The bathroom is often the room we got to relax, to dream of getting away from it all. Sometimes we are lucky enough to realise those dreams, but few more so than Tomoaki Koga who left his city life in Tokyo to build his dream retreat on the remote island of Kouri, Okinawa, Japan.

Constructed from specially designed steel containers, rather like a mysterious, industrial fortress, the house looks out over the open expanse of the East China Sea, allowing for the standout feature of this bathroom – the exceptional panoramic view.

The exposed wall of the bathroom, which does not even have glass fitted, can naturally be accommodated when the remoteness of the locations means there is no risk of privacy violation, only perhaps of stray seabirds. This leaves the bather to lie back in the spacious Spey bath, relax and think of nothing but ‘the clouds, the sunset, the moon and the stars’. This Spey has a rough, raw cast iron finish on its body with polished cast iron legs, perfectly combining a classic look with an industrial edge befitting of the container house.

The Eden WC suite, Kinloch basin and Dalby shower can be tucked away behind a canvas and wood screen if required, offering a flexible bathroom space for the family that share it. After all, once you were in that bath you wouldn’t want to get out of it in a hurry, would you?

The additional furniture in the room offers further respite, creating the feel of a relaxed living space rather than just a functional one.

Tomoaki has not just built a home here, but created an oasis of calm, the perfect getaway.

All Photography Credit to Simon Upton.