A Message from Our Executive Chef

Japanese cuisine is deeply connected to the changing seasons. Every ingredient has its own character, its own fragrance, and its own moment. My role as a chef is not to overpower those qualities, but to respect them and bring them gently to the table.

If our cuisine allows you to slow down, forget the pace of everyday life, and experience the beauty of Japan’s seasons, then we have achieved what we hope to share. We believe every meal is a unique encounter, deserving our full care and attention.

Kozaburo Ando, Executive Chef料理長　安東弘三郎

The autumn kitchen begins to gather

Before September arrives, the kitchen team gathers around the table. It has become a custom: a tasting, a meeting, and a look at what the season will allow.

This time the table turns toward autumn — the harvest, mushrooms, and what is grown close to Ikaho. Kozaburo Ando, our chef, spoke as he always does, taking each point in turn. The subject of this meeting was mizugashi — the fruit or light dessert served at the end of a Japanese meal, given the same care as the courses that come before it.

The menu will change with what arrives. We do not leave these meetings with a menu set in stone. What I can say is that the house is already tasting autumn, and the dining room will follow.

See Local Ingredients and the dinner courses on the Cuisine page.