K5 Tokyo Hotel by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Switch Coffee at K5 Tokyo.

K5 Reception. The local Nihonbashi Kabutocho neighbourhood’s relative lack of greenery inspired the creation of a ‘green oasis’. A multitude of potted plants spread out, Aimai fashion, throughout the interiors. The hotel has a gardener but no traditional garden.

K5 Reception.

Hotel entrance.

K5. It’s a vibe.

The palette consists of traditional materials such as concrete, cedarwood and Japanese stucco. Complemented by a wide range of furniture and accessories, custom designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Housed in a converted 1920s bank building, K5 Tokyo sits beside the Tokyo Stock Exchange and connects the traditional Imperial Palace area with the hip Eastern part of the city. The Japanese word ‘Aimai’ guides K5 Tokyo’s concept, which translates to vague, obscure or ambiguous. The Japanese word has a positive, poetic sentiment, denoting the benefits of erasing borders.

Spread over 2,200square metres across 4 levels, this mixed-use project comprises a hotel, restaurant, wine bar, coffee shop, cocktail bar & beer hall. Designed by Stockholm-based architects Claesson Koivisto Rune, K5 Tokyo’s functions intentionally intermingle – the library is the bar, while the coffee shop doubles as a lounge, which flows into a wine bar and restaurant.

Claesson Koivisto Rune tackled the revamp with gusto, committing full respect to the original features of the building. Original raw concrete flooring is augmented with newer floor coverings honed from the same material, while the presence of traditional accents, such as cedarwood and Japanese stucco, maintain a mood of authenticity and connectivity to the structure’s past.

Guided by ‘Aimai’ as a design concept, Claesson Koivisto Rune implemented a fluid spatial mood where unclear boundaries lend themselves to versatile areas that have the capacity to change character throughout the day. This is best experienced in public areas like the reception, which duals as a coffee shop that gently seeps into the wine bar and then the restaurant.

The hotel’s unique location has directly influenced the lighting and colour scheme in some public spaces. With the rear of the hotel facing an arterial thoroughfare, Claesson Koivisto Rune have utilized passing car lights as a feature, incorporating coloured glass into all windows at the back of the hotel for a kaleidoscopic light show in the hotel’s corridors.

K5 Junior Suite.

K5 Junior Suite.

The guest rooms are characterised by the inclusion of a huge, glowing column, at the room’s centre, rising from floor to the 3 and 4.5m high ceilings. The ‘column’ is a circular, translucent fabric veil, partially dip-dyed in indigo, lit by a custom-made paper lantern. It envelops a freestanding bed with integrated shelf and desk. Drawing aside the veil reveals more of the room beyond. A sofa, easy chair and flower pots are placed around the room’s edges, like ‘satellites’ while the walls are kept free of furnishings.

K5 Loft.

Hotel Corridor.

K5 Suite Bathroom.

K5 Loft Bathroom.

Similar bursts of colour are also present in guestrooms, open spaces which are defined by a large central veiled column, cut from naturally dyed fabric in bold shades of indigo. The grand proportions of each high-ceilinged space are compounded by the minimal arrangement of Claesson Koivisto Rune-designed sofas, leather recliners and flowerpots positioned around each veiled core, while record players accompanied by curated vinyl collections introduce a touch of intimacy. These pieces coalesce with Claesson Koivisto–Rune-designed lighting—most prominently, bespoke washi paper lamps—and items from Maruni and Emeco, in addition to prints from the architect’s ‘Faciem’ collection.

In the K5 Rooms, Junior Suites, and the K5 Loft, bespoke K5 two-seater sofas further emphasize the hotel’s oscillation between both Scandinavian and Japanese design sensibilities, demonstrated among the near 20 items designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune for the hotel–spanning seating to pencils. This extends to bathrooms areas, where custom-made basins combine with wall-to-wall timber benches, stark white tiling, cedar ceilings and both red and white lighting tones. The concept of ‘Aimai’ also prevails here by way of unobtrusive Japanese cedar wood partition walls between sleeping areas and bathrooms, and centrally positioned oversized mirrors that impart a marked sense of continuity throughout each space.

Ao Bar.

Caveman Restaurant

In addition to 20 generously-sized rooms, K5 Tokyo presents celebrated Nordic and Japanese fusion cuisine at Caveman restaurant; the Brooklyn Brewery beer hall; Ao cocktail and tea bar with a Chinese-medicine-meets-mixology philosophy that flows forth in natural cocktails; hand-brewed coffee at Switch Coffee shop; and an abundance of greenery by Yardworks plant specialist.

K5 Tokyo is a creative microcosm of the city, crafted by those not afraid to break barriers. Independent minds welcome.

[Images courtesy of Claesson Koivisto Rune. Photography by Yikin Hyo.]