Kikusaiko

Right on the southeast corner of Beppu Park in Oita lies Hotel Shiragiku, home to a kaiseki restaurant designed in the style of the tea rooms of Edo period Kyoto. It was these tea rooms which birthed the cuisine, originally conceived as a series of small plates to accompany tea ceremonies. Nowadays the style is broad and diverse, unified under the core principles of seasonal sensitivity and delicacy in everything from the plating to the service. At Kikusaiko, this approach is used to present a showcase of the best foods the prefecture has to offer — sweetfish from the rivers, mushrooms and vegetables from the forests, pufferfish from the seas, and premium meats from farms. Only private rooms are available here, so bookings are essential. If you only visit one kaiseki restaurant during your time on the lush islands of Fukuoka, Kikusaiko is a highly-recommended choice.