Located in Gion, near Nakahara Yasaka Shrine, there is a small traditional Japanese restaurant down a narrow alley. The restaurant has a counter with 4 seats and one table in a tatami room. The lunch course includes 7 dishes for 5,500 yen, featuring seasonal vegetable dishes, 2 dishes with conger eel, simmered pork, tempura, rice, pickles, and dessert. The carefully crafted dishes were all delicious. Considering the quality, this meal is quite affordable in Gion. This restaurant truly captures the essence of Kyoto. It's so hot in Kyoto!

I love Kyoto and visit almost every year, but recently I have been having a luxurious kaiseki lunch on the last day. This time, I was looking for a restaurant with a smaller portion and a budget of around 3,000-5,000 yen, and I found a place where I could have a mini kaiseki for 3,850 yen, so I made a reservation here. The restaurant is located in the Gion area off the narrow streets from Shijo Street, and after getting lost, I finally found it with the help of a phone call to the restaurant. The place has counter seats and table seats, and it's not very spacious, but it was fully booked with reserved customers. The dishes included: - Appetizer: Firefly squid. The firefly squid in the appetizer was not at all fishy, and it paired perfectly with the sauce. - Soup: Shrimp and potato. The gentle broth was soothing. - Sashimi: Tuna and sweet shrimp. The tuna was incredibly delicious. - Simmered dish: Steamed sea bream with vinegar. The taste was elegant and refined. The seasonal assortment included various items like yuba, pumpkin, snap peas, rolled omelette with shrimp, and fried taro. Each dish was delicious, meticulously prepared, and savored slowly. The rice, red miso soup, and pickles were simple yet bursting with umami. I had a second serving of rice with yuzu zest, which added a different flavor. For dessert, there was edamame, black sugar kinako ice cream, and azuki beans. The black sugar ice cream was exceptional, and the azuki beans were soft and complemented the ice cream well. Honestly, this was the first time I was impressed by every dish in a restaurant. Usually, there are some dishes that are just okay, but here, every dish was intricate, refined, and not overpowering, making me want to try more. The chefs were also very friendly, and I had a pleasant dining experience until the end. I would love to come back to this restaurant every time I visit Kyoto. If given the chance, I would like to try different courses or the dinner menu.

Due to being frugal, I have never really dined in Gion despite visiting Kyoto before, but finally made my debut at this age. I wonder if Gion is really amazing. My expectations are rising. The soup was simple and delicious, except for being too hot. However, it wasn't something that impressed me enough to say "This is great!".

I enjoyed a Kyoto kaiseki lunch at the counter, featuring seasonal ingredients. The dishes were all carefully prepared and elegant, very delicious. The immaculate interior of the restaurant was also a delightful touch. It added to my enjoyment of Kyoto.

The master and the young apprentice serve delicious dishes at this understated traditional Japanese restaurant. The menu features dishes centered around conger eel and sweetfish, all prepared with a light and refreshing touch perfect for summer. Even the conger eel hot pot had a clean and satisfying taste. The dish combining conger eel and matsutake mushrooms was also delicious. We paired our meal with a Kyoto sake selection. The dessert was also delightful.

Located in a small alley near Yasaka Shrine, this restaurant offers excellent customer service and superb quality dishes. Everything we tried was delicious, especially the charcoal-grilled moroko fish, grilled blowfish, steamed turnip, and homemade karasumi. The drinks were also great, making for a very satisfying evening. We will definitely be going back.

I had a 3,500 yen lunch and everything was delicious!! Even the dessert, a bean gelato, was a new and amazing taste! I want to tell people about this incredible place, but at the same time, I don't want it to become too popular. It's a hidden gem.

Extremely delicious and very satisfying.

I had a 5000 yen lunch at Naka Hara in Gion! The appetizer was a simple dish of boiled vegetables, which was very delicious! You could really taste the skill of the chef! The sashimi included flounder and tuna, both beautifully presented and tasty! The soup was also visually appealing and had a great taste! The steamed turnip with crab meat sauce was very comforting! The main course included braised pork, deep-fried taro, red turnip sushi, rolled omelette, yuba with sea urchin, grilled dish, and everything went well with rice for lunch! The rice was sprinkled with ground sansho pepper, served with red miso soup, and dessert was sherbet, which was delicious although I forgot what flavor it was. All the dishes were not flashy but delicious in a traditional way! It's rare to find such a restaurant these days! I was really soothed by the chef's traditional cooking at Naka Hara!

This is my nth visit. I use this place for gatherings to drink sake in Kyoto. Gion Koji is a hidden alley near Maruyama Park where you can escape from the crowded main street filled with foreigners and relax. It's a small shop with a counter of 7 seats and one table for 4 people. Today's chef's special course includes sea urchin and yomogi mochi appetizer, octopus, firefly squid, and Japanese horse mackerel. For sashimi, there's shrimp, sweet shrimp, tuna, and saury. There's also simmered bamboo shoots, miso-grilled fish, and tempura with shrimp, scallops, and trumpet shells. The meal ends with bamboo shoot rice and fruits. We had 3 glasses of Kyoto local sake, Black Dragon highball.

After the Golden Week holiday in May, a guest from Tokyo visited. I was considering taking them to my usual go-to restaurant, but since our relationship is somewhat casual, I decided to make a reservation at this restaurant that I had been curious about for a while. I reserved a 10,000 yen chef's choice course at this Michelin-starred restaurant. The restaurant had a cozy counter with 7-8 seats and we were seated in a sunken kotatsu-style private area. We enjoyed various dishes including sashimi, grilled eel, tempura, vinegared dishes, duck breast, and steamed dishes. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Overall, it was a great dining experience that we both enjoyed.

I didn't go to this restaurant just because it received stars in the latest Michelin guide. I had heard good things about it before and had wanted to try it out. Due to circumstances, I visited for lunch this time. The restaurant is located down a narrow alley off the main street, giving it a truly Kyoto-like setting. It's a small place with about 8 seats at the counter and one table with a sunken floor for four. The owner, who looks to be in his late 30s, and a sincere-looking apprentice were running the place. The dishes were all carefully prepared and delicious, with tasty broth. I even enjoyed the dessert of sweet beans at the end. The dessert was something new and different for me. I definitely want to go back for dinner next time.

I went to Nakahara-san's for dinner. It started with sesame tofu, followed by fried food, soup, sashimi, simmered dish, grilled dish, clay pot rice, and dessert. The whole course felt cheap and traditional. The attention to customers and consideration in the dishes were perfect, with a total of 3 chefs and 2 part-time staff. It was great. I will visit again. Nakahara-san is from Niigata, by the way.

Such a narrow road with shops, it feels mysterious. If I were alone, I might be a little scared. I visited in February. It was the off-season for tourism, so I was able to go with a reservation the day before. I chose the 7000 yen course, which is the middle course of the three available. The restaurant offers a wide variety of a la carte dishes, including rare delicacies, fried foods, and sashimi. However, since it was my first time, I opted for the course menu. I started with a creamy and delicious draft beer. The first dish was a refined miso soup, perfect for the chilly day. The owner is friendly and engages in conversation in a comfortable manner. The second dish was a beautiful Hina Matsuri-themed plate with various delicacies. I enjoyed Kyoto sake with this course, which had a refreshing taste with a hint of rice aroma and acidity similar to Shiga's famous sake, Kirakucho Arabashiri. The third dish, clam soup, was delightful and paired well with the sake. The fourth dish was a stunning sashimi platter, including sea bream, tuna, and sweet shrimp. The chef prepared the sashimi in front of us, adding to the excitement. The explanations of the dishes were not elaborate, but when asked, they were provided in a detailed manner. The fifth dish was grilled mackerel and beef with miso, which called for a refill of sake. The sixth dish was a steamed dish with mountain vegetables and turnips. The seventh dish was tempura with fiddlehead ferns and whitefish. The eighth dish was scallops and top shells with yolk sauce, showcasing the chef's expertise. We also had a homemade salted squid dish as an additional course, which paired well with the remaining alcohol. The tenth dish was grilled rice balls and pickles, followed by a refreshing Dekopon jelly for dessert. The apprentice and another staff member served the dishes promptly and maintained a great rapport with us. Overall, it was a wonderful restaurant that would impress food enthusiasts. I would love to visit again in a different season. The total bill for two people, including beer and sake, came to around 23,000 yen. It was a delightful experience.

A shop located near Yasaka Shrine on Gion Koji Lane. There are counter seats and a raised area behind it. The shop is run by the owner and an apprentice. They offer a variety of dishes a la carte, but since it was my first time, I opted for the course menu. First, I had miso soup with high-quality sake lees, which had a nice aroma and sweetness. It was a simple dish with chopped greens and shichimi spice. Next, a dish of sardines and soybeans in a masu container, with a touch of hina inari and other Kyoto-style ingredients. The soup in a bowl had clams and wood sorrel, with a refreshing and clear broth. The sashimi included flounder, tuna, and sweet shrimp, with the sweetness of the flounder standing out. Then, grilled Spanish mackerel in Kyoto-style marinade with lotus root and pickled celery, similar to a Japanese-style roast beef. The miso-marinated mackerel was deliciously fatty. Mashed taro wrapped in yuba and fiddlehead tempura were served with salt, offering a rich taro flavor and the early spring fragrance of fiddlehead. Scallops, shrimp, and broccoli with egg yolk vinegar dressing, where the sweet broccoli took the spotlight. Finally, grilled rice ball with tea pickles and a sorbet made from flower bean broth to finish the meal. Each dish was meticulously prepared, focusing on the natural aroma of the ingredients. The shop offers a simple yet refined dining experience without being overly extravagant.

I visited a while ago, but I wanted to write about it. I went to Kyoto to meet an old friend. It was a summer evening in the basin. The sun was setting, but it was still hot. However, the nostalgic person in white clothes exuded a refreshing breeze. When the sun had set, I headed to a charming shop in the narrow streets of Gion. I wanted to spend a leisurely time, so I visited this shop. I ordered the 5250 yen course. I was guided to the counter. I started with a toast with beer. The coldness was soothing in the summer heat. I had a feeling that I would have a good time. The first dish was fish surimi with grated yam. It was cold, but the aroma of the broth gently tickled my nose, and the umami returned from the back of my throat. Perfect for the first dish on a hot summer day. Switching to sake, a simmered dish was served. Conger eel. Carefully coated with kudzu so that the umami does not escape. I took a bite. A taste backed by tradition. The aroma spread elegantly. The light broth was not enough with just one bite. However, the delicate fat of the conger eel was very delicious, and as I continued to eat, I felt satisfied. When I had the last broth, the umami of bonito, kelp, and conger eel spread in my mouth. Delicious. I involuntarily made eye contact with the nostalgic person. The second dish was a selection of tuna, octopus, and grilled conger eel. The grilled conger eel had a fragrant and elegant umami. The octopus had a clear deliciousness that rose as I chewed. The tuna had a refreshing taste in the red meat part. All of them paired well with sake. Enjoying delicious food while drinking sake was fun. The grilled dish was sea bass, in season now. The deep umami of white fish was brought out by the right amount of salt. The aroma was also good. It paired well with sake. I hadn't seen that person in a while, but our conversation flowed. My heart swayed gently. The boiled dish was shrimp, nanjing, winter melon, and small taro. The vegetables were soaked in broth just right, but the flavor of the ingredients was brought out. Vegetables in Kyoto are truly delicious. The shrimp also had a wonderful sweetness and umami. Grilled rice ball pickled in broth, red miso soup, and pickles. I was satisfied until the end with the fragrance and umami of the grilled rice ball and the red miso soup. The pickles were also delicious, and I couldn't resist adding more sake, even though it was unfair. It paired well with sake. Lastly, black bean sorbet. I was surprised by the light sweetness until the end. All the dishes were delicious. Seasonal ingredients were used. Above all, the excellence of the broth stood out. The fragrance of the ingredients was also treasured. The sweet aroma of the vegetables, the fragrant conger eel, and other scents were very memorable. The white counter was refreshing, and the calm response of the master was very pleasant. I think it's a perfect place to spend a lovely time with wonderful people. In addition, the prices are reasonable. I want to meet my old friend at this restaurant again. I want to visit again and eat seasonal dishes. It was a very nice restaurant.