A 10-minute taxi ride from Hakata Station, a gateway to Kyushu, will take you to a restaurant set in a corner of a tranquil residential neighborhood with a dimly lit, small sign that reads “Tsugumi” on the grey wall of the modern entrance.
Tsugumi is helmed by Owner-Chef Takeshi Inoue. Hailing from Kurume, he followed the footsteps of his brother, Takatoshi Inoue, into the Japanese culinary world. He trained at renowned restaurants, including a Kyoto cuisine restaurant, Honke Tankuma Honten (main location), and helped his brother open a restaurant, Mitaka, in Nishi-Shinbashi, Tokyo, in 2018. Then, he opened his own restaurant, Tsugumi, in his home prefecture of Fukuoka in 2020.
The restaurant’s name, Tsugumi, includes a Chinese character from the name of the owner. Originally meaning “connection” and “inheritance,” the Chinese character represents the owner’s mission to use ingredients from Kyushu to inherit the flavors of the region.
The main dish is different depending on the season, as we carefully prepare each dish with ingredients of each season. We hope you will enjoy Kyushu's rich ingredients in each season of spring, summer, fall, and winter. Undoubtedly, the restaurant takes advantage of being located in Fukuoka, which is blessed year-round with a variety of farm and marine products, such as eel-like marine fish from the Genkai Sea, wintery longtooth grouper, vegetables from local farms and markets, refreshing fruits, and kudzu and bracken starches for Japanese-style confections.
The drink menu offers champagnes by the glass and wines by the bottle, including a wide selection of wines from around Kyushu, such as Kikuka Winery in Kumamoto and Ajimu Budoshu Kobo in Ajimu, Oita. The drink menu also includes six to seven different labels of Japanese sake, depending on the season, mainly from Kyushu as well as shochu spirits from Miyazaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima. The beverage menu also features non-alcoholic drinks, such as cold brewed, bottled tea from Yame and pan-fried tea from Miyazaki. The beautiful selection of dishware, including Arita, Imari, and Karatsu ware, also plays an essential role in the delightful dining experience of the restaurant.
The interior is unexpectedly fresh and modern for a Japanese restaurant, with eight seats at the counter. No matter which seat you choose, you can enjoy watching the chef working right before your eyes.
Please savor the pleasant dining experience to your heart’s content at Tsugumi, which showcases a variety of ingredients from Kyushu and Japanese culinary skills the chef honed in Kyoto.
■Example of seasonal dishes
Spring: Mainly prepared with ingredients from Itoshima. Gibier (duck, deer, wild boar, etc.) and wild vegetables
Summer: natural eels from the Ariake Sea and suppon hot pot
Autumn: Longtooth grouper (kue) from mainly the Goto Islands and the Genkai Sea
Winter: large-sized natural torafugu
*Please note that the season and ingredients are subject to change due to climate and other factors.
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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
10 minutes walk from Nishitetsu Yakuin Station
