Loquat Nishiizu- A historical Ryokan

Loquat is a just renovated ryokan located in the Toi Onsen district of Toi, on the west coast of Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka.

This ryokan is located in the former family house of the Suzuki family. While belonging to a wealthy family, it used to be a central part of Toi’s social life, and a commonplace for social gatherings. The house and its land were later donated to the city, where it was during a long time a space for elders and events. Although as time passed and the area lost its former glory, it slowly decayed and was no longer in use.

To boost tourism in the city and to cater to a specific crowd, a public and private consortium was formed to create what is now called Loquat. The target customers are people of all ages who enjoy less crowded spots, but still want to feel and learn about the local traditions, gastronomy, nature and art of this beautiful area.

When I was invited to the project, we set the goals of capturing the atmosphere of the old mansion (ongoing renovations at the time) and later to show the carefully renovated installations and its high quality yet affordable services and names linked to this accommodation. Not just that, but the team set on a week-long trip to explore the surroundings of the area, to show the beautiful locations (and sunsets and sunrises) that can be visited while staying in the ryokan. These images rotate depending on the time and season, on the header of the website, as you can see below.

One of my favourite parts of the project was not just to be involved in capturing the scenery and the installations but also to shoot portraits of chefs like Takeshi Toyama and Junji Ozeki (Takeru Quindici Kita-Kamakura and Takeru Quindici Loquat, respectively), Aiko Matsumoto (Gelateria SANTi owner-chef) and bakers Aoi Horii and Kyuyo Yamashita, as well as Harumi Nitta, beauty advisor and representative of Natural Therapy Salon Mimosa (also servicing Loquat).

Client: Loquat Nishiizu's Homepage
Instagram:  Loquat_nishiizu

Team: Creative Direction by Daisuke Sasaki. + Equal Studio