Tecchan Yakitori by Kengo Kuma — Tokyo, Japan

A big fan of Kengo Kuma, the owner of this pocket-sized yakitori bar in Tokyo’s hip neighbourhood Kichijoji, managed to inspire even the master architect, when he took him to visit Nakadai- a company that specialises in reusing industrial waste. Kuma immediately fell in love with the bundles of bright LAN cables and irregular blobs of melted acrylic that defines the two floors of the bar; on the first floor, cables have been randomly stapled to the walls, used as shades for the light bulbs and even ironed to readymade tables and chairs, while the ground floor is almost pristine in contrast, with a custom-made acrylic counter, tables and chairs and a mural by graphic designer Teruhiko Yumura.
INFORMATION
Jimmy Cohrssen
ADDRESS
1-1-2 Kichijojihoncho
Musashino-shi
Tokyo
Japan
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Originally from Denmark, Jens H. Jensen has been calling Japan his home for almost two decades. Since 2014 he has worked with Wallpaper* as the Japan Editor. His main interests are architecture, crafts and design. Besides writing and editing, he consults numerous business in Japan and beyond and designs and build retail, residential and moving (read: vans) interiors.
-
Mondrian makes waves at Burleigh Heads with a striking Australian debut
Mondrian Gold Coast emerges as a sculptural new anchor for Burleigh Heads, pairing surf-side glamour with global polish
-
Introducing the design-led Split Watches, a force for good
Good design is given a charitable spin by Split Watches – for every one sold, the company donates an hour of therapy
-
Meet the New York-based artists destabilising the boundaries of society
A new show in London presents seven young New York-based artists who are pushing against the borders between refined aesthetics and primal materiality
-
Tune into the rhythm of Tokyo’s most ambitious record shop
Vinyl Delivery Service in east Tokyo’s Skwat Kameari Art Centre is spinning a new narrative for the traditional record store model
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Waldorf Astoria Osaka
‘It’s rare to work on a brand new hotel of this scale in Japan in today’s landscape,’ says designer Andre Fu about Osaka’s newest luxury hotel. Wallpaper* paid it an early visit
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rosewood Miyakojima: ‘Japan, but not as most people know it’
Rosewood Miyakojima offers a smooth balance of intuitive Japanese ‘omotenashi’ fused with Rosewood’s luxury edge
-
A new book captures the kitschy allure of Japanese ‘love hotels’
For his latest project, French photographer François Prost documents the whimsical façades that characterise these erotic roadside venues.
-
All aboard the world’s most luxurious train journeys
Stay on track with our pick of the most luxurious train journeys around the world, whether in 1920s-style opulence or contemporary chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu: a soothing onsen hotel
In Japan’s bucolic northeast, Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu breathes new life into a sleepy hot spring village without betraying its ancient roots
-
Shake off the winter chill at these design-led onsen hotels in Japan
Whether you’re heading to the mountains of Hokkaido or the alleys of Kyoto’s Gion district, these immaculately designed onsen hotels will keep the shivers at bay
-
The new hotels you’ll want to stay at in 2025
Where to stay in 2025? Let six of the most-read-about hotel openings of the past 12 months inspire your escape – from a tiny Tokyo bolthole to a Tanzanian safari retreat