Enjoy Seasonal Cha-Kaiseki at Legendary Restaurant Kobikicho Ohno with a Private One-per-day Booking – Matcha Tea Time Included

Kobikicho Ohno, Favorite of Cha-kaiseki Connoisseurs

In the understated neighborhood of Yotsuya 3-chome, Tokyo – a former red-light district whose many eateries were not so long ago frequented by Tokyo’s geishas and their clientele – sits a celebrated restaurant run by a chef passionate about cha-kaiseki. The chef prepares his courses with mouth-watering seasonal delights including his own home-grown organic produce, and he accepts only a single group of customers per day.

Relish the gustatory glee of authentic traditional cha-kaiseki cuisine in a cozy setting

The interior of the restaurant is traditionally Japanese to the bone, with warm wood decor and a hori-gotatsu recessed floor table in the guestroom. After eating, enjoy Ohno’s own matcha brew prepared in his private tearoom.

Proprietor, chef, and tea ceremony enthusiast Tomoyuki Ohno

A “Chaji” is a type of tea ceremony banquet, akin to European aristocratic dinners, wherein one host serves a small number of guests. The food served at these banquets is a type of kaiseki cuisine called cha-kaiseki, or “tea kaiseki.” Although it developed primarily as a way of building up to the tea ceremony itself, it has in its own right become recognized as the zenith of the traditional Japanese culinary arts.

Ohno: Chef and Cha-kaiseki Cultural Conservator

Tomoyuki Ohno is a seasoned cha-kaiseki chef with many years in the business, and this plan is an opportunity to hear his stories. He was born to a high class traditional restaurant in the Kobikicho neighborhood of Ginza, and grew up on gourmet food and top shelf ingredients from the beginning, raised in a household where food preparation and eating were serious business. As he matured, he found himself attracted to cha-kaiseki for the way it epitomized great Japanese cuisine, and trained at a famous cha-kaiseki restaurant in Tokyo.

Ohno, who trained under a storied master chef, has an affinity for rarified experiences

In 2001 Ohno struck out on his own, opening Kobikicho Ono as a place where “everyone can enjoy cha-kaiseki and tea ceremony, and where those traditions can be passed on.” His establishment has garnered quite the reputation in the years since as a place to experience once-in-a-lifetime hospitality and traditional cha-kaiseki with some creative modern twists

Savor Cha-kaiseki While Learning About Its Origins and Etiquette

Ohno grows his own hearty stock of fresh ingredients and prepares them himself. Adhering to the tradition of cha-kaiseki, he starts from rice alongside soup and three small entrees, and follows that with simmered and grilled fare, taking special care to serve them at the speed his guests eat. As a style based on slowly savoring each bite, each course in cha-kaiseki is deceptively small. Ohno prizes perfection of ingredients, of preparation, and of dining experience – and it comes across in his delectable dishes.

A cha-kaiseki meal, with the rice and soup dishes at bottom left and right respectively, and the mukou-zuke assorted sides above

The rice dish is the cornerstone of cha-kaiseki cuisine, timed to finish cooking just as the guests sit down to eat. Ohno serves warm steaming rice that glitters with a jeweled luster, cooked to the perfect balance between al dente firmness and a pleasantly moist chewy mouthfeel, and just the right amount of crisp okoge sear.

An astonishing gleam across each grain of rice

The kitchen is a stone’s throw from the dining room, close enough for the wafting aromas to awaken your appetite

Although Kobikicho Ohno’s cha-kaiseki is built on a traditional foundation, it is also full of Ohno’s own creative flourishes and innovations. For example, Ohno swaps out the usual chopped and vinegared “namasu” vegetable and fish dish in his “mukozuke” out and replaces it with mouth-watering tuna from a longtime associate fishmonger, with the aim of crafting a “fuller, more satisfying meal.”

Ohno’s unique sensibilities and spirit of service permeate the experience

Usucha Light Tea Brewed in the Proprietor’s Private Tearoom

Enjoy usucha, or light-brew matcha, after your meal. Ohno seeks to create a tea ceremony atmosphere that everyone can enjoy, serving his usucha in his own personal tearoom. Relax and soak in the quiet, cozy atmosphere that feels worlds away from the city bustle outside.

A quiet space to bask in Japan’s famed wabi-sabi aesthetic

Ohno is a trained practitioner of Urasenke tea ceremony, brewing his ultra high grade Kyoto matcha himself. Cha-kaiseki is a culinary style developed specifically around tea ceremony after all, so finish your meal with the customary cup of leisurely tea. Tearooms are traditional Japanese tatami mat rooms where seiza kneeling posture is customary, but those who find kneeling difficult need not worry – cushions and chairs are also available.

Savor the experience with all five senses

Uniquely Japanese Hospitality through Cha-kaiseki Cuisine

“Dating back to the Azuchi-Momoyama period in the late 16th century, cha-kaiseki is a tradition for elevating the spirit, full of warmth and charm that brings hosts and their guests closer together,” explains Ohno. “I want my visitors to feel that atmosphere for themselves.” These days, opportunities to experience authentic cha-kaiseki in a casual private space are vanishingly rare, so your visit to Kobikicho Ohno is certain to become a precious memory of your time in Japan. Those hoping to learn some of the finer points of traditional dining etiquette during their visit are encouraged to ask Ohno.

Each unique dish fills its moment