Kodaiji Wakuden

This ryotei began life as a restaurant and ryokan in Kyotango. With the rustic beauty of the Tango countryside and the refinement of Kyoto as its themes, Kodaiji Wakuden is opening a new era in ryotei culture. Crab, a speciality of the restaurant’s birthplace, is cooked in a sunken hearth, a hole strikingly carved in the middle of tatami seating. Also remarkable is the tradition of this establishment, the flagship of the Wakuden group of restaurants, of appointing carefully selected young chefs to run it, to invite the fresh breeze of new ideas, guided by a philosophy of constant innovation.

• Hearth-in-the-room service: The sunken hearth sits in the middle of tatami seating, turning cooking into part of the room’s choreography.
• Young-chef succession model: The flagship deliberately appoints young chefs to lead, refreshing a conservative genre without breaking it.
• Green Star practices tied to origin: Rice cultivation in Kyotango, crab shells returned to paddy fields, and staff involvement in planting and harvest.

• Crab from Tango / Kyotango: A home-region speciality, cooked over the sunken hearth.
• Organic rice: Grown in Kyotango and used across the group, part of a closed-loop approach that includes returning crab shells to the fields.
• Seasonal Kyoto produce: Kaiseki structure built around what is at its peak, shifting course to course.
• Charcoal and hearth grilling: Technique as an ingredient, used to pull depth from seafood and vegetables without heavy sauce.

Two-star Kyoto ryotei with a Green Star, built around kaiseki pacing and a strong connection to Wakuden’s Kyotango roots. Crab is a signature, cooked over a sunken hearth set into tatami seating, and the kitchen is notable for handing responsibility to carefully selected young chefs to keep the tradition moving forward.