The Japanese Restaurant Hotel by Yohei Akao - Strickland

The Japanese Restaurant Hotel by Yohei Akao - Strickland is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Competition Category.

SilverInterior· 2021

The Japanese Restaurant Hotel

by Yohei Akao - Strickland

Client: Strickland

Silver A' Design Award Winner in Interior Category

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The Design

About The Japanese Restaurant Hotel

The Japanese Restaurant is an all-day dining restaurant inside a luxury resort in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. The 401 square meter space serves Edomae sushi, teppanyaki, kaiseki cuisine and a la carte dishes. A long corridor with a lattice inspired by Kanuma Kumiko craft leads to the reception and the main dining room, which overlooks Mount Nantai. Teppanyaki and sushi counters, a tatami room, a private room and terrace seating surround the main area. Aluminum die-cast lattices, yellow Juraku walls and a carved red panel of local plants are used.

The Recognition

About the Silver A' Design Award

The Japanese Restaurant Hotel is a Silver A' Design Award winner, an extraordinarily prestigious recognition granted to top-of-the-line, gorgeous, and impressive designs. Silver winners are tremendously brilliant and exceedingly creative works that illustrate the outstanding expertise, talent, and acuity of their designers. The Japanese Restaurant Hotel is expected to be a wonderful, showpiece work that is remarkably professional and profoundly innovative. This Silver A' Design Award-winning design is a highly notable, admired invention that benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. The Japanese Restaurant Hotel is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.

Image Analysis

Color Temperature: WarmSymmetry: PartialBackground: No Clear Backdrop

Where to Get It

Hospitality Interior Design Services

We specialize in creating bespoke interior environments for luxury hotels and restaurants. Our research-driven approach combines local culture with modern innovation to craft spaces that tell unique stories. With expertise in high-end hospitality design, we transform venues into memorable destinations.

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Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Nikko City in Tochigi Prefecture, about two and a half hours from Tokyo, located at The Ritz-Carlton Nikko, a luxury resort, overlooking Mt. Nantai on the shores of Lake Chuzenji.
A specialty restaurant that offers Edomae sushi, Teppanyaki, Kaiseki cuisine, and a la carte while being an all-day dining restaurant. Passing through the long corridor from its entrance, there is a main dining room with a view of Mt. Nantai, various seats such as a tatami room and a counter enjoying dining.
Dimensions & Packaging: The total area of this restaurant is 401 square meters.
It has a main dining area, Teppanyaki room, Sushi room, private dining room and terrace seating area.
Tags: hotel, restaurant, luxury, hospitality
Production Technology: ・ Aluminum die-cast lattice inspired by traditional craft, Kanuma Kumiko
・ Yellow Juraku wall inspired by the Shoin-zukuri
・ A red carving panel with the motif of seasonal plants that live around Lake Chuzenji in collaboration with a master of Nikko carving.
Design Challenge: The most challenging content for us was how to replace traditional Japanese crafts with modern ones suitable for luxury hotels. Replacing materials from wood to metal and giving patterns a more modern look. Using various methods such as changing the scale of the pattern, trial and error was carried out to maintain modernity and a sense of grade, and finally the design was completed. It was also challenging to collaborate with the son of a master craftsman of Nikko Toshogu. After repeated discussions, we carefully derived the scale of the motif and the depth of carving.
Research: In design, researching on the "location" and "history" of land is very important. What happened in this place, what was happening in this place?
The town of Nikko, on a high mountain, in front of Lake Chuzenji, a place that used to be a summer resort. Gradually narrowing the scope of research, we carefully narrowed down the appropriate way of land. Ultimately, it should be the only space with a story that can only be expressed in this land.
Inspiration: There are 3 design cores.
The first is "traditional Japanese residence composition" which has the corridor, tea room, Shoin-zukuri, and garden. The second is "Nature of Nikko". Inspired by the flora and fauna that live around Lake Chuzenji in Nikko, replaced with a modern interpretation, and used for patterns. The final is "Nikko Craftsmanship". A collection of master craftsmen from all over Japan during the construction of Nikko Toshogu, which is now a World Heritage Site, and as a result, various crafts that make use of this land-specific technology remain.
Project Duration: The project finished in July 2020, located in Nikko city, Japan.
Operation Flow: Guests arrive at the reception as they pass through a long corridor of light and shadow woven by a lattice inspired by Kanuma Kumiko. The reception counter adopts Japanese tea ceremony, boiling water and inviting guests with tea hospitality. Further through the corridor, you will encounter a large space in the large main dining room, with a sloping lattice ceiling covered with indirect lighting. In addition, there are private rooms for teppanyaki counters, sushi counters, and tatami mats around the main dining area.
Patents: Copyright @ STRICKLAND
Team Members: Lighting Designer : WORKTECHT LIGHTING DESIGN & CONSULTANT
Art Consultant : ART FRONT GALLERY
Image Credits: Photographer Yoshio Shiratori