Kayanoya Restaurant — Restaurant in Hisayama

Terrific place, terrific people, terrific food.

My group and I were fortunate enough to visit Kayanoya where we partook of the Minori (実り) Course which was comprised of specifically seasonal ingredients. It certainly did not disappoint.

Each ingredient in each course was arranged to best fulfill an expression of traditional Japanese cookery, particularly that of more mountainside communities. As a result, the flavors on display here tend to the earthy, homey, and clean.

Each dish was crafted with clear expertise and panache. If there was any word of the day beyond delicious it would be "refinement", as this is exactly what I would use to describe the approach to flavor.

The dinner begins with a kind of prologue, which is the chawanmushi. Made simply with just egg and their special dashi for which they are famous, it quite literally helps set the tone for the remainder of the meal. This is because that dashi will appear in some form in the majority of the dishes to come, and by introducing diners to the flavor as early as possible it helps shape the remaining meal. For this reason I believe that chawanmushi is really a critical part about understanding the food on offer.

Notable dishes included the Tsukuri, or sashimi, which was served with small allotments of shiso leaves, a small soy sauce mousse, and a small plate of plum wine and dashi, an original replacement for soy sauce in the olden days. The roast beef was lean and sublime, and the grouper hot pot was unique and most certainly a highlight. There was really very little to fault in the course we were offered, and for beverages we enjoyed two bottles of red wine: one from Japan, the other from France.

The location is second to none. For this reason alone perhaps it would be worth making the journey out here, but the food is positively scrumptious and you won't go wrong forking over the requisite pecuniary.

*I had forgotten to take a photo of the oxtail rice that came at the end of the dish together with a natto/miso soup and pickles. They were...

The restaurant is at a mountainous area with beautiful scenery. Their driver took good care of us on our trip there and offer to take pictures for us upon reaching. It is an excellent experience to have the meal and a nice stroll around the mountain. The food is carefully prepared and they took the trouble to understand my likes and took care to omit meat products from my set meal. I appreciate their understanding and the care they took although I ordered the same set as my family. The lady who serve us tried her best to explain to us in English and their manager walked us out after our meal. Thank you very much Restaurant Kayanoya! I enjoyed the whole experience and look forward to...

If you are looking for a 5 star out of town restaurant; this might he your place. The restaurant is located within the beautiful mountains and is surrounded by nature. Chances are you might see some local wild life crossing the road to the restaurant so please be careful. The restaurant itself offers a great variety of tables in an old fashioned style.

Unfortunately they don’t have any English speaking staff or menu as far as I am aware so make sure you bring someone who is fluent to get the most out of...