SÉN

Picture yourself standing in a lush mountain valley, listening to the murmur of a nearby stream. This is SÉN’s ‘watershed cuisine’, a prix fixe experience in which time slowly passes and everyday cares are forgotten. The focus of this fare is on the foods of the Kumano River valley. The bounty of this mountain stream, which flows from the village of Tenkawa to the sea, includes vegetables, fish and game supplied by local farmers and hunters. In tribute to a region that prospered through forestry, the dishes are cooked over firewood.

• Chef Toshiharu Sunayama opened SÉN in 2025 after working in France and Japan.
• The restaurant’s concept is "watershed cuisine," built around the Kumano River basin and the link between mountain and sea.
• The dining room occupies the renovated main hall of Seseragi no Yado Misenkan.
• The restaurant uses wood fire and thinned timber as part of its sustainability approach.

Signature Ingredients

• Local vegetables from Tenkawa and nearby Nara mountains
• Wild mountain greens
• Red-spotted masu salmon (amago)
• Sweetfish (ayu)
• Venison
• Wild boar
• Japanese mitten crab
• Kuromoji
• Tenkawa cedar
• Takenoko-imo, local yam
• Chestnuts, koji, fermented or regional preserved items are not verified here and omitted

• Set-course restaurant in Tenkawa Village, Nara, centered on a "watershed cuisine" concept tied to the Kumano River basin.
• Course: about 10 dishes.
• Posted course price: 25,000 yen, 27,500 yen including tax, service charge not included.
• Includes 1 drink.
• Content and number of dishes vary by season.
• Located in the hall of Seseragi no Yado Misenkan, with a separate entrance from the inn.