Hakata Isoragi Seafood Donburi Restaurant

The inspiration comes from the history and natural environment of Hakata. Hakata is a city facing the sea while being surrounded by forests and mountains, and it has developed through centuries of exchange with Asia. In my work, the situation, environment, and historical context surrounding a project always become the core of the design. For this project, I sought to weave the memory and atmosphere of Hakata into the space itself.

My primary focus was to create a unique space where visitors to Hakata Station could experience food together with the history and cultural background of Hakata. I wanted the space to provide not only a meal, but also a sense of hospitality and local identity, even during a short stay in a busy terminal station environment.

Among Japanese food cultures, donburi is one of the most familiar and widely loved styles of dining in everyday life. In recent years, as interest in Japanese culture has grown globally, its popularity has also expanded internationally. I believe spaces that communicate Japanese food culture together with regional identity will become increasingly important in the future.

Hakata faces the Genkai Sea and has long been connected to various countries and cultures across the sea. While the Genkai Sea brought trade and cultural exchange, it also witnessed periods of conflict, absorbing the great waves of history where peace and tension repeatedly intertwined.I wanted to abstract these historical currents as one of the spatial elements. To express the waves of the Genkai Sea, I created plaster walls made from local earth mixed with charcoal ink. I conceived both the large swells and the small ripples as variations in tone, and while I shared only the overall concept and philosophy, I entrusted the specific expression to the skill of the craftsmen.Led by the master plasterer, the team completed the large wall surface in one continuous process, creating subtle tonal fluctuations through handcraftsmanship. This richness and unpredictability became an important element in shaping the atmosphere of the space, evoking a sense of deep time and quiet contemplation.

Hakata Station is a major transportation hub filled with speed, movement, and constant activity. Within such an environment, this project became one of the most popular restaurants in the terminal, welcoming approximately 300,000 visitors annually at its peak.Although analyzing the market and understanding customer demographics are important in commercial design, I believe that sustaining a successful business ultimately depends on having a compelling and original story.In this project, I deliberately minimized the use of industrial materials and instead incorporated natural materials and hand-crafted finishes. From the entrance to each seating area, the space was designed to offer layered experiences through sight, touch, materials, and food.Rather than creating a world isolated from the energy of the terminal, I aimed to provide a place where visitors could experience a profound sense of immersion and cultural depth, even within a short period of time.

Hakata-ori is one of Hakata's representative traditional crafts. However, I did not consider it appropriate to use such a delicate textile extensively as a finishing material in a restaurant environment that requires durability.Instead, I used Hakata-ori as the backdrop for display shelves featuring craft objects, allowing the texture of the fabric to emerge through carefully arranged lighting and become one of the spatial elements.Hakata-ori is created through combinations of warp and weft threads, generating a wide variety of textures and expressions. This layered composition resonates with the philosophy of the project itself, which seeks to create multiple layers of experience.The shelves are also designed to encourage customers to discover new worlds through the displayed craft objects and tableware. In this sense, the Hakata-ori shelves became one of the symbolic elements of the project.