SOFT INFUSION
TORAYA
TORAYA
TORAYA
A SLOW WAVE FROM JAPAN TO LA
PROJECT / DATE
Academic studio project
Tastemaking LA Studio
ArtCenter / Fall 2025
MY ROLE
Concept, visitor experience,
spatial and wagashi design, 3D
visualization, physical model
COLLABORATION
Nina Kawasaki
Tama Art University
Logotype and package design
TOOLS
Rhino, Blender, Unreal Engine,
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator,
After Effects, Premiere Pro
PROJECT / DATE
Academic studio project
Tastemaking LA Studio
ArtCenter / Fall 2025
MY ROLE
Concept, visitor experience,
spatial and wagashi design, 3D
visualization, physical model
COLLABORATION
Nina Kawasaki
Tama Art University
Logotype and package design
TOOLS
Rhino, Blender, Unreal Engine,
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator,
After Effects, Premiere Pro
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Toraya LA reimagines Japanese tea and wagashi ritual as a spatial brand experience for Los Angeles. The proposal connects retail discovery, a waterside pause, and a place to learn and taste, then extends that ritual into objects visitors can take home.
I wanted to explore how a heritage brand could become part of everyday life through the way people move, linger, taste, and gather. Soft Infusion became the thread connecting those moments.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Toraya LA reimagines Japanese tea and wagashi ritual as a spatial brand experience for Los Angeles. The proposal connects retail discovery, a waterside pause, and a place to learn and taste, then extends that ritual into objects visitors can take home.
I wanted to explore how a heritage brand could become part of everyday life through the way people move, linger, taste, and gather. Soft Infusion became the thread connecting those moments.
BRAND AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Toraya's identity is rooted in Japanese confectionery, craftsmanship, and seasonality. Its wagashi - traditional sweets often enjoyed with tea - carry that culture through flavor, form, color, and careful presentation.
That attention to small details became the starting point for the project. I wanted the LA experience to retain the sense of care and pause that gives the brand its character.
Toraya’s identity is rooted in Japanese confectionery, craftsmanship, and seasonality. Its wagashi - traditional sweets often enjoyed with tea - carry that culture through flavor, form, color, and careful presentation.
That attention to small details became the starting point for the project. I wanted the LA experience to retain the sense of care and pause that gives the brand its character.
Toraya Tokyo store
Toraya Yokan
Japanese Wagashi
Toraya Tokyo store
Toraya Yokan
Japanese Wagashi
BRAND AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Toraya’s identity is rooted in Japanese confectionery, craftsmanship, and seasonality. Its wagashi - traditional sweets often enjoyed with tea - carry that culture through flavor, form, color, and careful presentation.
That attention to small details became the starting point for the project. I wanted the LA experience to retain the sense of care and pause that gives the brand its character.
Toraya Tokyo store
Toraya Yokan
Japanese Wagashi
THE OPPORTUNITY I IDENTIFIED
The project began with a contrast between the grab-and-go pace I associated with LA and the slower rhythm of tea and wagashi. For a younger audience, I saw an opportunity to make Toraya feel more open and part of everyday life.
The project began with a contrast between the grab-and-go pace I associated with LA and the slower rhythm of tea and wagashi. For a younger audience, I saw an opportunity to make Toraya feel more open and part of everyday life.
The brand’s formality is also part of its appeal. The design challenge was to preserve that quiet character while giving someone unfamiliar with its rituals a comfortable place to begin.
The brand’s formality is also part of its appeal. The design challenge was to preserve that quiet character while giving someone unfamiliar with its rituals a comfortable place to begin.
WHAT I WANTED TO MAKE POSSIBLE
A first-time visitor could start with something familiar: browsing a display or choosing a sweet. From there, the experience could offer time to sit, taste, and gradually learn more about the ritual.
A first-time visitor could start with something familiar: browsing a display or choosing a sweet. From there, the experience could offer time to sit, taste, and gradually learn more about the ritual.
I framed approachability as a sequence of invitations, allowing the relationship with the brand to deepen through the visit.
I framed approachability as a sequence of invitations, allowing the relationship with the brand to deepen through the visit.
How can a first encounter become a personal ritual?
How can a first encounter become a personal ritual?
How can a first encounter become a personal ritual?
THE DESIGN RESPONSE / SOFT INFUSION
Let the experience unfold like tea.
Let the experience unfold like tea.
Let the experience unfold like tea.
Tea slowly entering water offered a way to think about both atmosphere and participation. Its gradual change became a model for how Toraya’s traditions could enter a new context, one small encounter at a time.
Tea slowly entering water offered a way to think about both atmosphere and participation. Its gradual change became a model for how Toraya’s traditions could enter a new context, one small encounter at a time.
Atmosphere references / Diffused color, material layers, light, and water.
I translated that idea into pale color gradients, filtered light, and layered translucency. These choices give the space a soft, continuous character and invite attention to subtle changes in the surroundings.
I translated that idea into pale color gradients, filtered light, and layered translucency. These choices give the space a soft, continuous character and invite attention to subtle changes in the surroundings.
The same idea shaped the journey: begin with curiosity, make space for a pause, then offer a more focused setting for tea and wagashi. The atmosphere and the sequence work toward the same intention.
The same idea shaped the journey: begin with curiosity, make space for a pause, then offer a more focused setting for tea and wagashi. The atmosphere and the sequence work toward the same intention.
To give this idea a spatial form, I began by considering what visitors would do at each stage and how one moment could prepare them for the next.
To give this idea a spatial form, I began by considering what visitors would do at each stage and how one moment could prepare them for the next.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Designing the moments between spaces.
Designing the moments between spaces.
Designing the moments between spaces.
Early experience sketches explored browsing at a display, sitting beside water, and gathering around tea. Looking at the body within each setting helped connect the sensory idea to a specific action, posture, and social situation.
Early experience sketches explored browsing at a display, sitting beside water, and gathering around tea. Looking at the body within each setting helped connect the sensory idea to a specific action, posture, and social situation.
Early experience sketches explored browsing at a display, sitting beside water, and gathering around tea. Looking at the body within each setting helped connect the sensory idea to a specific action, posture, and social situation.
Retail / A first encounter with the products
Mizu-noma / A place to sit and linger
Cha-noma / A setting for shared ritual
CONNECTING THE MOMENTS
The spatial organization brings these encounters into a sequence. Retail stays open and approachable, while Mizu-noma introduces a quieter pause around water. The curved ramp then leads to Cha-noma above. That transition gives the shift toward a more intimate gathering space a physical rhythm.
The spatial organization brings these encounters into a sequence. Retail stays open and approachable, while Mizu-noma introduces a quieter pause around water. The curved ramp then leads to Cha-noma above. That transition gives the shift toward a more intimate gathering space a physical rhythm.
CONNECTING THE MOMENTS
The spatial organization brings these encounters into a sequence. Retail stays open and approachable, while Mizu-noma introduces a quieter pause around water. The curved ramp then leads to Cha-noma above. That transition gives the shift toward a more intimate gathering space a physical rhythm.
THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE
From first discovery to shared ritual.
From first discovery to shared ritual.
The proposed visit unfolds through three settings, each changing how customers engage with Toraya. The connection between them is a gradual shift from looking and choosing to staying, learning, and tasting.
The proposed visit unfolds through three settings, each changing how customers engage with Toraya. The connection between them is a gradual shift from looking and choosing to staying, learning, and tasting.
01 / DISCOVERY DRIFT / RETAIL
Begin with curiosity.
Begin with curiosity.
The first encounter is through products. Seasonal sweets, tea, and packaging offer small points of curiosity as visitors browse the open displays.
The first encounter is through products. Seasonal sweets, tea, and packaging offer small points of curiosity as visitors browse the open displays.
Low islands and curved edges allow several ways to approach the products. The intention is to make looking and choosing a comfortable introduction to wagashi culture.
Low islands and curved edges allow several ways to approach the products. The intention is to make looking and choosing a comfortable introduction to wagashi culture.
Retail concept rendering / Discovery begins at the scale of the product.
02 / REFLECTIVE CALM / MIZU-NOMA
Give curiosity time to settle.
Give curiosity time to settle.
After browsing, the visit opens into a slower moment. Mizu-noma gives customers somewhere to sit with tea and sweets, allowing the encounter to become part of their time in the space.
After browsing, the visit opens into a slower moment. Mizu-noma gives customers somewhere to sit with tea and sweets, allowing the encounter to become part of their time in the space.
Curved seating gathers people around the water. Filtered light and translucent layers carry Soft Infusion into an experience of lingering, looking, and sharing a quiet pause.
Curved seating gathers people around the water. Filtered light and translucent layers carry Soft Infusion into an experience of lingering, looking, and sharing a quiet pause.
Mizu-noma concept rendering / Water, seating, and filtered light form the pause within the journey.
A TRANSITION TOWARD RITUAL
A TRANSITION TOWARD RITUAL
The curved ramp visible behind the lounge leads upward to Cha-noma. Moving along it gives the visitor a transition from the openness of retail toward the more enclosed setting above, preparing for a different kind of participation.
The curved ramp visible behind the lounge leads upward to Cha-noma. Moving along it gives the visitor a transition from the openness of retail toward the more enclosed setting above, preparing for a different kind of participation.
03 / PERSONAL RITUAL / CHA-NOMA
Learn through the act of tasting.
Learn through the act of tasting.
Cha-noma brings visitors together around a shared table to learn about tea and wagashi, explore pairings, and notice flavor, texture, color, and seasonality.
Cha-noma brings visitors together around a shared table to learn about tea and wagashi, explore pairings, and notice flavor, texture, color, and seasonality.
Cushioned seating and a quieter enclosure support this focused encounter. The ritual becomes something to practice together, giving the brand’s care a personal meaning.
Cushioned seating and a quieter enclosure support this focused encounter. The ritual becomes something to practice together, giving the brand’s care a personal meaning.
Cha-noma concept rendering / A more intimate setting for learning, pairing, and gathering.
By the end of the proposed journey, visitors have encountered Toraya through the senses and through their own actions. The next question was how that relationship could continue after they leave.
By the end of the proposed journey, visitors have encountered Toraya through the senses and through their own actions. The next question was how that relationship could continue after they leave.
CONTINUING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Take a little of the visit home.
Tea and wagashi experienced in the store can become the beginning of a small ritual at home. I extended the project into sweets, packaging, and everyday objects so the visit could continue through what people choose, share, and use again.
CONTINUING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY
Take a little of the visit home.
Tea and wagashi experienced in the store can become the beginning of a small ritual at home. I extended the project into sweets, packaging, and everyday objects so the visit could continue through what people choose, share, and use again.
TASTE / LA LIMITED-EDITION YOKAN
The proposed yokan series connects wagashi culture with California-inspired forms and imagery. Color and translucency carry the atmosphere of Soft Infusion into an object visitors can look closely at and taste.
The proposed yokan series connects wagashi culture with California-inspired forms and imagery. Color and translucency carry the atmosphere of Soft Infusion into an object visitors can look closely at and taste.
Zencha
Matcha
Hojicha
Zencha
Matcha
Hojicha
CHOOSE AND GIFT / PACKAGING
Packaging gives the sweets a shared identity and a place within a purchase or gift. Developed with Nina Kawasaki, the coordinated family connects the visual atmosphere of the store with the objects customers carry away.
CHOOSE AND GIFT / PACKAGING
Packaging gives the sweets a shared identity and a place within a purchase or gift. Developed with Nina Kawasaki, the coordinated family connects the visual atmosphere of the store with the objects customers carry away.
Brand logotype and package design by Nina Kawasaki. Package modeling and rendering by Jisu Han.
USE AGAIN / TEA COASTER
A reminder at the next cup.
A reminder at the next cup.
The coaster brings the experience into the simple act of setting down a cup. Its familiar use offers a way for the visual language and memory of the visit to return within everyday life.
The coaster brings the experience into the simple act of setting down a cup. Its familiar use offers a way for the visual language and memory of the visit to return within everyday life.
