The Kitano Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo's sole member of Relais & Châteaux — the globally curated association of just 580 distinguished hotels and restaurants — has been running the "Kitano Finds Japan" series since 2025, presenting Japanese ingredients and food culture through the hotel's own culinary perspective. For 2026, the series turns its focus to fermentation, a tradition that has long underpinned Japanese cuisine.
The first installment will be served at the main dining room "Orangerie Koan" on the second floor of the hotel. Executive Chef Takeshi Kamo, whose culinary approach centers on the concept of "health-conscious French cuisine," incorporates fermented ingredients cultivated within the hotel's own kitchen into his dishes, drawing out new impressions through the transformative power of natural processes.
Kitano Finds Japan: The Richness of Fermentation, Part 1
Period: Tuesday, March 3 – Saturday, May 30, 2026 (closed Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday evenings; lunch only on March 3)
Venue: Main Dining Room "Orangerie Koan," 2nd Floor, The Kitano Hotel Tokyo
Content: Fermentation-themed dishes and dessert
Menu Highlights
A deeply flavored filling wrapped in homemade two-colored pasta dough.
Fermented Mushroom and Walnut Ravioli with Black Garlic and Brown Butter Sauce — ¥2,500
Fermentation focus: Mushrooms, yogurt, black garlic
Mushrooms vacuum-fermented for one week are combined with two types of cheese, walnuts, and spinach to create a filling wrapped in two-colored ravioli dough. The sauce brings together house-made yogurt and a paste of slowly aged black garlic, finished with the aroma of brown butter. The layered umami from each fermented component adds depth and nuance to an overall sense of lightness.
A dessert with a gentle and one-of-a-kind acidity.
Miki, Fermented Honey, and Koji Lemon Soy Milk Sorbet — ¥1,800
Fermentation focus: Miki, rice koji, salted lemon, honey
Taking inspiration from "Miki," a traditional lactic-fermented drink native to Amami Oshima and Okinawa, the hotel prepares its own version over three days. This is paired with a soy milk sorbet flavored with rice koji and spice-infused salted lemon, topped with honey that carries a mild fermented character. The result is a refined dessert with a natural acidity that lingers pleasantly.
The prices listed above apply to à la carte orders. Both dishes are also incorporated into the lunch and dinner course menus. All prices include tax; a 15% service charge will be added.
Fermented Ingredients from the Kitano Kitchen
Each fermented ingredient is prepared in-house by the chef, requiring time and careful attention.
Clockwise from the top left: rice koji used in the sorbet; organic Hiroshima lemons pickled with salt, anise, and other Asian spices — aged one and a half years; black garlic ripened at a stable temperature over two weeks; yogurt made by adding kefir cultures to milk and resting overnight; Kitano's own "Miki," made from porridge with grated sweet potato; honey sourced from a producer in Cambodia, minimally heated to preserve its natural qualities; and mushrooms — a staple of French stock-making — now elevated through fermentation into concentrated umami.
Hours
Lunch: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (last order 1:30 PM)
Course options: ¥6,000 / ¥8,000 / ¥12,000, plus à la carte
Dinner: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM (last order 9:00 PM)
Course options: ¥11,000 / ¥15,000 / ¥21,000, plus à la carte
Course prices will be revised from April 1, 2026. Please refer to the official website for the most current pricing.
