Musoan

Take a name attributed to the Rinzai Buddhist monk Muso Soseki, a tradition-focused culinary ethos and aversion to “creativity”, and you'll have Musoan — a Michelin-lauded restaurant in Nara close to the sacred ​​Mt. Kasuga Primeval Forest. It’s an ethereal space, where lights stream in during the day and seating peer over the pretty bamboo garden tended by the proprietress. The stunning, zen-inspired decor (bare wood tables, ethereal fairy light fixtures fashioned after thin branches that spill over the ceiling beams and big picture windows) only serves to let the plates shine. Musoan stands incongruous as the chef turns away from the avant-garde approach, embracing a more subdued dining experience marked by a vividly seasonal, produce-led menu. Rice is cooked in an earthenware pot; pickles are made traditionally; and soup is loaded with seasonal ingredients. Appetizers come in small plates, brimming with delicate flavors. The menu is unfailingly kind and gentle, running the gamut from simmered root vegetables and boiled roe to grilled yellowtail and climaxing in a rice dish. In between bites are sips of wine that the chef fermented himself from the wild grapes he grows. The service at Musoan is as warm as one would expect, with attentive staff ensuring that dining here is an experience that transcends its seven-year Michelin star streak. Michelin Guide accolades: 2018 - 2024 - 1 Michelin Star