yuji tanabe places bakery-restaurant amongst leafy japanese surroundings

yuji tanabe places bakery-restaurant amongst leafy japanese surroundings
image © yu terayama

popular among japanese locals as a mountain resort and a weekend gataway, karuizawa is where the new sawamura bakery and café is based. approached by kanagawa-based practice yuji tanabe architects, the design takes advantage of the green, leafy surroundings where the layout of the large space is distributed by indoor and outdoors routes and bridges. walkways connect the restaurant and the bakery together, illustrated  by a suspended staircase and bridge which wraps around the two conjoining eateries.

giving the option to be closer to nature, visitors can choose to eat outside
image © yuji tanabe

an upper mezzanine level looks down onto the restaurant
image © yu terayama

the bakery
image © yu terayama

the book café
image © yuji tanabe

japanese larch has been used for the exterior material
image © yuji tanabe

the corridor (forest walk) on the 2nd floor allows people to meander through the trees
image © yu terayama

a walkway wraps around the japanese establishment
image © yu terayama

the front of the café-cum-restaurant
image © yu terayama

diagram showing routes between the two programs