This past summer, we celebrated my daughter’s second birthday with decor inspired by Kodomo no hi (Children’s Day) in Japan. Each year on May 5, landscapes across Japan are decorated with massive strands of colorful koinobori, the carp-shaped windsocks, and the holiday is celebrated with kite flying, mochi, and other activities. We’ve always thought it was the sweetest holiday—celebrating the spirit of the child—so when we adopted the decor for her party, I was on a mission in researching koinobori. This lead me to happen upon Ohayo (which means “good morning”), a pint-sized shop in Copenhagen importing Japanese ceramics, vintage textiles, and hand-painted washi paper koinobori.
Ohayo is founded by three friends—Mika, Benjamin, and Niklas—who met while studying design for a semester at Osaka Seikei University in 2012. They were living in buildings facing one another; the story has it that each morning Benjamin would lean out of his window and scream, “Mika! Ohayooo!!” The idea for the store began then and was realized in 2017 when they opened their storefront near Gammel Strand in central Copenhagen. Here is a look inside.
Photographs courtesy of Ohayo.
![ohayo proudly rotates their window design based on holidays, seasons, and new a 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-14-733x809.png)
![the trio visits tokyo once or twice each year to source antiques and ceramics a 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-15-733x916.png)
![an indigo noren printed with a large beet hangs in the window with koinobori fi 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-3-733x916.jpg)
![ohayo is small quarters: only 30 square meters (or about 3\23 square feet). the 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-9-733x977.jpg)
![a noguchi akari \1a table lamp and blue koi fish wall vase. 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-8-733x891.jpg)
![a collection of hand painted vintage wooden kokeshi dolls from the \1950s. 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-2-733x903.jpg)
![above mix and match tableware are traditional masks and framed handmade koinobo 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-10-733x977.jpg)
![the posters are a collaboration with danish stoltzestudio, who restored old jap 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-12-rotated.jpg)
![a red tai fish and ceramics on an antique wood display. 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-1-733x880.jpg)
![after visiting japan on kodomo no hi, the owners became enchanted with koinobor 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ohayo-shop-copenhagen-japanese-interiors-11-733x976.jpg)
For more Japanese design shops:
- 20 Best Online Shops for Japanese Housewares
- Moth: A Trove of Japanese and Scandinavian Design, in Chicago
- Expert Advice: A Design Guide to Japan with Asako Ueno of Anzu New York
- The Outsider’s Guide to Tokyo: 10 Cutting-Edge Cafes, Shops, and Restaurants
- A NYC Cult Shop Heads to Tokyo
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