Take a one-hour express train ride on the JR Joban Line from Ueno Station in Tokyo to Katsuta Station, one stop beyond Mito, and then an eight-minute drive from Katsuta Station, and you will find Kyoyuzen Hanamiyako secluded in a residential neighborhood. Kyoyuzen Hanamiyako opened its doors in 1993 and was renovated into a sukiya-style (style of a tea-ceremony room) restaurant in 2008. The interior was renovated again shortly before its 30th anniversary in 2023 in order to welcome guests with a renewed vigor.
The restaurant is owned by Mr. Masami Nishino, who was born in 1965 as the eldest son of a family running a greengrocer’s shop for generations. After getting his own knife at the age of eight, he learned culinary skills by himself. Then, after graduating from high school, he entered Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka to make his dream come true. Subsequently, he graduated from the Institute and started to work at Nishijin Uoshin in Kyoto. While working at this renowned Japanese restaurant that offers Yusoku cuisine (Imperial court cuisine prepared in accordance with the practices of court nobles), he was promoted to Sous Chef. Then, he took the position of Chef at Japanese Restaurant Inagaki in Yanagibashi, Taito Ward, Tokyo, and, in 1993, returned to his home prefecture of Ibaraki to open Kyoyuzen Hanamiyako. He displays his incredible culinary skills, as evidenced by a number of awards and recognitions bestowed on him, including listings in internationally acclaimed restaurant guides, the Bronze Award and Silver Award at the Cooking Masters held by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in 2018 and 2023, and the three-star rating given to only one restaurant in the Ibaraki Food Selection 2022.
Chef Nishino’s Japanese cuisine is grounded in traditional Kyoto cuisine. In fact, the word “Kyoyuzen” in the restaurant’s name is coined by the chef to mean a fusion of Kyoto vegetables and ingredients locally produced in Ibaraki. Also serving as Ibaraki Food Ambassador, Chef Nishino offers sensible and flavorful dishes to fulfill his mission of conveying the bounties of the sea and land in Ibaraki as a pioneer of inseparability of body/mind and geographical circumstances.
The wine list offers a variety of wines that go well with the dishes, selected by Ms. Masako Nishino, the sommelier and proprietress, from inside and outside the country. The sake list includes Kokuryu, which is only available at this restaurant run by the one and only Kokuryu Ambassador in Ibaraki. The pairing menu includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options.
The sukiya-style building has three dining rooms (seating up to 12 guests), all furnished with tables and mahogany chairs, and a tearoom with made-to-order hinoki cypress trays coated with precious Daigo lacquer from Ibaraki using a traditional method called “Mehajiki-nuri.” The long-cherished menu books made of Nasu mulberry paper, called Nishinouchi-gami, an intangible cultural asset with a history of 350 years, give a traditional feeling of the Japanese culture.
Kyoyuzen Hanamiyako is not only patronized by locals who have been coming for years but also swarmed with gourmets from around Japan. It is definitely worth visiting Kyoyuzen Hanamiyako and trying Chef Nishino’s dishes that reflect his ambition to discover and spread the delights of local gastronomy from Ibaraki.
Message from the Restaurant:
If you would like to book a table for five to eight guests, please contact us. We will get back to you after checking availability.
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* The availability of this webpage does not guarantee that the restaurant presented provides services in English, unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that English services may also depend on staff availability at the restaurant.
Access
8 minutes by taxi from the east exit of Katsuta Station on the JR Joban Line
The limited express Hitachi and the limited express Tokiwa all stop at this station
