April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo's nighttime entertainment district of Roppongi is swapping strip bars for Shogun relics and dancers for designers as a 370 billion yen ($3 billion) project brings in luxury shops, a new museum and a design center.

The government- and corporate-backed facelift has closed the doors on several strip and dance clubs by denying license renewals. Complaints that the cleanup will hurt Roppongi's ``traditional'' businesses and neighborhood feel will land on deaf ears.

Mitsui Fudosan Co., developer of the Tokyo Midtown project expects the 10-hectare multi-use complex to attract 30 million visitors per year, raking in an estimated 30 billion yen ($254 million). The 54-story Midtown Tower, crowned with the Ritz- Carlton Hotel, is the tallest building in Tokyo, 10 meters higher than Roppongi Hills' Mori Tower just down the street.

Tokyo Midtown forms the third point of the Roppongi ``Art Triangle,'' with the March 30 opening in the complex of the Suntory Museum of Art and 21_21 Design Sight, backed by fashion designer Issey Miyake. The other two corners, a few minutes' walk away, are the National Art Center Tokyo, Japan's biggest museum, which opened in January, and the four-year-old Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills.

While Tokyo Midtown and Roppongi Hills battle it out for well-heeled shoppers and tenants, the cluster of museums offer a variety in art and design, a fresh alternative to Ueno district's long-established culture center in a city that already has the world's highest level of museum attendance.

National Treasure

The Suntory Museum of Art was previously in Tokyo's Akasaka-mitsuke area, where it opened in 1961 as the cultural arm of the whiskey distiller. Then-president Keizo Saji spearheaded what is now a 3,000-piece collection that includes one official National Treasure and 12 Important Cultural Properties among a priceless collection of Japanese ceramics, folding screens, kimonos, textiles, lacquerware and glassware.

Architect Kengo Kuma designed the new 2 billion yen museum, which has just 1,000 square meters of exhibition space spread over six floors. Kuma mixes new technology and traditional Japanese elements to create a space designed to imitate an ``urban living room.''

``For most Japanese, museums are like palaces for art made with expensive stone like marble and granite,'' Kuma said at the opening. ``People feel that art is not a part of their daily lives. I wanted to create a cozy space.''

Whiskey-Barrel Flooring

Laminated paulownia wood lines nine-meter-high sliding louvers to control the flow of natural light through large windows. Washi paper for the atrium walls, and recycled whiskey- barrel wood (think Suntory) for the flooring create warmth throughout the building.

New illumination controls the color, depth and temperature of light, explained Chief Curator Yoshiya Ishida, pointing to a 19th-century Noh costume in the inaugural exhibition: ``Iwai: Arts of Celebration.''

``I was amazed to discover details on works I'd never seen before, like the fine spider web motif woven into this Noh costume,'' he said. ``Beautiful isn't it.''

The exhibition has 150 works with celebratory themes, including the National Treasure, a 13th century cosmetic box once owned by the so-called nun Shogun Masako Houjou, who helped establish the power of Japan's Shogunate in the 13th century. The relic is on display until mid-April.

Wataru Imai, executive general manager, likened the museum to sansho, a Japanese spice similar to Szechwan pepper. ``We have a saying: a little sansho has a big impact. It's like the museum. It's small but leaves a big impression.''

Indiana Jones Feel

Equally so for 21_21 Design Sight, a play on the term 20/20 vision, suggesting a view ``into the future.'' While Suntory is a repository of Japanese traditional culture, 21_21 aims to show the shape of things to come.

The sleek, 1,700 square meter, 2 billion yen concrete structure is one of the best works of Architect Tadao Ando. In a green landscaped corner of the Midtown complex, the submerged first floor contains two gallery spaces. Large, angular windows and openings make a dramatic interior, especially on sunny days.

The roof design, massive connecting sheets of steel, mimics Miyake's ``one piece of cloth'' clothing design concept.

``I like the building's Indiana Jones feel,'' said Miyake, one of three directors, along with Taku Satoh and Naoto Fukasawa. ``You wonder: `Is it this big? Is it this thin?' You feel like you're inside a movie.''

An exhibition through April 18 titled ``A Hard Fought Process'' salutes the building's construction staff with photos, drawings, models and video. An unfinished steel-framed interior wall helps illustrate the ``grimy, hands-on'' building process.

``Issey Miyake, our design teams and I would like to send out a message that Japan has a strong arts and design culture,'' said Ando. ``That's why we are doing all of this.''

`Starting Point'

The center will not accumulate a collection and will largely commission works for exhibitions, Miyake said.

``We are not a museum that exhibits things from the past,'' he said. ``This is a starting point. We no longer have an apprentice system or a way to nurture masters, so we want to offer designers and craftspeople an opportunity to create and practice their craft. We are supporting the process.''

The location in Ropponi's increasingly prosperous shopping, entertainment and arts district may help the center compete in a city full of museums and art-related events.

Unlike corporate-backed Suntory Museum, 21_21 will need to create financial support through ventures like company tie-ups.

An example is a design collaboration with a confectioner for an April 27-July 29 show that may also mark Roppongi's change in appeal to the sensual pleasures of a new clientele. It's called ``Chocolate.''

(Lucy Birmingham Fujii writes on art for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are her own.)

To contact the writer on this story: Lucy Birmingham Fujii in Tokyo at lfujii@gol.com.

Last Updated: April 2, 2007 11:29 EDT