As part of the global branding of major conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Sushi, we worked on everything from the brand logo to the interior, uniforms, and product planning in opening its third global flagship store in Harajuku, Tokyo, a city which is centered on youth culture. As a brand developing businesses around the world, we aimed to convey the natural appeal of sushi, a food culture Japan is proud of, to the rest of the world in its most evolved form, as well as to provide a novel dining experience. 

Sushi has been enjoyed at food stalls since the Edo period (18th century) as Japan’s first “fast food”. Inspired by the bustle of Edo depicted in ukiyo-e by Hiroshige Utagawa—scenes of people enjoying not only sushi, but tempura, soba, and sweets in crowded stalls during festivals under large roofed spaces—this space was designed with a modern interpretation of “food + entertainment”, which has been channeled into the store space. 

In the store, which opened in Harajuku, the birthplace of Tokyo pop culture, a chrome-plated sweets stall located in the center with the look and feel of a DJ booth offers sushi crepes and sweets. It looks attractive on SNS, with a lantern wall, logo wall, and giant ukiyo-e, and at the same time fuses traditions and innovations from different fields like food, lifestyle, and design. We aimed to familiarize the young people of Gen Z with Japanese traditions and allow them to inherit them through their own perspectives by providing a dining experience that can only be enjoyed in this space.