Beauty In Subtlety

Situated inside a golf club in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, Hanashobu exudes an elegant serenity and calmness with its heavy use of light-coloured wood and flower-themed detailing.

- Praise POH

Taking inspiration from the ryokan – a traditional Japanese-style inn that typically features rooms covered in tatami mats – Masashi Sudo, lead designer of INVI inc., sought to create an upscale, yet intimate setting for diners that would allow them to experience Japanese culture and tradition in its totality.

FLOWER POWER

The restaurant is named after the Japanese iris, which is a symbol of elegance and refined beauty.

Sudo believes it is important for diners to have a feel of Japan’s natural scenery while dining in a Japanese restaurant. Hence, he decided to leverage on the theme of four seasons.

“As the restaurant is located inside a golf club, the storefront is surrounded by an outdoor terrace. I took advantage of this and planted a Japanese garden that consists of the flowers and plants of the four seasons.

“Unlike Japan, there are no clear seasons in Shenzhen. However, the angle at which the sunlight strikes the earth changes with the time of the day, and we decided to express the changing of the seasons through this by arranging the plants to reflect the different time/season of the day,” he elaborates.

Taking special care to select plants that are hardy (namely, Yaezakura, Ajisai, Momiji, Tsubaki, Hanamizuki and Sazanka), Sudo and his team purchased them directly from the local flower market and named all the six private dining rooms after them.

He designed the layout of the private rooms in such a way that the Japanese outdoor garden can be seen and admired from each of the rooms, creating a heightened visual experience for the diner.