Part of the Museums of the Far East, the Japanese Tower is set in the quiet commune of Laeken, home to the royal family. The kitsch pagoda features stained glass and a façade crafted in Yokohama, and is filled with Japanese porcelain.
The complex also includes the Chinese pavilion and the Japanese Art Museum. King Leopold II decided to commence work on this exotic ensemble at the end of his reign in the early 1900s, commissioning architect Alexandre Marcel, who was well-known for his previous Oriental work.
Although built entirely by Belgian enterprises and decorated by Parisians, the wooden panelling of the Chinese pavilion was crafted in Shanghai and the external ornaments of the Japanese tower were made exclusively in Japan.