Catch up with highlights from our digital travels this week.

Death goes digital in Japan

Ever the vanguard of futuristic living, Japan has now applied its high-tech polish to the sombre business of death, specifically cemeteries. At Ruriden, a charnel house in Tokyo, LED-lit Buddha statues that represent the departed illuminate the room and are synced to swipe cards given to friends and relatives of the deceased. See Motherboard for more.

OMG, there’s going to be a museum dedicated to the Olsen twins

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen inspired legions of fans in the Noughties as pint-sized TV icons. These days they are more Chanel than Disney Channel, having retired from acting back in 2012 to focus on their careers in couture. Brooklyn-based comedians Matt Harkins and Viviana Olen have launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring to life an exhibition dedicated to the twins and their legacy, and they tell Dazed it’s no joke…

The Airbnb you have to work for

Look online, pay the rental fee, promise to not trash the place and usually your Airbnb will be sorted. That’s not the case with The Open Book in Wigtown, Scotland, where guests are expected to run the bookstore business downstairs as well as splurging on accommodation, albeit at a discount price. The listing is part of an initiative to ‘celebrate bookshops, encourage education in running independent bookshops and welcome people around the world to Scotland’s National Book Town’. Head to Trend Hunter for more.

There’s a plane on the roof of this house in India

The Brits have an affection for garden gnomes, while Americans love to deck their homes out in a zillion lights every December. Head to rural Punjab, India, and they’re taking house adornments to a whole new level. Photographer Rajesh Vora travelled 3,728 miles shooting the homes of migrants who’ve added planes, giant roosters and even a life-size replica of a tug-of-war team to the roofs of their houses. See more on the BBC.

Africa’s unexpected Modernist city

Few have heard about Asmara in Eritrea, but that could all change if it becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A local preservation group wants to put it on the map as a destination for design, with Modernist landmarks such as the streamlined Fiat Tagliero gas station scattered across the city. Find out more on these Asmaran delights on Curbed.