Solid Tenryu cedar and a Ryukyu limestone counter.
The counter seating combines solid Tenryu cedar and Ryukyu limestone. The owner also took part in construction, embedding Ryukyu glass and Okinawan seashells in the exposed-aggregate floor.
Project details
A 6-tsubo (about 20 m²) Okinawan restaurant with an unhurried island rhythm.
Why
An Okinawan restaurant opened by a former airline pilot.
- 01
Okinawan home cooking and the allure of flight
The owner is a former pilot who flew Boeing aircraft. He wanted to share authentic Okinawan home cooking, and the fun of airplanes, with people in Saitama.
- 02
A compact 6-tsubo (about 20 m²) space
Keeping the former restaurant's structure, we needed to make the 6-tsubo (about 20 m²) interior feel more spacious.
- 03
Catching the eye from the street
The storefront needed to catch the eye of people walking along the street and feel easy to enter, even for a woman on her own.
How
Inspired by Okinawa’s nature and traditional homes, with light that creates a sense of space.
To evoke “Uchina time” (Okinawan dialect for a slow, unhurried pace), we based the shop design on the nature and traditional houses of Okinawa.
Expansive indirect lighting to make the space feel larger.
Long, flowing lines of indirect light draw the eye from the street in front, and also give the space a greater sense of openness.
A large glass door with a driftwood handle.
We installed a large glass door so that even a woman on her own would feel comfortable coming in. A driftwood handle that feels good in the hand and an original Ryukyu glass sign give the shop its own character.
What
A restaurant full of regulars, drawn by the owners’ warmth and delicious food.
Before constructionCompleted
RoleOur scope
- Shop design
- Signage
- Photo direction