It took him fifteen years. Chef Hisato Nakahigashi, who gathers his ingredients each morning in the mountains of Hanase, has just been awarded a third Michelin star for his ryokan, Miyamasou. Kyoto has not seen such an accolade since 2020.
The Michelin Guide had not awarded a new three-star restaurant in Kyoto for six years. Miyamasou has finally ended the wait. The ryokan, a former pilgrims’ lodge hidden away in the mountains an hour outside the city, earned its second star in 2011. Fifteen years later, the third has finally arrived. Here, Chef Hisato Nakahigashi continues a style of cooking that almost nobody practises anymore.
Another world, just an hour from Kyoto
Reaching Hanase requires a one-hour climb from central Kyoto along steep mountain roads. The district, nicknamed 'Kyoto’s back room' by the Japanese, seems untouched by time.
Miyamasou first opened its doors in 1895 to welcome visitors to a nearby temple before becoming an inn and restaurant in 1937. The building, designed in the understated style of a traditional Japanese tea house, was created by master carpenter Sotoji Nakamura.
The art of Tsumikusa
Tsumikusa cuisine is inspired by the gathering of wild herbs, a pastime once cherished by the aristocracy of the Heian period. It was Yoshitsugu Nakahigashi, the current chef’s father, who formalised the approach in the 1970s. His son Hisato, the fourth generation to take charge of the kitchen, has continued to develop it.
Every day, he heads into the mountains to collect spring shoots in springtime and mushrooms in autumn. During summer, he catches ayu (sweetfish) in local rivers and serves it as tartare, smoked, or simply grilled with salt. In winter, he cooks wild boar, venison and, occasionally, even bear. Carp sashimi and sweetcorn tofu are recurring features on the menu. Rumour has it that Alain Ducasse and Michel Bras have both made the journey to experience it for themselves.
Zero miles, zero waste
The chef champions an entirely local approach to cooking. Wild herbs, river fish, mushrooms and game all come from the surrounding Hanase area. The ryokan previously held Michelin’s Green Star in recognition of its sustainability efforts. Guests eat as they sleep: in harmony with the rhythm of the mountains.
Because Miyamasou is also an inn. There are just four guest rooms, with shoji screens opening onto the forest and the gentle sound of the river flowing below. In 2023, the chef’s wife, Sachiko Nakahigashi, received Michelin’s Service Award.
A patient journey
Hisato Nakahigashi grew up in Hanase itself, surrounded by hiking trails, rivers for swimming and opportunities for wild foraging. As a young man, he travelled to France to train in Paris before working with Michel Guérard in Eugénie-les-Bains. The experience left a lasting impression on him, particularly the pride French chefs take in their culture and regional terroir.
After returning to Japan, he worked in Tokyo before taking over the family business and further developing the tsumikusa cuisine created by his father. His first Michelin star arrived in 2010, the second in 2011. The third would take another fifteen years.
A 2026 Guide marked by renewal
The Kyoto–Osaka 2026 edition of the Michelin Guide coincides with the centenary of the Michelin star, first introduced in 1926.
Four Kyoto restaurants have been promoted to two-star status: Doppo, Higashiyama Yoshihisa, Tokuha Motonari and Muromachi Yui, all specialising in Japanese cuisine.
In Osaka, Chef Katsunori Teruya has earned a second star for his work with dashi, the stock that forms the soul of Japanese gastronomy. The Guide has also awarded its first-ever Sommelier Award in the region to Miki Tanaka of the French restaurant Louise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyQdPtVE4r4
Miyamasou375 Hanase Harachicho
Sakyo-ku
Kyoto 601-1102
Japan
Are you planning a trip to Japan? Find out more in these articles: