Motel & Restaurant On The Mountain was built in 1956. The Village of Hillburn is where the once well-known Motel & Restaurant on the Mountain operated and was regarded as a local landmark. It was designed by a prominent architect, Junzo Yoshimura, who modeled the facility after the famous Kyomizudera temple in Kyoto Japan. The site boasted 16 buildings, a restaurant, 101 rooms, a coffee shop, and cocktail lounge, as well as a clear view of Manhattan from 30 miles away. They offered banquet/conference facilities as well as dinner theater and ski season packages. Somewhere in this 18-year-span from 1956-1974 with the original owners, they also ordered custom cocktail mugs and drink bowls from Otagiri with their signature menu cover's risqué Geisha Girl which is taken from a piece of period art housed at the Met. They removed the cat from their graphic art because apparently exposed nipples were permitted but showing pussy was just too much!
Otagiri Mercantile Company (OMC). The company was an importer of porcelain, stoneware and giftware in the San Francisco area for more than 46 years. The products were made in Japan and were imported for distribution and sold to high end Restaurants, Bars, Department Stores and Gift Shops worldwide. Otagiri products were handcrafted, hand painted and highly sought after.
