These homes, set apart from the city's faster tempo, are neither nostalgic nor overtly stylised. Instead, they distill a sense of place through careful restraint and a fidelity to materials that have weathered time.

The project is shaped by a personal lineage. Conceived by Hana and Irene, childhood friends with roots in Japan and abroad, the project began as a response to a shared distance from home. Rather than approaching travel as a way to observe culture from the outside, Maana was born from the desire to inhabit it. Their intention was not to replicate the past, but to allow the original character of the buildings to persist through minimal interference.

Each machiya preserves its historic framework: timber beams, earth-plastered walls, and soft partitions of shoji screens remain intact. Tatami flooring, original ceilings, and handcrafted fittings anchor the rooms in a rhythm of quiet continuity. There is no hierarchy between architecture and furnishing. Instead, the experience is defined by a subtle cohesion where light, texture, and form work in slow, deliberate concert.