Qi X.
Google
A Michelin hidden gem — and unquestionably worthy of two stars.🌟🌟
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I have visited Akai twice, eight years apart, and both experiences left a mark that stayed long after the meal ended. Some restaurants you visit once out of curiosity; Akai is the opposite. It is a place you find yourself longing to return to — for the seasons, for the quiet sincerity of the cooking, and for the gentle presence of the couple who run it.
The meal itself was extraordinary. Chef Hiroki Abe and his wife create Kyoto cuisine that is rooted in tradition yet alive with a painter’s sense of color and a poet’s sensitivity to the seasons. Their “八寸” platter alone feels like a miniature landscape of the day’s moment — gingko leaves, persimmon shades, mountain yams, konnyaku, the signature Akai Egg, all arranged with a freedom rarely seen in conventional kaiseki.
Every course reflects something they have personally gathered or observed in nature. The couple live in the mountains of Yase, and you can taste this closeness to the seasons in everything: the scent of yuzu lifting grilled fatty fish, the delicacy of matsutake in dobin-mushi, the sweetness of autumn vegetables, the quiet glow of Uni topped with chrysanthemum petals. Even the leaves placed on the plates carry a gentle intention.
Chef Abe’s background—training at icons such as Kichisen, Tsubakiya Ryokan, and Irifune—shows in the technique, but his spirit is entirely his own. He does not cook to impress; he cooks to share. He is, quite simply, an artist who chooses food as his medium, and an earnest craftsman who keeps nothing in reserve.
His wife’s service is equally heartfelt: calm, understated, steady. Together they create an atmosphere of peace that is increasingly rare.
On my latest visit, the chef prepared the entire menu himself, carefully explaining each dish through translation. At the end he even handed me a handwritten Japanese menu with his seal — a gesture I will never forget.
I have eaten at many Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan and abroad, and Akai is, without question, a two-star experience. It is one of the great understated treasures of Kyoto dining: honest, seasonal, intimate, quietly magnificent.
To anyone who loves Kyoto, who cherishes the changing of seasons, and who values sincerity over spectacle — Akai is a place you should not miss.
Deepest thanks to Chef Abe and his wife for two unforgettable meals. I hope our paths cross again in another season.
