Inside the Paris-born concept redefining Japanese retail culture
Tucked along the quiet streets of Tokyo’s Naka Meguro district where cherry trees hang low over the Meguro River a distinctive retail experience has emerged, offering something far richer than the typical shop. Words, Sounds, Colors & Shapes, the brainchild of French creative force Ramdane Touhami, has opened its doors in Japan, extending a vision first realized in Paris to a new, discerning audience.
This isn’t just a store it’s a statement. Designed by Touhami’s own agency, Art Recherche Industrie, the space trades in atmosphere as much as in merchandise. Located on the ground floor of a contemporary low-rise building, the shop is a thoughtful ode to natural materials and spatial storytelling. Repurposed timber lines the floors and walls, while a latticed wooden ceiling softens the overhead light, creating a warm, cocoon-like environment that feels simultaneously modern and organic.
At the center of the room, an elongated glass display cabinet stretches down the length of the store, counterbalanced by a steel shelving unit that runs parallel. Pops of electric blue shelving appear at either end unexpected, almost playful breaking the neutral palette with a jolt of color. A simple bench invites pause, encouraging visitors to linger rather than rush.
The inventory is just as carefully curated as the design. Touhami’s own apparel line, Die Drei Berge, makes up a core part of the offering an experimental collection rooted in alpine aesthetics and functional design. Alongside the clothes are vintage publications sourced from The Radical Media Archive, a Parisian bookstore dedicated to art, graphic design, and radical politics of the 1960s and ’70s. Each piece—be it a worn paperback or an obscure print zine carries a piece of countercultural history.
There’s also USELESS FIGHTERS, a mountain-inspired magazine produced by Permanent Files, a publishing project launched by Touhami and Léonard Vernhet, the creative director behind EPOCH magazine. These publications, along with large-scale graphic works and photography lining the walls, turn the store into something more akin to a cultural installation than a commercial space.
Words, Sounds, Colors & Shapes reflects a broader shift in the global retail landscape: a move away from transactional spaces toward immersive, narrative-driven environments. Here, shopping becomes secondary to discovery. The merchandise feels incidental to the story the store is telling—a story of craftsmanship, resistance, and creative rebellion.
In a city renowned for concept-driven retail, this new addition stands out by resisting both minimalism and maximalism. Instead, it opts for meaning. It invites you to browse with curiosity, to think, and perhaps, to leave with something you didn’t know you were looking for.
Words, Sounds, Colors & Shapes
2-16-7 Aobadai (Naka Meguro), Tokyo 153-0042
+81 3 6455 1847
Open Tuesday–Sunday, 12:00pm–8:00pm
