The chef creates kaiseki cuisine in a monthly changing menu using 70 or more ingredients to wow connoisseurs from Japan and overseas. His dishes are based on Japanese cuisine fundamentals – the sweetness of white miso, the acidity of vinegar, salt and soy sauce, sake, and the umami of kombu. A thorough examination of their flavors is the key to the deliciousness of Nishikawa’s cuisine. He treasures the farmers and producers who supply his restaurant and endeavors to reflect their voices in his cuisine. He describes his work as maximizing the unique character of each ingredient in an exquisitely balanced course, in keeping with an old Japanese saying ishoku dogen, which recognizes healthy food as the wellspring for preventing and curing sickness.

The degustation course changes monthly and typically features ten dishes, from appetizer, sashimi and soup, to the elaborate hassun seasonal platter, grilled dish, simmered dish and rice, before finishing with fresh fruit and wagashi traditional Japanese sweets. The cuisine is filled with fish, shellfish and vegetables, and always one meat dish like exquisite roast beef. The chef conveys a rich sense of season not only through ingredients but in the tableware, plating and garnishes, too.

Hamo pike conger and matsutake mushrooms combine in a richly aromatic soup dish. In a dish of bright and captivating colors, Awaji pike conger and the heady aromas of domestic matsutake are served with micro tomatoes and kinome – the young leaves of a sansho Japanese pepper plant. The specially made Kyoto lacquerware bowls are finished with the rarer white lacquer sprinkled with metallic powder. A delectable appetizer features Hokkaido sea urchin and onion and the flavor, with the sweetness of both amplified by the harmonious combination. The dish is topped with a gelée of savory kombu dashi and pretty purple shiso flowers.

The hassun course in kaiseki cuisine lets a chef showcase their skillful techniques and a cornucopia of seasonal delicacies from the land and sea. Chef Nishikawa’s late summer creation contains winter melon with blue crab, mackerel sushi, red Manganji chili peppers dressed in a seasoning of dried small sardines and sansho Japanese pepper, jade ginkgo nuts, bachiko sea cucumber ovary, and still more tasty bites. The warming, belly-filling rice dish is freshly cooked in a clay pot made by Shiga Prefecture artisan Isshiro Nakagawa. The chef first serves a mouthful of the rice to guests called niebana – its moisture-rich, sweet, al dente texture and flavor representing the precise moment rice transforms from the grain into its cooked form. After meditating over that tasty first bite, guests are treated to a full bowl of rice topped with karasumi – deliciously salty, thickly shaved dried mullet roe.

INGREDIENTS
While Chef Nishikawa certainly uses Kyoto vegetables and tofu, he does not limit himself to local ingredients, taking shipments of products from around the country. They all arrive here as the result of his personal search for safe and delicious ingredients, including kombu, sea urchin and crab from Hokkaido, and specialties like dried mullet roe from Nagasaki. He has met every producer, farmer and fisherman whose products come through his doors; he has spoken with them at length and personally experienced the wonders of each product. He spends a lot of time contemplating sustainability and is filled with gratitude when he meets the producers because the interactions and new discoveries are always incredibly fulfilling.

Guests can choose from a selection of beer, sake, wine, shochu, whisky and other alcohol varieties that complement the Gion Nishikawa cuisine. And they can enjoy their libation by the glass or partake in wine and sake pairing courses.