Wallpaper - 09.2019

When the 15-room Trunk (Hotel) opened two years ago

in Shibuya, its contemporary design, buzzy ambience

and creative collaborations filled a much-needed gap

in Tokyo’s hotel scene. Now, its entrepreneurial founder

Yoshitaka Nojiri has opened Trunk (House), an entirely

different kind of venture that is once again shaking

things up in a city otherwise more set on opening big

hotels ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.

Occupying a 70-year-old former ryōtei restaurant

and geisha training hall, the property comprises just

one bedroom and is designed as an exclusive ‘salon’ for

modern creatives. It is located in a maze of stone lanes

lined with traditional wooden houses in Kagurazaka,

an atmospheric neighbourhood near the Imperial

Palace that is dubbed Tokyo’s Little Kyoto – a far cry

from Trunk (Hotel)’s hipster setting in Shibuya.

Outside, there is no signage – a simple pine tree

marks the entrance. Inside, a modern riff on traditional

Japanese house design, masterminded by in-house team

Trunk Atelier and Tokyo-based studio Tripster, opens

with an original stone genkan entrance, which leads

into a welcoming space with wood-panelled ceilings

and a decorative stained glass window.

Brass lights by Nara-based New Light Pottery (see

W*236) are suspended above the ground-floor marble

kitchen counters and a long, solid oak dining table,

from which guests can admire the private chef ’s knife

skills. The first-floor living room is similarly clean-

lined, with metal-framed leather sofas by Stephen

Kenn, but the bathroom, inspired by traditional sentō

bathhouses, is a scene-stealer, its hinoki cypress wood

tub set against a tiled background featuring whimsical

paintings by woodblock print artist Masumi Ishikawa.

But perhaps best of all, in a fun Trunk twist, the

house is also home to ‘the world’s smallest disco’ –

complete with glitter ball, karaoke, neon signage,

dance floor and private bar. ∂

3-1-34 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, tel: 81.3 5766 3210,

trunk-house.com. Rates: from ¥621,000 ($5,723) for two,

including private chef and butler

One-bedroom Trunk (House) offers classic Japanese living with a disco twist

PHOTOGRAPHY: YASUYUKI TAKAGI WRITER: DANIELLE DEMETRIOU

To k y o s t o r y

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