When a former chef from the world’s best restaurant opens a restaurant in Tokyo, you can expect not just an exciting menu, but also an uberchic interior that offers an unparalleled dining experience. Inua (from the Inuit term, “the life force that runs through nature”), a 60-seat eatery helmed by chef Thomas Frebel, is a partnership with chef Rene Redzepi (co-owner of Noma) and Kadokawa Corporation.
“Thomas Frebel is a man who knows what he wants. He spent a year researching in Japan to find the best food makers and local ingredients,” says Thomas Lykke, head of design and founder of OEO Studio, a Copenhagen-based firm which worked on Inua’s interior. “The brief was to design a unique destination, a place like no other that blends Nordic design with Japanese.”
Much like the menu which focuses on Nordic-influenced dishes with Japanese ingredients, the 700 sq m restaurant space also reflects a novel blend of Japanese and Nordic elements, creating a whole new aesthetic to wow guests and put them at ease at the same time.
“Inua is an abundance of tactility and materiality and all colours are carefully picked and created. It is a subtle and muted palette where there is a clear thread and connection,” says OEO managing partner Anne- Marie Buemann.
“We have created an ambience that is relaxed and embracing. The styling and furniture is a mix of old and new, and bespoke elements.”
At the start of the design process, a material mood board consisting of Denmark-sourced materials was created. The design team went on to find alternative products in Japan that had the same values of materiality but were slightly different in size, shape and finish.
A colour palette of muted warm grey hues, blue, green and burnt clay tones runs through the restaurant, with darker and lighter shades used to divide the space and provide ambient zoning. Enhancing the overall interior design is the ceiling grid design inspired by the lines of tatami flooring.
Inua, 2-13-12 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8552 Japan.