Most of the work Sumizumi does is in Niyodogawa. Soup Curry Trance was different — a restaurant project in Kochi City, outside our usual territory. The challenge was taking what we understand about materials and slowness and applying it to something fast-paced and urban.
Soup curry is a Hokkaido style. It arrived in Kochi through someone who had spent years in Sapporo and came back wanting to open something that didn't exist here yet. The format is simple: a deep bowl of aromatic broth, vegetables cooked to tenderness in separate sequence, a portion of rice served on the side. It's a practical, generous dish.
The brief for the space was minimal: it should feel like somewhere you want to spend time, not just eat and leave. The client wanted warmth and material honesty — no laminate, no franchise aesthetic. This was familiar territory.
We worked with a local carpenter and sourced most of the furniture through Unpeak. The tables are solid timber, varied in size to handle both groups and solo diners. The counter seating faces the kitchen — an intentional choice that connects the front of house to the cooking. The lighting is warm and direct, no overhead fluorescents.
The visual identity — logotype, menu design, packaging — came from the same starting point as the interior: simple, legible, unhurried. The typeface is a hand-modified serif. The colour palette is drawn from the dish itself: the deep ochre of the broth, the green of the coriander garnish, the cream of the rice.
Soup Curry Trance opened in 2024. The line outside at lunch is the best feedback we received.