Tokyo Design Utopia

Restaurant INUA in Tokyo with former Noma chef Thomas Frebel at the helm is a partnership between Noma’s head chef Rene Redzepi and Japan’s Kadokawa Corporation.

Tasked with creating a clear link to Japan as well as referencing Noma’s Nordic heritage, OEO Studio devised a design concept for the new 700m2 restaurant that fuses Japanese and Nordic sensibilities to bring about a refined blend of craftsmanship, materiality and architecture. OEO Studio worked with local materials as well as Japanese-inspired details interpreted with a Nordic twist in novel and unexpected ways. Signature to the OEO Studio design approach, INUA features the highest level of bespoke design.

Restaurant INUA opened its doors to the public in June 2018. In 2019, INUA received two Michelin stars and won the ‘Arrival of the Year’ title at the World Restaurant Awards 2019. In 2020, INUA was included in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Year of completion: 2018

Photograhy by Jason Lucas, Michinori Aoki and OEO Studio