Hotel Sekumiya

The chef seeks to feel and convey the terroir of Ohara, through its climate, landscape, and produce. Early each morning he visits the market, to listen to the farmers and think about recipes for the vegetables on offer that day. Prix fixe menus interweave wild mountain greens and flowers with game, drawing the diner into the natural milieu of the rural mountain communities. Food is cooked over a wood fire fed by lumber from forest thinning. In the counter kitchen, he tends a brightly burning flame, his attention focused on the food he’s preparing.

The shop stands in Takagamine, a hilly area in northern Kyoto. Out of affection for the land where he was born and raised, the chef makes a point of using the region’s produce. Vegetables come from a nearby field cultivated by an old friend. The juiciness of freshly harvested foods and the aroma of the good earth leap from every dish. The meal ends with white rice with one of a variety of toppings, such as raw egg and soy sauce, cooked egg, or hashed beef. Enjoyable and satisfying right to the very end.

There’s no point in cooking, says Kenya, if it doesn’t make the food tasty. Bringing fun and happiness to guests is important above all. Rice and sake both come from Aomori, where the chef comes from. His character reveals itself in his face when he lifts the lid on a pot of freshly steamed rice. Western music, classical music and Showa-era ballads are chosen to suit the cuisine, expressing the joy of good cooking as if weaving a tale. Flavours are fun here.

‘Mube’ refers to the fruit of the Japanese staunton vine. The owner-chef adopted the name because it is considered a talisman of longevity and a famous product of his native Shiga. His use of that prefecture’s fermented foods reflects his personality, and he also prepares narezushi, a traditional fermented food of fish, salt and rice, as well as fish sauce and miso. Among his passions lies the interaction between dashi and the umami of fermentation, though he uses the latter’s characteristic flavour with restraint, in deference to modern tastes. A link climbing to the future for the food cultu

Keen to make itself part of guests’ everyday lives, this restaurant takes ordinary ingredients and elevates them through time and effort. Hassun platters and stewed items are meticulously prepared, pursuing deep, satisfying flavour. Each item is simple and modest, reflecting the chef’s humble demeanour. The restaurant’s name, ‘Kiko’, brings together the character ‘aoi’, from the Futaba Aoi crest of Kamigamo Shrine near Shichiku, with the character for ‘lake’ as in ‘Lake Biwa’. Rice, vegetables and sake are all sourced from the chef’s native Shiga, expounding the virtues of the Omi region.

Ramen that’s all about the goodness of chicken, imparting its flavour in purest form. Ramen Touhichi’s signature soy-sauce ramen uses dashi made only with locally raised free-range chicken and water, mixing it with raw soy sauce kaeshi. Other offerings include richly flavoursome chicken boiled in plain water, cold noodles soaked in kombu dashi soup served with dipping sauce of chicken soy sauce, and chicken-oil noodles served without soup. ‘Touhichi’ is named after the house where the chef was born. See him at the counter full of pride in his native Kyoto.

An omakase Japanese restaurant noted for its tempura. Appetiser platters, wanmono and simmered vegetable assortments all display a mastery honed at an Okazaki ryotei. Tempura is fried in cottonseed oil for a light presentation. For mixed rice, the house uses hill-grown rice grown by the proprietress’ family. Their love helps lift up the restaurant, with a photo of their rice terraces hanging in the interior. At lunchtime, bento comes in double-tiered carrying boxes accompanied by tempura.