click to enlarge | photos by Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc
Last month a popular noodle restaurant, Hoto Fudo, opened its 4th store to what I can only imagine must have been a delightful surprise. Delightful because of its beautiful, organic form that sits near the foot of Mt. Fuji. Surprising because it bears no similarity to its 3 predecessors. Hoto is the name of their main dish, a characteristically flat noodle that is served with vegetables in a miso broth.
The structure, designed by Takeshi Hosaka Architects, is an organic, bulbous form that, in winter, could easily be mistaken for a large igloo. In the spirit of the igloo the restaurant also has no air-conditioning. And, except during the coldest times of the year, the entrances remain open to the outdoors allowing natural elements like wind, fog and sometimes rain, to enter the interior.
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Hoto Fudo
Higashi Koiji store (Gmap)
11:00 – 20:00
open year-round
