HIS UNVEILS ITS FIRST JAPANESE CONCEPT STORE IN PARIS

A NEW JAPANESE VENUE IN THE HEART OF PARIS

パリに新たな日本への中継地が誕生

HIS, a leading travel company in Japan, opens the doors of its first concept store in Paris. Located just around the corner from the Hôtel de Ville, HIS Paris offers an exclusive experience dedicated to Japan, in the form of a life-size travel diary. To create this confidential space, HIS has teamed up with Place Magaje, the interior architecture agency founded by multi-award-winning designer Goliath Dyèvre.

Photo credits

写真提供

© Sébastien Véronèse

HIS GROUP, JAPAN TRAVEL EXPERT 

HIS,日本旅行のスペシャリスト

HIS Group is a Japanese travel company founded in Tokyo in 1980 by Hideo Sawada. Since its creation, HIS has explored the art of traveling in all its forms, with Japan at its core. Today, HIS extends its activities in consultancy and innovation, including new energies such as hospitality and large-scale leisure. This «services & solutions» ecosystem creates an essential pool of skills and synergies to revitalize Japan’s tourism industry, with more efficient services to make travel even more accessible.

Having revolutionized the sector several times, HIS has become the leader in its category with a presence in over 60 countries on 5 continents. Aware of the social, economic, and environmental issues at stake, HIS is constantly reinventing itself by adopting ever more ethical practices. At HIS, humans come first. Underpinned by a rigorous CSR policy, HIS is committed to a responsible and inclusive approach daily, taking care to reduce its ecological impact while enhancing the well-being of travelers and its employees around the world. This commitment has earned it recognition as a major player in the industry and a creator of outstanding experiences.

THE REBIRTH OF TRAVEL AGENCIES

旅行会社の新分野への挑戦

In early 2020, with the world at a standstill and tourism on hold, travel agencies are deserted. Meanwhile, in Europe, HIS has decided to turn them into a new kind of concept store. This initiative based on escapism through the senses, opened up new horizons for travel enthusiasts, breathing new life into unoccupied spaces and ensuring the stability of existing teams. The success was immediate.

In Paris, HIS has set itself the mission of promoting the quintessence of «made in Japan» know-how and offers a chance to (re)discover Japan through its regions. The design powered by Place Magaje redefines the codes of the traditional travel agency, transformed into a place of exploration, where the treasures of Japanese culture live side by side. «Innovation is central to our DNA, HIS has constantly reinvented itself to offer ever more advanced experiences and unlimited access to Japan», says Kevin Berthon, Managing Director of HIS France, the man behind the Parisian concept store.

(RE)DISCOVER JAPAN THROUGH ITS REGIONS

日本の地方を知り、日本の魅力を見出す

From Okinawa’s subtropical islands to the snowy and volcanic landscapes of Hokkaidō, Japan is a dizzying contrasts land. Climate and resources vary from one territory to another with a considerable influence on the production and the consumption modes.

Want to discover the most beautiful regions of Japan? At HIS Paris, each visitor is welcome as a traveler in search of new experiences. In Japan, HIS works closely with local prefectures to curate the best authentic and certified products. The tour takes us on a journey through the regions that make up the country and its archipelago. Each has its own history, embodied in its own cultural heritage, arts and crafts, and gastronomy.

HIS Paris will soon unveil its new travel platform and concierge service, making the concept store the new HQ for Japan lovers. Supervised by a team of true experts, this service will give access to Japan with complete peace of mind and enable you to enjoy exclusive journeys off the beaten track.

A RANGE OF JAPANESE SPECIALITIES

日本の銘品が集結

On the « depachika » side, HIS Paris is packed with traditional gourmet products, ingredients and culinary rarities from the best regional producers. It includes precious varieties of tea, a cellar bursting with award-winning sakes and great Japanese spirits, and exceptional rice, such as the Uonuma Koshihikari variety grown in Niigata prefecture at the foot of Mount Hakkaisan...

At HIS, the art of living celebrates the finesse of Japanese craftsmanship. The selection brings together everyday objects, design products, art books, calligraphy, tableware and handicrafts used for traditional rituals (Ikebana, Kōdō, Chadō)*... As well as travel-related curiosities and contemporary creations that link tradition and modernity.

AN «EXPERIENCE STORE» DESIGNED BY GOLIATH DYÈVRE

ゴリアット ディエーブルのデザインによる体験型店舗

The interior design conceived by Goliath Dyèvre for HIS Paris is unlike any other. Designed with superimposition in mind - superimposition of a place, superimposition of the cultures and forms - the experience-oriented store poetically transposes Japanese minimalism and Western decorative style to create a singular setting where two cultures interact.

 

Driven by a responsible approach, both in the design method and the resources used, HIS Paris brings luxury codes into a new era. To preserve the tone of the original space, the designer set about rediscovering the patina and traces that forged its history. This archaeological exercise has deliberately left the brick walls, rough concrete surfaces, and original floors visible. Construction props, usually used in masonry, become functional, presentation, and communication supports. «We wanted to show what is not shown, play with the idea of transparency, and highlight the sincerity of the materials», says Goliath Dyèvre, former resident at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto.

 

Like every Japanese building, the store is conditioned by its environment. With its open facade and its large windows, this setting reflects the urban bustle that surrounds it. Industrial elements combined with bespoke furniture crafted from solid wood create a refined atmosphere, borrowed from the aesthetics of the brutalists, where tradition and modernity come together in perfect harmony.

GOLIATH DYÈVRE

ゴリアット ディエーブル

Goliath Dyèvre is a French designer and scenographer born in 1980 in Paris. He founded his own design studio in 2009. He soon began collaborating with the jewels in the publishing crown, breaking away from academic codes to embrace a wide range of mediums and disciplines. His universe brings together industrial and experimental designs, scenography, and artistic installations, while his creative process connects craftsmanship to cutting-edge technologies, digital to heritage.

Anchored in a sustainable approach, the multi-award-winning designer is constantly exploring the interactions between humans, objects, and their contexts, as a truly applied study of the legitimacy of production and its impact on the environment. « Design is a way of questioning the world, its perception, its uses, and its meaning. ». Goliath analyses, creates, and transforms.

 

In 2018, he founded Place Magaje, his interior architecture and set design agency in addition to his studio. He imagines, develops, and produces special projects for prestigious Museums and set designs for the luxury industry such as Hermès, Chanel, Petit Bateau, Carven, Vilebrequin, EDF design Lab or Palais de Tokyo. His expertise brings him closer to institutions. He lectures at L’École des Beaux-Arts and has taught at ENSCI since 2018, where he’s leading a workshop dedicated to experimental design called «Design in Dystopia».