Channelling your inner caveman (or cavewoman) while indulging in a fine dining experience? We’re talking Maison Owl‘s new venue in Ube, a coastal town in the south of Japan. Interestingly, the dining establishment ‘first version’ was inaugurated last Summer by chef Motonori Hirata as part of Tokyo Pavilion 2021, an annual event which celebrates architecture and urban planning. Motonori began brooding on an idea many years before to open a unique dining concept that would ooze a prehistoric quality, or in his own words, ‘a place that looks as if it’s 10,000 years old and would live on for a similar period of time’. Well, he finally got what he wished for, thanks to Junya Ishigami, a Tokyo-based architect and old friend who also designed his initial restaurant.
Situated in the Naka Ube neighbourhood of town, the restaurant – mind you, the dining venue sees an adjoined space which is Hirata’s private home, totalling no less than 270 sqm. (2,906 s.ft.) – hasn’t been constructed, but dug out of ground by hand. Unexpected factors such as growing grass, soil collapsing, or errors due to manual labor were tolerated as much as possible. A striking feature, if we really have to name one, is its flat roof of poured concrete which was laid first before all the digging and is on street level. From an asphalted stretch on the premises, a staircase of large stones leads downwards, past a large window which reveals Maison Owl‘s open kitchen, straight to a central hall – or should we say ‘central cave’? – which connects to the venue’s other space.
The aforementioned open kitchen comes with bar seating, so some guests can dine and see how their food is prepared on the spot. Walking past a concealed storage section, venturing deeper into the restaurant, a large dining space unfolds furnished with tables for two and four persons. Almost entirely encased by large windows, thanks to two inner courtyards, daylight just floods in. It may surprise you, but Maison Owl serves refined French cuisine, featuring a rotational set menu of seasonal dishes which can be combined with a matching drink pairing. As said, chef Hirata lives on the spacious premises, and his home features a large living room and separate dining space, two bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and toilet. Mind you, it’s even possible to stay the night after you’ve splurged at the restaurant.
Maison Owl
1677-1 Azanishiyama (Naka Ube)
Ube 755-0086
Online reservations only
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
