Later this month, five very lucky visitors in Tokyo will chat about architecture, sip tea, and nibble on cakes with prominent Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, Hon. FAIA, as part of a tour organized by Airbnb. (Sorry, it’s already sold out.) Offered on a “first come, first served” basis for around $180 (£140) per person, the prolific lodging service quietly posted a tour in which “Kengo Kuma shares his architectural inspiration” as part of the platform’s growing portfolio of tourism activities.
The two-hour tour will begin at the architect’s studio in the Aoyama neighborhood, a short 25-minute walk from the Yoyogi National Gymnasium designed by late Japanese architect Kenzō Tange for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, which inspired Kuma to become an architect. According to the experience page, “Kengo will discuss how the iconic structure informed his own perspective on architecture and design.”
Blaine Brownell
Timber lattice as façade: Sunny Hills Minami-Aoyama by Kengo Kuma, Tokyo, 2014.
After visiting that site, the group will continue on to Kuma’s own New National Stadium, which will be a centerpiece of the 2020 Olympics. Because the stadium is still under construction, the group will primarily tour the exterior. Then the tour will culminate at the Kengo Kuma & Associates–designed, lumber lattice–clad Sunny Hills Taiwanese tea shop, where the group will have the opportunity to chat and snack with the architect.
For those hoping to replicate and extend the experience, the Aoyama neighborhood also feature other sites designed by Kuma, including the Nezu Museum, the One Omotesando office building, and the Meiji Jingu Museum slated to open next fall.
