Kyoto Store

About

Just a five-minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station, 45R Kyoto is located along Sanjo Street. Among our street-level stores in Japan, it carries the deepest sense of history, built with carefully selected famous stones gathered from across the country. Inside, you will discover a different dimension of Kyoto as envisioned by 45R. We warmly welcome you to visit.

61 Masuya-cho, Takakura Higashi-iru, Sanjo-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-8135, Japan

+81 75-252-0045

11:00 - 19:00

History

Founded in 2002

Located along the bustling Sanjo Street in Kyoto, a vibrant area where tourists from all over the world pass through, the 45R Kyoto Store sits just a five-minute walk from Karasuma-Oike Station. As the oldest of 45R’s flagship stores in Japan, it became the brand’s flagship location in western Japan. This period marked the opening of several key locations, including the original Badou-R in 1999, the New York Soho store in 2000, and the Kyoto store in 2002.

Architecture

The Making of the Store

Like the original location of Badou-R and the New York Soho store, the Kyoto store was built by skilled Kyoto carpenters specializing in traditional Sukiya-style architecture. Most of the materials used are strong, durable, and finely crafted Japanese timber and stone. Infused with Kyoto’s rich culture, this store continues to hold deep significance for us, remaining an irreplaceable part of our legacy.

The entrance of the Kyoto store features a prominent eaves with a one-piece tile roof, beneath which a noren (traditional curtain) hangs. Surrounding the entrance is cedar wood, its grain deepened over time.

Rather than being made from planks, the wood is stacked like that of a log cabin, each piece carefully placed to form the structure. Pressing gently from within, one can truly appreciate the substantial thickness and weight of the wood.

This tunnel-like entrance is designed as a bridge, under which flows a “river” made of gravel and stone. The bridge, named “R Bridge,” is positioned at a slight angle to the building, a design based on Japan’s ancient aesthetic principles. By avoiding symmetry and arranging it diagonally, the design reflects the “imperfect beauty” inherent in nature. This arrangement also serves to gently slow the pace of those leaving the store, inviting them to savor the moment and feel a sense of reluctant parting. This concept draws inspiration from the aesthetic found in the Katsura Imperial Villa.

Upon entering the store, the eye is naturally drawn to the large rectangular pillar crafted from chestnut wood, featuring distinctive “Naguri” processing (a traditional technique of texturing wood) that gives it a rough yet beautiful texture.

Chestnut, a traditional material used in Japanese homes since the Jomon period, is durable and exhibits a beautiful grain and color. The pillar’s impressive size is a rarity rarely encountered, and chestnut wood is used throughout the store, including in the rear columns, fitting floors, and walls, making it an iconic material for the Kyoto store.

The Naguri-treated chestnut floor provides a pleasing, natural feel underfoot, offering comfort with every step.

On both sides of the store’s walls, chestnut wood panels depict the surrounding mountains of Kyoto: the North, West, and East Mountains. The traditional Bon festival ritual, Gozan no Okuribi (the sending off of spirits, a ritual of lighting fires on mountain peaks during the summer Bon festival), is also intricately carved into the panels, creating a sense of a timeless Kyoto within the store.

The product shelves around the large chestnut pillars are made of Inujima stone, quarried from the Seto Inland Sea. Known for its hardness, durability, and elegant whiteness, Inujima stone has been used in the construction of Kyoto’s shrines and temples. The shelves, measuring 2.3 meters in width and 3.7 meters in depth, were so large that they had to be delivered by crane before the store’s completion, shortly after the ground-breaking ceremony. Inujima stone is also used for the fitting room walls throughout the store.

At the center and rear of the store are traditional Kyoto-style Tsuboniwa gardens and an inner garden (Okoniwa). In traditional machiya (townhouses), where the narrow frontage and deep depth make it difficult to bring in light and air, Tsuboniwa gardens were created to channel natural light and improve ventilation throughout the building. The Tsuboniwa in the store reflects the changing seasons, offering a profound connection to nature. Among the plants, you’ll find Nanten (Nandina, a plant symbolic of turning misfortune into fortune), as well as ancient foundation stones that impart a sense of strength and stability.

In the inner garden, an Enju tree (Sophora japonica) is planted, symbolizing protection from evil. This tree, which has flourished since the store’s opening, now stands at twice its original height, its roots deeply embedded in the ground.

The Kyoto store has been beloved for over 20 years, with the wood and stone, polished by time and stories shared with our customers, now exuding an even deeper richness and character. With gratitude to the customers who have walked with us so far, we are eager to continue embracing new challenges in this special place.

【 Design & Construction 】
SANKAKUYA
With an office in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, and a workshop in Kutsuki, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture, SANKAKUYA is a collective dedicated to creating Japanese architecture. They procure large volumes of timber as raw logs and, through the skills of their artisans, bring out the true potential of these materials in building construction.