With a population of over 120 million people, Japan is one of the 10 most populous countries in the world, but with more than 70% of Japan’s total land mass covered with mountains and forest, the bulk of the population tends to be crowded into large coastal cities. It is for this reason that Japanese architects have become specialists at designing for small areas. The less space you have, the smarter the design should be to make everything fit. What lessons can be learned from this kind of architecture?