Muji Hotel

Muji Hotel GINZA

Muji’s first outpost in Japan immerses guests in the world of the cult homewares brand, where simplicity and functionality reign supreme.

Words: Mandi Keighran Photography: © Nacasa & Partners

Japanese homewares brand Muji has developed a cult following for its minimalist, no-frills approach to design – whether it’s toasters, sofas, clothing, stationary or storage systems. In the world of Muji, everything has a purpose and a place. It’s no surprise that for many, this approach has become something of a philosophy to live by, sitting neatly beside Marie Kondo’s message to strip back the material objects in our lives. When the flagship store in Yūrakuchō had to be demolished to make way for the Tokyo Olympics, the decision was made to create an even more immersive Muji experience in the Ginza district – one that includes a hotel.

“The concept is anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap,” says Eriko Kojima, PR Manager at UDS, the firm responsible for both the interior design and hotel operations. “This is the same concept behind Muji products – not so gorgeous, not so cheap. Usually staying at a hotel is a special experience, but we want people to feel that staying here is an extension of their daily life.”

The 79-room hotel – the third of its kind to open following one in Shenzhen and another in Beijing – is located on levels six to ten above the brand’s flagship store, the largest Muji retail space in the world, with a sprawling food court and floors dedicated to homewares, furniture, books and fashion.

The sixth floor is the hotel’s entry point. Here, visitors discover not only standard amenities such as a reception, restaurant and bar, but also more unusual spaces, including Muji Market – a room with vending machines selling practical Muji products, from underwear to ready meals – a library, and the Atelier Muji gallery, which hosts rotating exhibitions that aim to provide insight into our future lifestyles.

In contrast to the accommodation floors, which are sleekly minimal, public spaces feature rich layers of texture. A rammed earth wall in front of the restaurant, created using soil from the former Muji flagship site in Yūrakuchō, pays homage to the brand’s history, while the surface behind reception is crafted using paving stones

Guestrooms share Muji’s distinctly minimalist style and feature lowlying beds, oak timber furnishings and traditional tatami mats

from trolley ways that ran through Tokyo’s streets a century ago.

“We wanted to have an atmosphere of history in the hotel,” Kojima continues. “So we have used a number of recycled products along with natural materials. Ginza is very crowded, and we want people to be relaxed when they come to the Muji Hotel.”

Throughout the four accommodation floors and guestrooms, finishes are simple and elegant, reflecting the unadorned beauty and functionality of Muji products – think oak timber that echoes the brand’s furniture products, undyed wool carpet in corridors, and simple white-painted timber, linen or stone-tiled walls. This connection to nature is strengthened by small rock gardens with floral arrangements in select corners of the hall, which offer surprising moments of whimsy in the otherwise elegantly stark interiors.

There are nine different room types, ranging from a small 14m 2 studio to an expansive 52m 2 apartment-style room sleeping up to four guests. While most quarters feature regular beds, there are also some with bunks or futonstyle mattresses on traditional tatami mats, several of which feature raised timber sleeping platforms, separating living and sleeping areas – the step to the platform is also underlit to create the illusion of a floating podium. Palecoloured surfaces further reflect the natural light, making the most of the small windows that overlook the busy streets of Ginza.

“Because the building was originally built as an office space, the layout was very difficult to turn into hotel rooms,” Kojima recalls. “As a consequence, some rooms are very narrow, but the ceilings are high, so they still feel spacious.”

Like Muji products, the rooms have been designed with comfort and functionality at the forefront. Each has a tablet that controls everything from the lighting, air conditioning and alarm to the curtains, and features a mix of existing Muji products – kettle, air purifier and aroma diffuser – alongside bespoke furniture pieces. In the smallest spaces, a

LUXURY OUTDOOR FURNITURE

sliding bathroom door doubles as a narrow closet with integrated safe. “Muji has a focus on simplicity,” says Kojima. “We wanted to reflect this in the rooms, so everything has its own place and all the drawers and shelves have been custom-designed.”

Each room also contains a selection of reads carefully curated by Muji Books around the theme of Kacho Fugetsu – a Japanese concept that relates to the flora, fauna and phenomena of the natural world. In the family rooms – equipped with large double bunks – books are displayed in shelves integrated beside the beds, creating two cosy library nooks that feel a world away from the bustling metropolis below.

Equally as sleek and minimal are the bathrooms, ranging from small timber-clad shower pods in the studio rooms to elegant stone-tiled bathrooms with separate tubs in larger rooms. The baths and sinks were designed by UDS especially for the hotel, and there are plans to put them into production with Muji in the near future.

Back on the sixth floor, WA is a Japanese restaurant serving specialties from across Japan, with the menu changing every four months. Located behind the lobby, the dining venue has a feature wall crafted from the steel panels of an old ship, and an exposed ceiling that makes the space feel more expansive. The nearby Salon bar, which remains open until the early hours, boasts a long bar handcrafted from camphor timber, and a dining table with a collection of iconic designer chairs from around the world.

While Kojima’s description of the Muji Hotel Ginza as “anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap” rings true – there is no glitz or bling, and there is a palpable sense of quality throughout – every element and each moment of the hotel is beautifully crafted, stripped back to elegant functionality. Just like Muji products themselves.

EXPRESS CHECK-OUT Owner: Muji Operator / Interior Design: UDS www.hotel.muji.com

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