Muji Hotel Ginza: A Testament to Simplicity and Elegance

Experience the Aesthetic and Comfortable Lifestyle of Muji in the Heart of Tokyo

The concept behind the Muji Hotel Ginza is "anti-gorgeous, anti-cheap". The design team aimed to create a space that reflects the richness of nature and the strength of materials. The common areas feature natural and aged materials, including 100-year-old reclaimed paving stones from Tokyo and iron from decommissioned ships. The guest rooms are designed with natural materials such as wood, stone, soil, and textiles, allowing guests to experience the aesthetic and comfortable lifestyle of Muji on a deeper and more personal level.

The Muji Hotel Ginza is the first Muji Hotel in Japan and is designed to feel like an extension of the guests' daily life while traveling. The hotel occupies the 6th to 10th floors of a building that also houses Muji stores on its lower floors. The guest rooms are spacious, thanks to high ceilings and efficient use of space. The design team focused on the innate functions and textures of natural materials to create spaces that promote relaxation.

One of the unique features of the hotel is the rammed earth wall, which contains soil from the land where the Muji Yurakucho store stood for 17 years as a world flagship store. This soil, now a part of the newly opened Muji Ginza, is believed to carry the history and stories of the brand. This innovative use of materials is a testament to the design team's commitment to sustainability and respect for nature.

The hotel was designed to offer as many guest rooms as possible, to allow more guests to experience the Muji lifestyle. Despite the narrow frontage of the rooms, the design team was able to create comfortable spaces with high ceilings by making good use of the high floor height of the building. The bathrooms were placed in alternate positions in adjacent rooms to make the guest rooms more spacious.

Atelier Muji Ginza, located on the hotel lobby floor, is a space dedicated to the promotion of design culture. It houses two galleries, a library of design books, and a salon that is open from morning until midnight. This space is not only for hotel guests but also for local residents, offering a calm and relaxing environment in the middle of busy Ginza.

The design process was not without its challenges. One of the most significant was the installation of around 100-year-old reclaimed paving stones from a Tokyo tram track on the main wall of the hotel lobby. Each stone had a unique texture, size, and thickness, and the design team had to carefully select and arrange them to achieve the best layout. The result is a stunning feature wall that has become an icon of the Muji Hotel Ginza.

The Muji Hotel Ginza is a testament to the brand's philosophy of simplicity and elegance. It offers a unique and immersive experience of the Muji lifestyle, and has been recognized with a Golden A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2020. This prestigious award is granted to designs that reflect extraordinary excellence and significantly impact the world with their desirable characteristics.