Warm honey-toned timber slats command the left and center portions of MAYUMI EHARA's Monya Japanese Restaurant, establishing a rhythmic vertical cadence that dominates the compositional architecture…

A warm, honeyed luminosity suffuses MAYUMI EHARA's Monya Japanese Restaurant entrance corridor, where slender vertical wood slats, precisely milled and evenly spaced at intervals suggesting a refined…

Warm honey-toned timber lattice screens establish the dominant material vocabulary of MAYUMI EHARA's Monya Japanese Restaurant, where vertical linear elements execute a systematic rhythm creating…

A precisely calibrated linear dining counter extends horizontally through an intimate interior volume, its pale blond timber surface establishing the compositional armature while functioning as the…

The spatial composition establishes a compelling dialogue between interiority and exteriority through a rigorously geometric architectural framework that privileges transparency, horizontal…

Monya Japanese Restaurant by Mayumi Ehara is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Competition Category.

SilverInterior· 2021

Monya Japanese Restaurant

by Mayumi Ehara

Client: Monya

Silver A' Design Award Winner in Interior Category

20,538

Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About Monya Japanese Restaurant

Monya is a Japanese restaurant with a floor area of about 230 square meters. The west facing facade is formed by tall glass windows, so a very thin wooden lattice was installed across the whole surface to soften the strong sunlight. The interior includes private rooms, a counter where the chef cooks in front of guests, an open space for parties and a terrace seat beside a private garden. One glass private room can be divided in two by a soundproof sliding shutter. The lattice gives privacy without solid walls and creates calm light and shadow.

The Recognition

About the Silver A' Design Award

Monya Japanese Restaurant 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. Monya Japanese Restaurant 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. Monya Japanese Restaurant is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.

Image Analysis

Color Temperature: WarmSymmetry: Both DirectionsBackground: Top and Bottom

Where to Get It

Award-Winning Interior Design for Retail and Hospitality

We specialize in creating sophisticated interior spaces that elevate brands and enhance customer experiences. With over 30 years of expertise in retail stores, restaurants, and cafés, we blend modern Japanese aesthetics with functional design to transform your vision into reality.

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Behind the Design

Press Kit

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

Unique Properties: There are private rooms where small groups or groups can sit. Also, the counter seat where the chef cooks in front of you. There is also an open space available for parties. There is also a terrace seat with a private garden where you can enjoy Japanese cuisine using seasonal plant flowers and trees.
Dimensions & Packaging: Floor area about 230 square meters
Tags: (Tachikawa、Monya、Japanese food,Cherry blossoms)
Production Technology: The height of the glass windows on the façade is very high　but I installed a very thin wooden grid over the entire surface of the windows.
It can be partially opened with a sliding door.
The glass-enclosed private room has a structure in which a soundproof slide shutter hangs down from the ceiling in the middle, and can be divided into two rooms.
Design Challenge: The client's request was to increase the number of private rooms but increasing the number of private rooms would result in more walls and a very closed and uncomfortable space.
This problem was solved by making heavy use of the traditional Japanese beauty of lattice design.
Research: We are always thinking about what kind of space will make our customers feel comfortable.
On anniversaries we would like you to enjoy your meal slowly feel the changing times and seasons and come to the store with your loved ones.
Inspiration: Since the shape of the site of this shop was a large glass surface in the part facing the west it was necessary to soften the strong sunlight during the day.
The wooden lattice, which is often used in Japanese architecture, is boldly expressed on this surface. The light and shadow of the lattice are beautiful during the day, and the image is calm and elegant at night.
Project Duration: The project started in Tachikawa Tokyo in February 2019 and opened in April 2020.
Operation Flow: Japanese cuisine values the four seasons of Japan and is a very important factor when a cook thinks about how to cook. It has long been inherited that seasonal ingredients are very effective for health so it is also a pleasure for our customers to enjoy the seasonal dishes of the four seasons with their eyes, and the next season. It will lead you to visit again to enjoy the food.
Image Credits: Photographer Kozo Takayama