KATORI, Chiba -- The neighborhood around JR Sawara Station in Katori, Chiba Prefecture, retains an atmosphere that hearkens to the Edo period (1603-1868). Beside the Ono River that flows through the area is a soba restaurant whose owner and chef, Yusuke Okamura, worked at French cuisine restaurants.
He opened the noodle shop, Kakyoan, in the spring of 2016 in a refurbished traditional house. The shop is known for distinctive dishes with French twists prepared by the 42-year-old Okamura.
For instance, truffle soba, on the menu in autumn and winter, features a number of slices of the luxury Western cuisine ingredient atop a bowl of soba in hot soup. Accordingly, it costs more than regular soba dishes at 2,200 yen.
When I tried the truffle soba and soup, I found rich flavors and aromas in my mouth. Okumura's handmade soba was more than filling.
"Soba can go well with anything," he said. "Truffles, a kind of mushroom, also can go well with washoku [traditional Japanese cuisine].
"I chose a simple combination that other restaurants probably wouldn't try," he added.
Okamura, a Tokyo native, trained at French restaurants after graduating from high school. He changed his focus in his mid-30s, honing his skills at a famous soba restaurant in Tokyo.
At that time, Okamura happened to visit the Sawara district in his private time and found its nostalgic scenery fascinating. He made up his mind to open his own establishment in such an environment.
Kakyoan serves soba for lunch, while for dinner it offers French full course meals that include soba.
Okamura often uses imported seasonal ingredients. The truffle soba will be served through late December as long as he can secure a supply of the ingredient. He prepares a la carte dishes using white asparagus in the spring.
The chef also has contracts with local farmers for agrochemical-free vegetables to use for tempura or in salads.
"By always pursuing something new," Okamura said, "I'll keep my restaurant a place where not only customers, but also my staff won't get bored."
Kakyoan
Open: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch. Reservations required for dinner, from 5 p.m.
Closed: Tuesdays and Wednesdays for lunch
Address: 3844-2 Sawara-i, Katori, Chiba Prefecture
Phone: (0478) 79-6101
English menu available
Credit cards accepted
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