Trunk (House

Trunk (House) TOKYO

The second opening from Trunk is a unique one-bedroom hotel concept in Tokyo’s Little Kyoto neighbourhood.

Words: Ianthe Butt • Photography: © Tomooki Kengaku

Some hoteliers stick to a tried-and-tested format, but not the team behind Trunk (Hotel). It would have been easy to copy their debut, a 15-key boutique property featuring hip social spaces including a funky bar, restaurant and concrete-floored co-working area, which opened in Shibuya in 2017. However, Trunk’s second project – masterminded by founder Yoshitaka Nojiri and executed by Mount Fuji Architects Studio alongside in-house design team Trunk Atelier and Tokyo-based firm Tripster – has transformed a 70-year-old, split-level former geisha house into an ultra-luxe one-bedroom hotel in Tokyo’s understated Kagurazaka neighbourhood.

Tucked along Kakurenbo Yokochō (Hide-and-Seek Alley) behind a cedar wood fence – repainted black, the traditional signifier of a geisha house – the property is announced by a discreet noren cloth hanging in the doorway and now serves as a smart rent-as-a-whole residence. Sleeping up to four – two in the bedroom and two on tatami mat setups – it has a lounge, tearoom, dining room-meets-kitchen and mini-disco.

Mount Fuji Architects Studio was tasked with ensuring that the historic wooden building met current standards. During the early stages, the entire structure had to be temporarily lifted to add a concrete foundation underneath the original Ōya-ishi stone – challenging due to the proximity of adjacent structures – and steel pillars and braces were added on the upper level to make it earthquake resistant.

Inside, a restored mortar genkan-style entry with a stained glass window by St. Heavogon Studio depicting Mount Fuji is joined by dark terrazzo floors and woodpanelled ceilings traditional to Japanese design. Art pieces including Tom Sachs’ kooky take on a chanoyu (tea ceremony), and furniture – such as Stephen Kenn’s metal-framed tan leather sofas and a 1950 Jean Prouvé Potence wall lamp – bring international flair.

On the ground floor, an open kitchen with marbletopped counters and appliances – including a Maruzen steam oven – flows into a pared-back dining room space, where private chef Masashi Okamoto serves French-Japanese fusion food on vintage ceramics from local boutique Mikado. A long statement oak table sits beneath elegant brass pendant lights by New Light Pottery and has views into a courtyard garden. Designed by landscape architects Oryza, the petite plot

symbolises the passage of time, with water features that ebb and flow to reveal a pebble-filled rock garden, and trees – cherry and maple – chosen to represent the seasons.

While the overall design aesthetic is a restrained, exacting minimal-luxe, there are moments of unreserved flamboyance. Hidden behind two soundproofed doors, with walls specifically designed to keep noise down to seven decibels, is Tokyo’s tiniest disco room. The miniature party space features wraparound white leather banquettes, a state-of-theart Dam karaoke machine, Taguchi Craftec for White Light sound system, Bang & Olufsen speakers and a tempered glass light-up dance floor – the colours are controlled remotely using a Colour Kinetics Japan app. It’s cool-cat fun, with cocktails served in kitsch disco ball-inspired vessels or Baccarat crystal glasses by an on-call 24/7 butler (service is five-star slick).

The inclusion of vibrant spaces best enjoyed with friends reflects Trunk’s social-first hospitality ethos, and riffs on the area’s heritage as an artistic hub; creatives once gathered at salons to discuss culture, so the aim was to create a modern-day version.

Upstairs, spaces are more tranquil; a tearoom with central irori (sunken fireplace) floored with creamhued tatami matting is dressed up with a low Eames table and kirie paper-cut art by Chiaki Hirano, while next door, a futon bed sits under a silk decoupagestyle artwork by Alex Dodge. In the lounge, delicate shōji-style window screens have been added too. Hemp cloth, instead of washi paper, was used to allow better air flow and create a subdued light. At night, external light is blocked by original steelcoated amado window shutters, which otherwise sit in hollowed out wall spaces.

An erotic-themed magnolia and magenta colourpopping shunga wall art by ukiyo-e artist Masumi Ishikawa, above an oversized hinoki cypress wood bathtub and amenities by L’Officine Universelle Buly, add a touch of frivolity to a white mosaic-tiled bathroom. This recurring combination of cleverly meshed traditional design elements and subtly louche modern touches results in a unique residence that once again cements Trunk as scene-shaking hoteliers.

EXPRESS CHECK-OUT Operator: Trunk Architecture: Mount Fuji Architects Interior Design: Tripster, Trunk Atelier Landscaping: Oryza www.trunk-house.com

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