ALCOVE begins its story in 2018, with the purchase of a 100 year old house on a side street of the seaside town of Onomichi, Hiroshima prefecture.
The house had been left in disrepair for a decade and was in desperate need of care. In came the lovely people at ATELIER ARCHITREE, a sustainable firm in onomichi.
Thanks to the careful and thoughtful redesign of the home, ALCOVE retained all of its original charm but with a refreshed, modern look.
Working with specialists in the Setouchi area ensured that we stayed respectful of locals whilst we were miles away in London during construction.
Eventually, after a little over a year of hard work, a very hot summer and many surprises (some good, some not so good...), ALCOVE was finally finished.
The house now features two floors of open plan space and light, airy walls painted with Yukari's favourite colours from her paint collaboration with WALPA Japan.
The softly lit atrium hallway with warm shoji screens allows for privacy on the top floor after a day of exploring the bustling streets of Onomichi.
Of course, we purposely designed ALCOVE to not only be a comfortable living space, but also a place where it would be easy to get things done.
A newly located and specially engineered staircase with steel slats allows for light to spill downstairs from the windows above during breakfast.
A big communal table was a definite 'must' when it came to designing the ground floor area, as well as an open plan kitchen, made for sharing.
We think it's the perfect place for holding a book club, a gathering place for cooking workshops, or even hosting a meeting with your company.
With so many coffee shops, bakeries and cafes around in Onomichi, you could even host a menu tasting party or a beautiful working lunch for your coworkers!
A housewarming party combined with a viewing took place in late 2019- the perfect test for us to host what would hopefully be one of many such events!
We all know what happened next- the COVID-19 pandemic grounded us and many others, meaning that we were unable to visit Onomichi for a number of years.
In Japan, the country remained open for business and so our wonderful project manager was able to organise several events and residences in our absence.
Back in London, we busied ourselves with finding a treasure trove of delights for us to bring to the house, and designed new products for our eventual return.
We have since transformed into a pop up shop for textile designers as well as been the backdrop for food styling lectures by local agriculture specialists.
We love Onomichi, and want to to introduce not only curious visitors to its many wonders, but also invite interested local businesses into the space.
For more information, or to book some time in ALCOVE, click on the 'VISIT US' button to enquire about our availability for the upcoming months.
We hope to see you soon! - Team ALCOVE Onomichi, 2024

Want to visit us?

We always welcome people who are interested in visiting Onomichi or staying at our ALCOVE residence! For more information, or simply to have a chat about all things Onomichi, pop us a message below!

Photo by friend of ALCOVE Onomichi, Jan Stroetmann

Explore all things ALCOVE!

Curious about who we are, what we do and the things we enjoy? Read a little more about why we decided on Onomichi and come with us on a journey exploring the things we love about our city.

Home from home: An ALCOVE Onomichi story

The story behind our little home in Onomichi- a surprising city with a wealth of joy at its doorstep.

ALCOVE VIA MAPS: THE long way around

Our Google Map guide with all of our very favourite spots- we’ve got your next trip here covered!

A look at the impact Onomichi has had on media, from poetry to films to video games and back again.

Stories of the Sea: Onomichi in popular culture

Our Onomichi lifestyle at @alcoveonomichi

Join our community on Instagram!

Life in Setouchi, Episode 2!
1) one goes to Momoshima (the Art Island), the other goes Mukaishima (home to our closest supermarket!)
2) Kawazu Sakura
3) Tairyou Sakura
4) A bus stop beside the sea at Mihara ( neighbour city of Onomichi)
5) A chee

Hello, Onomichi.
We are home 🛬(well, a week ago 😅)

ただいま帰りました。
(1週間たっちゃったけど)
嬉しい．

Onomichi has long since been a place of cultural importance, with many filmmakers, writers, artists and even game studios deciding to set their stories in the city.

A while back, at the height of the pandemic (and also the height of our homesickness

A rare sunny day in Greenwich! After a rather miserable summer in London, we are overjoyed to be able to bask in a rather lovely crisp and sunny day in September.

As you know, we love to collect little treasures and curiosities to hopefully bring ba

ハッピーアニバーサリー！
実はこの夏で尾道の古民家アルコーブは、５周年を迎えました．

これも皆さんのおかげです．
初めて尾道に行って恋に落ちて、帰る家が欲しいなという長年の私たちの願いに重なって、尾道で出会った友達が見つけてくれて、いろんなお友達の支えで良い建築士さん、ビルダーさんに恵まれて私たちのエージェントさん、サイクリング仲間にサポートしてもらって出来上がった家です．

写真見直して思うのは「よくもこんなことやろうなんて思ったなあ」
でもやってよかった．
周りにいてくれたみんなに心から感

"It's always better to have too much to read than not enough."
•
Have you heard of 'reading week'? At some universities in Britain, students are provided with a short break in the academic year, during which students are encouraged to

Today we'd like to share a bit of special news!

As some of you may know, one of our favourite pastimes is walking over to Greenwich Market and looking at all the little treasures and collectibles that are on offer. There is something so wonderful a

We don’t know exactly what was happening, and for what, but some filming was going on in Greenwich (just around the corner of our studio, to be precise!)
Obviously, the townspeople were all very excited.

This seems to be something else that G

April showers bring forth flowers...and other little delights!
•
As sunny skies slowly overtake the storm clouds in London, and flowers begin to burst from the ground, we think back to our last visit in Onomichi, where we stumbled across so many

What does a day off in the life of a superstar builder look like?
•
Our wonderful builder, Fujimoto san, is well known for being a bit of a dab (pardon the pun...) hand at fishing, and he shared with us some glorious photos of the Chiburijima Is

What is ‘ALCOVE Onomichi’?
•
Our house is called Alcove, but why did we choose to build it, and what is it used for?
•
We built Alcove not only as our home, but as a place for those who are beginning a new life in Onomichi. We o

visit our instagram

ALCOVE begins its story in 2018, with the purchase of a 100 year old house on a side street of the seaside town of Onomichi, Hiroshima prefecture.

The house had been left in disrepair for a decade and was in desperate need of care. In came the lovely people at ATELIER ARCHITREE, a sustainable firm in onomichi.

Thanks to the careful and thoughtful redesign of the home, ALCOVE retained all of its original charm but with a refreshed, modern look.

Working with specialists in the Setouchi area ensured that we stayed respectful of locals whilst we were miles away in London during construction.

Eventually, after a little over a year of hard work, a very hot summer and many surprises (some good, some not so good...), ALCOVE was finally finished.

The house now features two floors of open plan space and light, airy walls painted with Yukari's favourite colours from her paint collaboration with WALPA Japan.

The softly lit atrium hallway with warm shoji screens allows for privacy on the top floor after a day of exploring the bustling streets of Onomichi.

Of course, we purposely designed ALCOVE to not only be a comfortable living space, but also a place where it would be easy to get things done.

A newly located and specially engineered staircase with steel slats allows for light to spill downstairs from the windows above during breakfast.

A big communal table was a definite 'must' when it came to designing the ground floor area, as well as an open plan kitchen, made for sharing.

We think it's the perfect place for holding a book club, a gathering place for cooking workshops, or even hosting a meeting with your company.

With so many coffee shops, bakeries and cafes around in Onomichi, you could even host a menu tasting party or a beautiful working lunch for your coworkers!

A housewarming party combined with a viewing took place in late 2019- the perfect test for us to host what would hopefully be one of many such events!

We all know what happened next- the COVID-19 pandemic grounded us and many others, meaning that we were unable to visit Onomichi for a number of years.

In Japan, the country remained open for business and so our wonderful project manager was able to organise several events and residences in our absence.

Back in London, we busied ourselves with finding a treasure trove of delights for us to bring to the house, and designed new products for our eventual return.

We have since transformed into a pop up shop for textile designers as well as been the backdrop for food styling lectures by local agriculture specialists.

We love Onomichi, and want to to introduce not only curious visitors to its many wonders, but also invite interested local businesses into the space.

For more information, or to book some time in ALCOVE, click on the 'VISIT US' button to enquire about our availability for the upcoming months.

We hope to see you soon! - Team ALCOVE Onomichi, 2024

Want to visit us?

Explore all things ALCOVE!

Our Onomichi lifestyle at @alcoveonomichi