CITY SANCTUM

Tea salon, boutique, restaurant, art gallery and more, Ogata honours all things Japanese in Paris

- MINAKO NORIMATSU

Behind a sober wooden door, on a quiet back street in the north Marais, lies an exquisite slice of Japan, a contemporary shrine to its design and food traditions. Occupying a 17th-century hôtel particulier, Ogata brings together the art of tea, fine cuisine and craftsmanship, as well as culture and hospitality, edited and reinterpreted by founder Shinichiro Ogata. A product and interior designer as well as restaurateur, Mr Ogata is as discreet as his establishment’s door, though you might already be familiar with Wasara, his celebrated collection of compostable tableware. For more than 20 years, his design studio Simplicity has created one perfectly formed culinary destination after another in Tokyo, such as confectioner Higashiya and restaurant Yakumo Saryo, and his interior design portfolio ranges from Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills to stores for Aesop Japan. Ogata, a multi-level, 800 sq m platform for his vision and aesthetic, is his first project outside Japan.