This is one of Tokyo's most exclusive restaurants right now.

Only a scant 3 groups (6-8 customers each) are allowed in each day.
Supposedly all of the available seats are filled by reservation as far as 3 months in advance.

The one in charge of the restaurant is the owner-chef Kazuhito Fukuda.
His personality shines through as he politely greets incoming customers with, "Thank you for coming by" and a soft smile.
I was surprised that his wife, who has a calming presence and wears a kimono, is still young at just 26 years old.

When I asked why they only take 3 groups of customers a day when popular restaurants can easily rotate through sets of customers 2-3 times per night, he unapologetically responded, "Unfortunately, we must limit our customers because we try to devote ourselves entirely to each and every one of our guests."

Despite his young age, Fukuda has a rather long history of 18 years in Japanese cooking.
As he doesn't have any experience working in any famous restaurants, he supposedly had trouble attracting customers when he opened the restaurant in 2014, but the restaurant quickly gained a reputation of having a variety of carefully made dishes and a great cost performance, and it quickly became a popular spot.

In 2016, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star.
Chef Fukuda certainly is one of Tokyo's current young chefs who are "on a roll."

It had been about 1 year since my last visit...
This was just my second chance to visit, but I got the impression that Chef Fukuda had already honed both the quality of his cooking and the composition of his courses since my last visit.

A course costs just 15,000 yen, relatively cheap, and while I couldn't see any hugely exciting high-class ingredients, I was super impressed by the chef's "skills" and "sense" that turned good ingredients into simple recipes with profoundly delicious flavors.

<Menu for August of 2017>

★Murasaki and Bafun Uni from Yoichi, Hokkaido, and Taro Stem
I was thrilled to see Bafun uni so close to the end of its season.
The uni was preserved in saltwater, so it had no off-putting smell to it, and when I put it in my mouth I was overwhelmed with its umami and sweetness.
The crisp taro stem, hidden beneath the uni, made for a great accent.

★Bowl of Grilled Sea Bass Kuzushi with Winter Melon
This is an extremely creative bowl.
The coarse scrapings of winter melon gave it an interesting texture.
The dashi, made with bonito flakes cut just before being used to create the stock, was fragrant, and I really enjoyed the flavor.

★Striped Jack Sashimi
This striped jack was in season, and it had just the right amount of fat to it.
You could really get a feel for the quality of the ingredients in this amazing sashimi.
I was also pleased by how much I was served.

★Beltfish Sashimi
This beltfish was broiled over straw on the skin side. It was to be eaten with a salt seasoning.
The combination of fragrant skin, umami-packed flesh, and the ginger garnish was an amazing combination! Absolutely delicious!

★Steamed Abalone and Kinukawa Eggplant
It goes without saying that the gently steamed abalone was delicious, but I was taken by surprise by how delightful the eggplant, which had absorbed plenty of the abalone broth, ended up being.

★Lake Hamana Unagi Inro-Yaki
The eel, which was steamed and then grilled, had fragrant skin and plump, soft meat.

★Octopus Simmered with Cherry Blossoms
This octopus dish had a slightly sweet finish to it.
When I bit into it, my mouth was filled with that unique crustacean umami.

★Jako Takikomi-Gohan
The jako (small-fry) used in this dish were fragrantly smoked.
The refreshing feeling of the green Japanese peppercorns matched really well with the jako.

★Peach Dessert
As expected from in-season peaches, this was delicious.
The peaches had a slight sourness to them, and they were a refreshing way to end the meal.

This day's dinner started at 21:00.
There were just two of us at the counter.
The high-class luxury that this restaurant has developed into had me nervous at first, but the chef had a kind personality and smiled while he listened to our conversation and prepared the food, so I was able to enjoy my meal in a relaxed sort of atmosphere from start to finish.

Chef Fukuda is also in contact with Hideo Mochizuki of "Tagetsu," Taichi Sato of "Ichita," Koji Koizumi of "Kohaku," all same-generation chefs, and he says that they provide good motivations for each other.
He said that he plans on adjusting the 15,000 yen course price to market value for 2018 and challenging himself to use even higher quality ingredients.

Although it's a little disappointing that we'll be losing a quality kappo-ryori restaurant with excellent cost performance, I'm looking forward to seeing how the ambitions of this young chef, on whose shoulders the Japanese culinary world's future rests, develop.

I look forward to watching the trials and errors of chef Kazuhito Fukuda, a restaurant owner who uses his own unique senses to shoot for the peak of Japan's culinary world, from here on out.