It’s no secret that high-end fashion labels like Prada and Cartier have achieved a sort of mythical status in Tokyo. But here is something you may not know: Visiting their boutiques brings with it an extraordinary reward even if you cannot afford the dizzying prices of the merchandise. They provide, free of charge, a chance to experience some of the most spectacular buildings in the world.

In the last few years, many of architecture’s stars, including Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, Toyo Ito and Tadao Ando, have been hired to design shops for luxury brands and have turned the city into a battleground for a rare, and spectacular, game of architectural one–upmanship. They have followed one award winner with another, one splashy statement with a splashier one. While Japanese architecture is known for its cool minimalism, these architects have thrown that out the window, creating sculptural symbols that are difficult to forget.

A few blocks down the street are two more eye-catching stores. Jun Mitsui’s tower for the jewelry company De Beers has a gray steel facade that warps in and out in broad curves. It’s as if you are looking at a modern office building while very drunk. The interior is like any other store from the chain, but it’s still fun to look at diamonds worth over $100,000 now and then.