SHIORI

The best meal we've had in Nikko in 2 days. The restaurant is small and had a waiting list outside for lunch. For dinner, you need to call to make reservations in advance. We went there for lunch and waited for almost 1 hr because there was a big group of 10-12 people that occupied more than half of the restaurant. Food was almost like a mini kaiseki. They served you one thing at a time. I especially liked the yuba soup, so flavorful and delicate. The grilled eel was excellent too. Strongly recommend this restaurant.

This is one of the best meals I've had in Japan. A small shop run by a small team so it's very limited how many customers they can serve in a day because their ingredients might run out. There are 4 set course you can choose from. We opted for the the most expensive one at just under ¥4000. You really get your bang for buck so by the end of the meal, we were stuffed. Everything tasted fresh, delicious and authentic. On top of that, the service was amazing. Shun Kamiyoshihara-San our server or rather the only server, kept running around and bringing our dishes and topping up our water. He made the experience that much better. We wish we could tip him but can't cos Japanese culture. For foreigners, the menus have English and Shun-san speaks a little English. Recommend making a reservation before coming as I said the number customers they can serve per day is limited.

Gem of a place specialising in local cuisine - definitely worth the 40 minute wait 😊 Every component of our lunch meal was delicious - can't pick a single item to highlight as everything was so good!

In preface—I lived in Japan for 4yrs and am conversational in Japanese (speaking and reading/writing). I have been dehumanized and turned away (overtly and covertly) from establishments in Japan for over three decades. However—in 2025–I never expected to be turned away from an empty restaurant (see photo) because I didn’t have a “reservation”(which, according to the staff out front, was only available via calling the restaurant—even though they don’t have a WhatsApp or WeChat number—nor via an online reservation app). We were not the only ones—the staff was making a group of Cantonese speakers grovel for seats in broken Japanese and English. Further, I went past the restaurant 2hrs later and it was equally empty. Actually ran into this covert exclusionary tactic in a few places in Nikko and Tohoku. The real irony—probably 80% of the overnight stayers in Nikko were NOT Japanese! I didn’t actually get to eat here—didn’t get through the door. I learned a long time ago I can’t change Japan and obviously I can’t tell anyone what to do but we as consumers must show these establishments this behavior is NOT tolerated in 2025! Please do not support this racist and exclusionary restaurant.

We saw the set menu then entered the restaurant right away without any expectation, but turns out it’s quite extraordinary especially the yuba and the tofu soup. The set menu we chose wasn’t expensive but we’re surprised with the dish variants on the set menu. Very delicious! Also nice service, but maybe entering the restaurant in opening hour is a good decision, not sure about the normal queue time.

I ordered the miyabi set, which introduces the Nikko's traditional dish, yuba, as well as local vegetables, fish and grain. Added on the 3 set sake comprising Nikko's sake. Food: Very good, very oriental. Good mix of light-tasting yuba coupled with a robust entree of chicken and fish. I personally enjoyed the grilled fish and sashimi, although the chicken is great too. Advice: The miyabi set will ensure that you will leave with full stomach. If u just want to try the yuba dishes, the en set should suffice. Service: Exceptional service despite low manpower. Dishes are served one at a time and staff took the effort to explain the dish with limited English. English menu available, lunch sets available for dinner. However, you have to make reservations or come at opening time, as they only accept a limited number of guests. Card and cash OK. Atmosphere: It is a posh Omakase experience that I would charge at least 3 times as much in my country. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would definitely recommend it if you stay in Nikko.

For free yuba and tofu fans. Lovely, heartwarming hotpot and value-set meals, perfect for the cold winter.

It was a great disappointment. We headed to this restaurant, hoping to indulge in good local food but were turned away as they accepted reservations only. Hence, we made reservations for the next day at 6.30pm. They took down our contact details and the hotel details. Our hopes were all pinned onto this great finale meal to end off our trip to Nikko on a high. Lo and behold, we saw this sign outside their store. With translation, it informed guests that they are temporarily closed and they are truly sorry about it. They didn’t call us to inform us that dinner reservation is cancelled and we made a wasted trip.