Hotel Metropolitan Kamakura, a homelike stay

"A homelike stay" is the key phrase of the idea for this hotel, and the starting point for everything. Of course, this would be done while also placing importance on the right level of tension and high quality as a hotel.
We wanted to give this hotel an authentic appearance, as if it had been in that location from long ago, and to create an identity for this hotel as a place of comfort and security, like visiting a Kamakura villa.
In a way, our goal is to give guests an extraordinary experience as an extension of their daily lives. This time, what we focused on was the veranda area.
By carefully designing the buffer space as a continuation ground connecting the outside and inside, the scenery, landscape, architecture, and interior are blended together, giving this hotel a very lively and very comfortable atmosphere.
The scenery and gardens change day to day, beautifully expressing the four seasons of Kamakura, and feel like an interior material wherever you are in the hotel.
Our idea of a "Kamakura-style hotel" is a place where you can relax as if living in your own way and cultivate a spirit that appreciates nature and the changing of the four seasons.

【Site overview】
Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
It is located in front of the Ni no Torii Gate of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, exactly in the middle of mountain and ocean scenery, at the beginning of the Dankazura walkway famous for its cherry blossoms.

【Outline of building plan】
In the center of the ancient city, we created a landscape that enhances the atmosphere of Kamakura, which is blessed with history, culture, and nature, with the goal of "a quiet villa surrounded by woods" hotel with a world view.
We planned three things: A lush front garden that blends into Wakamiya Oji (Wakamiya Main Street), a villa-like approach that welcomes visitors with two gardens – the front garden and the inner garden, and guest rooms with veranda living rooms facing the front garden.
The front garden has the building set back 6 m from Wakamiya Oji, with the existing pine trees and stonework preserved plus newly planted gingko trees and other plants, and a footpath integrated into the garden that lets you experience the air and four seasons of Kamakura. To create the right amount of liveliness there, the eaves of the hotel entrance and the stores are designed with a human scale, and a small terrace surrounded by preserved pine trees is provided.

When guests pass under the low eaves of the front garden, they are led to the peaceful inner garden with Japanese ash trees, and are gently greeted by the lobby finished with wood. The sloped ceiling of the 2-story atrium extends toward the inner garden and connects with the terrace eaves to strengthen the sense of unity between the lobby and the inner garden. Guests are guided from there along a corridor where they can feel the tranquility of the sandy beach to their veranda-equipped guest rooms where they can relax as if at home.
In accordance with the scale of the ancient city and landscape regulations, the floor height of guest room floors is kept low at 2.95 m, but the full-frontage full-height windows and the veranda extending outside connect with the trees in the front yard and the view of Kamakura, bringing a sense of openness and good comfort. The Kamakura carving inspired art panel on the back of the bed, the open washroom counter separated by a sliding door, the veranda living room sofa where you can relax barefoot, etc. are simple touches of the unique hospitality of Kamakura scattered throughout the guestrooms.
We hope that more and more people will experience this hotel and that it will become an additional attraction for the town of Kamakura.