measuring just 29.5 sqm (317.5 sq ft).

Astronomers have discovered a star in the Milky Way that doesn’t belong. Known as J1124+4535, the star has a chemical composition unlike any others ever observed in our home galaxy, suggesting it’s an intergalactic interloper that may have come from a dwarf galaxy swallowed up by the Milky Way.

​Japanese home and lifestyle brand Muji has recently opened its third hotel, located in the center of Tokyo's upmarket shopping district of Ginza. The impressive MUJI Hotel Ginza spans six floors and features 79 rooms that boast stunning tiny living interior designs.

​Visitors to Japan’s famous Mt Fuji have yet another vantage point for their holiday snaps, thanks to a recently completed observation deck by famed local architect Kengo Kuma, called the Nihondaira Yume Terrace.

Black holes tend to fall into two categories: fairly small or supermassive. It’s long been believed that there should be a middle class, and in recent years astronomers have found evidence of these “intermediate mass” black holes. Now a Japanese team has located one near the center of the Milky Way.

Toyota is set to introduce a car subscription service that might just tempt drivers away from traditional car ownership. But the model comes with an interesting twist, incorporating a reward system for sound driving that could make the experience cheaper for its smarter users. ​

The tiny robots currently skipping across the surface of asteroid Ryugu have gained some company today, with mothership Hayabusa 2 successfully deploying their bigger sibling, the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT).