Inshotei

An elegant blend of antique Japanese aesthetics and airy, minimalist design. The natural light and clean atmosphere create a serene and welcoming space. The food was beautifully presented; while the flavors were more on the traditional and subtle side—not the most standout in Japan—it still offered a quiet, refined experience. A pure enjoyment of the harmony between art, nature, and cuisine.

Righto. I was so excited about my evening at this place for weeks… it turned out to be soul crushing. Got there and was greeted by a man so rude I apologised (for being born? Not sure) for no reason. He ushered me in and sat me down next to…a beer pump…which smelled like an old english pub. Strong stink of stale beer. See picture. I asked to move. No. Fully booked. Ok no problem. I tried to enjoy my meal but the food is extremely bland and that combined with the stink I was sat in made every dish taste of stale beer in old carpet. It was all incredibly boring and uninteresting (and I love japanese food but this was lazy) Service was extremely fast. Ate 9 dishes in an hour. Felt sick on plate 6 with this stink and it now being the taste of everything. Could not finish the food. Left feeling shat on somehow. Had to pay to reserve. Pay again at restaurant and told the holding fee will be refunded within days or weeks depending….so now short almost ¥20000 and feeling sick. Absolute worst food experience I think I ever had. You cannot sit people in a corner with a stinking beer pump. Its just not done. Waitress was lovely though. She tried to make me feel ok.

Apr 2025: we reserved online and paid online. Date can be rescheduled. Price is reasonable. Place is clean and easy to locate. Service is good. Toilet is clean. Although food is not the best in town, we enjoyed the cozy vibe. Each party has one room. However, the partitions not soundproof. I can hear someone is talking next to our room.

A nice kaiseki place in the middle of a park. The food was okay.. my favourites were the tofu starters but I'm there more for the vibes. It's very chill and zen. Great for taking photos. Not sure if I would visit again but would reco to try if you are into nature and healthy food

Delicious, elegant and homey in a beautiful decor with wonderful service. They were attentive to our dietary needs. Each serving was beautifully presented with many delicious options. Don’t miss it.

The lunch set offers great value for money, with a reasonable price, good taste, and generous portions. The location is convenient, situated inside Ueno Park and easy to find. I will definitely visit again. July 2025, I visited this shop again. It’s my second time here. The food tastes a bit light, but the service is very good. I really liked the miso soup and tea — both were delicious! The staff was very friendly. One lady spoke to me in English because I’m a foreigner. Her English wasn’t very good, but she still tried hard to talk with me. That was very warm and kind.

Lovely place. We tried to walk in once not knowing the area and were told we needed a reservation. We planned out to come back in a couple weeks when we got a spot. We were welcomed and seated promptly. The food was lovely, lots of different things to experience and the flavours felt very traditional with dishes that used tofu, mussels, duck, and more. I would highly recommend the yuzu liquor if it's still on the menu as that became an instant favourite for me which I had to bring back home after. I think the atmosphere is very peaceful and intimate with only space for a few couples per room. If you get an earlier reservation you can enjoy the room all to yourself for some time. The flavours may be strong for some and I could not finish the mussel dish as it was actually quite large. I would recommend letting them know if you're done with a dish as sometimes they wait until you're finished before preparing anything else. Overall the food was great and I would not worry about eating every single bite as the portions for some dishes can be large.

We walked in 15-20mins after they open. Don’t have reservation so we can only order from their seasonal lunch menu. Not complaining at all because the food is plentiful, pretty and tasty. We couldn’t finish them all. Service is friendly & respectful, our waitress comes by often to fill up our tea cups. Beautiful traditional Japanese house & zen decor.

Inshotei was my splurge for my Japan trip when I was searching for a glorious kaiseki experience. I made reservations well in advanced, and you have to opt which meals you want at the time of the reservation for the restaurant to prepare. On the confirmation, they kindly reminded travelers that Japan operates very punctually and to be on time. No problem at all, I'm a punctual person. On the day of the meal, my boyfriend and I took the train to the Ueno station and it was within a 15 minutes walk over. The restaurant is located in a park-area and can easily be missed if you aren't looking for it. I even missed it when I was looking for it. They don't see to accept walk-ins cause another group in front of us was turned away. When we arrived, we were given indoor slippers to change into and a token to redeem our shoes. We were kindly guided upstairs to an intimate seating area, sitting side by side, with a view into nature. We were alone for quite a while before other groups came, which was nice. As for our meal I reserved 2 Kaiseki-Kikyo Set (14800 Y/each). This was the top kaiseki set I saw on the menu at the time of our visit. It comes with seasonal premium ingredients and seems to vary between other sets as well, so I'm think more folk and more premium quality ingredients as well. This course comes with an appetizer, hors d'oeuvres, soup, assorted sashimi, interim dish, grilled dish, simmered dish, fried dish, rice cooked in a clay pot and dessert. Some of the items were delicious and others were a bit strange for my palette, but everything was fresh and premium. The innovation was amazing. Definitely a unique meal where each and every dish was different than what I have experienced anywhere else. High points for experience. Service was also super polite and attentive. We even got an extra dessert on the house for my boyfriend's birthday. Much appreciated. When we were done, I was waiting for the check. When we asked about it, we were told to take the shoe locker token down to the cashier, and that's where we paid and got our shoes back. Overall a super unique experience.

WORTH YOUR MONEY. It's a kaiseki restaurant so they have traditional japanese course sets. We got counter seats so we had a beautiful view of the patio. My friend and I got the vegan one so it was a lot of vegetables and soy products! Everything was so meticulously presented and cooked. It was so delicious. I'm not usually a fan of soup but that soup in the pot was unbelievable - the umami is packed on there. When you open it, there were so many vegetables in it! The yuba (tofu skin) one was also so good, it surprisingly went so well with the olive oil. I also enjoyed the daikon mochi, it was comforting! The desserts were amazing; it included white wine jelly w/ fruits, yomogi (mugwort) mochi, and soy milk ice cream! The service is wonderful and they kept pouring us fresh hot tea so if your tea was unfinished and cold, they would pour it out! At the end, if you can't finish the rice, you can take it home and they gave it in a very nice box and bag! For only ¥6050, I truly recommend this to you because you will be stuffed and satisfied with all that food! Make sure to get reservations!! You can do it online and it's all in English.

Great kaiseki restaurant for anyone who wants to experience 和食 and the traditional Japanese dinnqing experiences. Price is reasonable with selections. We had a lunch special (three-layer bento), 2 course sets, ranging 1680 yen to 4000 yen. Kids friendly, better call to reserve ahead of time.q

Meals are esthetically pleasing for sure, but the taste didn't completely deliver. The location is wonderful for a day of walking around Ueno park, and we had great views from our seats. There was a bit of a wait around lunch time, but I think you can make reservations if you speak Japanese. As far as I know this restaurant has been around for a long time. Definitely an cool Japanese dining experience.

My friends took me here for lunch since we were going to Ueno Zoo. Old traditional Japanese Restaurant but the presentation and foods were excellent. Service was very friendly and so polite. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Japanese foods.