UTSUWA, which means “vessel” in Japanese, is a relatively new plant shop that opened up 1.5 years ago on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. With distinct Japanese influence, shop owners Hiro and Mizu, have curated a delightful storefront featuring kokdeama, bonsai, and houseplants displayed in beautiful vessels.
Visit them at: https://www.utsuwabotanical.com/
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[Music] I’m on the Upper West Side today in Manhattan and you’ll probably see there’s a little hint of green right behind my shoulder and this is Utsua Botanical Design. And I had never heard of this shop before, but my friend Michael tipped me off to it. So, we’re going to check it out today. It’s a small shop, but you’ll see there is a lot packed into it. [Music] It’s closed, but they are allowing us to come in before the shop opens because it is so tiny that they didn’t want to basically like affect any of the customers that are coming in. So, we’re going to sneak in. Hello. How are you? Hi, hero. [Music] All right, so we just spoke with Hero, who is one of the owners here, and he doesn’t want to be on camera because he feels a little uncomfortable on camera, which is totally fine, but he gave me the lowdown. He’s actually had plant shops for well over 26 years. He started in Tokyo and I’ll throw up some of those really beautiful shots. He’s at a more traditional plant shop in Tokyo and then moved to San Francisco and had a plant shop there for 15 years and now has only been here for a year and a half. And what an excellent store this is. Obviously has a bit of Japanese influence. Um he said his store in uh Tokyo had a lot more bonsai and cocadama and things of that nature and you’ll find that a bit here as well. But just really lovely curated and you could see that the appreciation of just well utsua which means vessel in Japanese I believe it means and so all the vessels and the way that everything is displayed even you’ll see this in like some of the cactus and succulent societies how they have you know the stones or the black lava stones or everything really uh made into like a little diarama so you could really appreciate these items. comes not just within a a plastic pot, but in a pot that looks really beautiful and gorgeous with the plants. Um, so you could see here like one of the beonia maculatas right here and here you’ll have the uh diffia reflector. So a lot of plants that you would see normally um in a plant market but just displayed in a different kind of way. Also, I just really love how this is displayed where you have this giant piece almost that looks like driftwood. And we just went to some botanic gardens where they have some of the dead trees that look really stately and statuesque. They’ve left them up, roots and all. And here you have like a tanzia display in the shell. But you could see just how beautiful this is and also very utilitarian in the store. Yeah. So, they’re on the Upper West Side and like I said, my friend Michael turned me on to this store, which is pretty neat because you just can’t keep track of like what all the stores that open up. So, you’ll see some of the fus here. And we’ve done some really excellent tours that will be coming up showcasing the art of bonsai, which is something that I think I would love to get into at some point. Maybe after we do a lot of the renovations and things like that, I kind of feel like it’s a it’s a contemplative and thoughtful process that I might not have the the time for at this stage. Here’s some of those moss balls. So, this is what the art of coama is. And you could see that they have a little tray and they have the Hoya right here. This is the Hoya carnosa or the also known as the Hindu rope plant. And they have it tucked away in a little moss ball in a shallow tray and that’s where you could water it. Often times they’ll hang the moss balls as well. But this is a really good way to water it. It sucks up the water and then the that’s how the plant gets the water and therefore the nutrients. This is a beautiful alicacia. I’ve always loved this one. Reginanula with the deep velvety green leaves, especially the new ones as they’re emerging. The singoniums and crypantha. So, they’re just kind of tucked away into their little moss pockets. on some corkwood. Even rip solace. This is great. This is one of my kind of sleeper plants that I really like that just go between some of the big leaves, but having that as a a true epipite, you know, normally a lot of mine are just planted in pots, which they do extremely well, but uh why not? And then here you have some of the japortias, the calaththea. I remember when I first saw this plant in the Botanic Gardens, I was like, “That is so unreal. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Hey, Heat. [Music] [Music] So here you have just like your little rocks, your lava stone, charcoal, sand. And this is really nice to see because often times, you know, around here, you’d see this a lot more in Asia. So, we saw this more when we were through like Singapore and Thailand, you have this black sand. Um, we don’t always find that here. So, this is really neat because it could it’s uh it’s something that’s a little bit more unusual. You see more of like the white and the beige and the brown sand around here. So, the fact that you could get a little element of this um is also pretty for the display of plants, little fossils. So you can see the attention to detail, the little aspects that, you know, one can enjoy by just making one small little plant in a pot. I also like how they have the displays here that you could pull out and you could see the different types of tanzia if you’re going to be doing something similar to this. So you could see this. Just pull it out and it gives you an ability really to be able to create. Oh, look at these designs. Beautiful. I love the painting. Here’s some more pots and plants. This is gorgeous. This is an anthetherium hookery. Nice plant. And some preserved moss. So, you know, we have one of these on our walls. Um, I had purchased one of uh preserved moss for uh one of the small rooms that I had designed years back and it’s such a great like lowmaintenance option because you really just have to wash the dust off of it because it’s not living but because it has this dye and it keeps the dye it’s a really nice way to keep green in your house even if you don’t have any kind of light in your house. So that’s a really nice option for folks who may like to have a little bit of greenery even if it’s in like their office or cubicle. And here’s some of the stfanas which are the codissaformms or the bulbous kind of tuberous plants. So these are plants that oftent times I find that maybe not the beginner house plant would like. Uh, and I’ve had plants like this where I’ve totally forgotten about them because often times they’ll lose their green tops and then they’ll just sit there. Um, and they’re basically like dormant and then during the growing season they’ll start to put out their leaves and start growing again. So, you have to be kind of aware of the the plant’s life cycle and when it puts out green and when it’s starting to put out like little shoots and when it kind of dies back. So, if you’re in the Upper West Side or you happen to be coming to Manhattan, I think this is a must stop because it is unique. It has its own personality, has its own vibe that you often don’t get to see. I mean, I’m in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and there’s a lot of great plant shops here, but this is a totally different feel. And uh yeah, and even though it’s not easy for me to get to from Williamsburg, um I would definitely come here again. So, hope you enjoy it. And thank you so much, Michael, uh, for tipping me off to this place. Hope you enjoyed the tour through Utsua Botanical Design. Now, if you enjoy these videos, hit the like, subscribe, and notification buttons to help more people find our channel and grow their love for plants. And we’ve recently announced our latest group botanical tour to Japan for the fall of 2026. Now, for more information, check out the description below this video, or you could head over to homesteadbrooklyn.com. Just click the learn tab and then botanical tours to find out more and reserve your spot. While you’re there, also check out our suite of online house plant courses from house plant basics to the houseplant master class. Thank you so much, and we’ll see you in the next video.
36 Comments
Awesome 👌🏻
Uhhhh once you're in Japan, you have to show us more of their Neofinetia culture 😍😍
WOW!!! Love the atmosphere…and I’m not even there in person! Beautiful!
omggg this is crazy you made a video about this, I was just shopping this place this weekend! this has become my favorite plant store so far in nyc.
Beautifully curated shop! I would love to visit!!
💚🌿💚🌿😍
Amazing how many varieties….in a tiny space.😊 Ann, fan of succulents/cactus
What an amazing store!
OMG this was my favorite plant store in San Francisco! I bought one of their display trees when they left so I can have something to remember them by ❤❤❤I miss them
Amazing tour Summer!…and beautifully videoed. The Japanese attention to detail & curation is second to none. I don't think I have ever seen such a beautifully ordered, artistically arranged plant shop with such healthy specimens lovingly attended to, and kept to their optimum. All credit to Hiro and Mizu for their incredible work. Thank you for taking us along to this surprise oasis 🙂
I just have to share this so anyone seeking after God may understand his Spirit that lives in Believers. My testimony spans from penury to $145,000 bimonthly and you stay and doubt that he doesn't answer prayers.
I've been to their J-town SF location a few times! Beautiful place! Sorely missed, though it's good to see they're being loved in NY.
Wow! That was beautiful. I will definitely find my way to that shop.
lovely!
Beautiful ❤
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Love it😍
Yes, nice video beautiful shop but I really wasn't impressed. It's too much for the average plant person. It was almost, to me, fake.
What a beautiful store.
Amazing! Mizu and Hiro are artists. So honored to know them personally. What a wonderful place.
I just want to live in there! I have been working on displaying my collection in beautiful ways. This shop is very inspirational!
I LOVE this shop so much. The vibe is so calming and peaceful.
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❤ Wonderful shop, wonderful, respectful coverage of this shop, Summer. You are such an elegant dresser, love your presentations lately. Thank you and Sanders for all the travel time and hard work you put into all this!
I have to say this was one of my favorite shop tours. The whole vibe was so peaceful and relaxing! You conveyed his plant mission statement very well!. Impressive plant expertise this man has. Thanks for covering small plant businesses.
Hey summer I love this plant shop
We plant people need a version of Google Earth with all of these wonderful botanical destinations identified around the world so that when we travel we can plan trips to these places.
Visiting Japan was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever taken. My next visit to NYC will include a stop here. Thanks for featuring!
What a beautiful shop! You can see the care they put into each display. I love the succulent garden bowls and kokedamas, but my big question is always how to maintain them as the plants grow. Do you trim? Do you disassemble and start over? It can be hard to get over my desire to grow everything bigger and bigger.
Stunning and lovely 💚 💚 💚🫶🫶🫶🍀🍀🍀👏👏👏
Very nice….
Inspiring! Thank you for showcasing smaller plant and garden entrepreneurs.
Design is everything and any Asian work seems to involve much thought and skill. Glad he came to the East coast to inspire us to add more greenery at home in very unique ways.
Hiro and Mizu seem so passionate about their craft! Love how they bring Japanese aesthetics to Manhattan. Have you visited UTSUWA or tried making kokedama at home?
This was so entertaining!
We were lucky to have Utsuwa here in San Francisco for years! A magical spot!
Happy to see they found a spot in New York to call home!
Wow. Very excited about this SHOP. I’ll be visiting it very soon. Great video.