Gion Shijo Hotel

‘Strive for simplicity, elevated by technique’ is the chef’s credo. Prizing seasonal flavours above all, he visits production areas the length and breadth of Japan. At first glance, the food arrangements and serving-ware appear ordinary, but each detail reveals the meaning of Japanese cuisine and patiently cultivated skill. Experience the graceful culture and hospitality of the tea ceremony, learned at a long-established ryokan, in a counter dining setting.

As an apprentice, while honing his skills in simmering and cooking, the chef discovered a love for grilling. The delicious taste of char-grilled boar impressed him and sparked his curiosity. Placing his grill at the centre of his kitchen, he hung out his shingle as a char-grill kappo. The bounty of mountain and ocean are roasted and slipped into the soup and dressed vegetables. Guests can choose between grilled fish or beef; game is also available in winter. Artful manipulation of the flame wreathes each item in the aroma of charcoal smoke.

The chef has made himself a master of old-school Japanese cuisine to take it to the next level. While respecting orthodoxy in wanmono and side dishes, he refers to French flameworking techniques for his grilled items and snacks. Masu salmon is served mi-cuit; beef is rested multiple times during grilling. The sukiya-style interior in a remodelled wooden townhouse is appointed with both antique and modern dishware. ‘Ryosho’ means ‘aspire to the heavens,’ and the sky’s the limit for the chef’s ambition and desire to better himself.

Flowers are arranged, the ceremonial space is well appointed, serving vessels are carefully chosen. The tea ceremony spirit pervades Gion Maruyama’s graceful service. The Gion location is a ryotei but, in a modern touch, it also features counter seating. The chef has spent many years seeking out delicious flavours. He spells ‘oishii’ (good-tasting) the old-fashioned way, with the characters that mean ‘beautiful’ and ‘taste’, recalling the sensibilities of an older time. ‘Flavour, not seasoning’ is the chef’s credo. Devotion to Kyoto cuisine that reverberates in all senses.

In a teacher-and-student quest, Hiroshi Sasaki and his understudies vie to create the greatest flavours. Combining Sasaki’s wealth of experience with the youthful sensitivity of his disciples, the restaurant builds a menu that surprises and delights, suffusing classic Japanese cuisine with fresh technique and imagination. The counter becomes a theatre that brings cooks and diners together, each playing their parts. The performances of ‘Sasaki Kitchen Theatre’, fun for eyes and tastebuds, have a presence that keeps the house packed night after night.

Behind a counter oozing Showa-era ambience, the chef plies his trade in his white smock and wooden clogs. As the second-generation chef of Kappo Hassun, he cherishes the history of Kyoto cuisine, populating his menu with dishes inherited from his father and foods associated with seasonal celebrations. Examples include assortments of sweet, steamed and layered egg cakes and burdock-root rolls, deep-fried tofu with thinly sliced veggies held together with hamo meat, and seasoned grilled fish. Gaining ideas from recipes he finds in literature, he brings old-style work to a new generation.

A small shop curtain flutters in a Gion shopping street; walk along cobblestones sprinkled with water to a quiet nook where the noise of the high street is soon forgotten. The menu draws inspiration from a list of poetic seasonal terms. Cooking showcases the peak flavours of each ingredient so as to keep in step with the changing seasons. Precise knife work and pairings of foods with tableware express learning accumulated, like tree rings, over many years. A place to experience the understated poise of Japanese cuisine.