white block tiles form a countertop and zig zag grey tiles make up the backsplash
Fields of white tile offer visual definition and orientation for customers.

December 1, 2022

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: Yoshiaki Ida

07BEACH Plays Games With the Design of This Ramen Shop

Kids aren’t supposed to play with their food, but that doesn’t mean restaurants can’t be playful. For the Kaishin No Ichigeki ramen shop in Okinawa, 07BEACH brings video games into the culinary present for an 800-square-foot homage to nostalgia.

“The design was inspired by those early video games which are drawn with dots, low-resolution, and uniquely familiar,” says architect Joe Chikamori, referencing the ramen shop. “The seating area for groups was designed to look like a game castle,” while condiments are kept organized on pedestals like coins or prizes to be collected. A checkboard, waving like a pack of ramen noodles, defines ceilings and walls; the team crafted it of white tile on gray mortar. “The design is abstract, to some extent,” he says, “and the combination and the forms of these ordinary materials make the space unique.” Let’s play. 

painted wood cubes spell out the Japanese word for dipping noodles at a ramen shop in Okinawa
At the entrance, painted wood cubes spell out the Japanese word for dipping noodles, the shop’s signature.
Various arrangements of wood blocks form stool tops at this ramen shop.
Various arrangements of wood blocks form stool tops.
blocks of white tile surround dining tables at the ramen shop
A noodley checkerboard expands across the ceiling and down the walls to meet blocks of white tile.
Green carpet tile forms a playful seating area inside of white block tiles
Green carpet tile forms a playful seating area.
a stepped block tile countertop
The countertop is stepped to keep with the theme.
seasonings atop the white block tile countertop
Seasonings are displayed on white blocks atop the counter.
white block tiles form a countertop and zig zag grey tiles make up the backsplash
Fields of white tile offer visual definition and orientation for customers.
A pixelated window display and yellow neon signage at the front of the ramen shop in Okinawa
A pixelated window display and yellow neon signage attract attention, even at night.

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