Cherry Blossom Ceiling inside RICCA Bar Tokyo by ROITO.

I mean, who doesn’t love a little bit of kitsch every once in a while, especially when it’s the Japanese variety, no? Precisely!

RICCA bar is located at Kagurazaka, Tokyo, famous for it’s traditional Japanese atmosphere and the alleys. Ryohei Kanda of Roito designed the space as a celebration of the Japanese cultural event known as “Hanami”, or “cherry blossom viewing”. This unique event takes place for only a couples of week each year in early spring, as the cherry blossom flowers remain in full bloom for just a few days.

“The real moment of Hanami is not so much looking at the flowers on the tree but watching with a tinge of sadness as they fall from the tree, flutter in the spring breeze on their short journey to the cold earth below. It’s a beautiful but melancholic reminder that all life must come to an end. The short period in full bloom and the beauty of the flowers are often likened to the fragility of human life. Because of this, it has been said since ancient times that cherry blossoms make people go crazy,” explains the designer.

Inspired by the cherry blossom season, the bar captures the beauty, the strength and the evanescence of Flowers. The interior consists of a lounge area and a private karaoke room. The ceilings in both spaces are covered in clusters of flower-shaped objects. These are made out of resin and laser-cut hologram sheets.

The flowers reflect multiple colours due to the nature of the hologram material, making them appear as though they are fluttering in the wind, just like real flowers. A semi-transparent red colour film was added to the resin in the lounge area, creating a bewitching atmosphere. The light reflects and bounces the colours from the flowers all around the room, making the whole space become alive with a flower-like explosion. Magic.