Chef & Restaurateur — Kyoto
Food is memory, culture, and conversation on a plate.
Kai Nakamura. Two Michelin stars.
I cook the way my grandmother taught me — with patience, respect for ingredients, and the understanding that a meal is never just about the food. It is about the moment you share with the people across the table.
Born in Kyoto, trained in Lyon. I spent eight years in French kitchens before returning to Japan to open Nami in 2016. My cooking is rooted in kaiseki tradition but informed by everything I have absorbed — the markets of Provence, the street food of Bangkok, the discipline of classical technique.
I believe the best restaurants are not the loudest or the most decorated. They are the ones where you forget about everything except what is in front of you.
The Kitchen
Seasonal Kaiseki
An eight-course tasting menu that changes every two weeks, built around what arrives each morning from Nishiki Market and our farm in Ohara.
Omakase Counter
Twelve seats. No menu. A direct conversation between chef and guest, shaped by the best ingredients of the day and the mood of the moment.
Private Dining
An intimate space for up to eight guests. Multi-course dinners designed for the occasion, from quiet celebrations to business gatherings.
Press
One of the most important restaurants in Japan right now.
— The New York Times, 2025
Nakamura does not cook to impress. He cooks to remind you of something you did not know you had forgotten.
— The Japan Times, 2024
A meal at Nami is not dinner. It is a meditation.
— Eater, 2024
2
Michelin Stars
8
Years in Kyoto
12
Seats at the Counter
52
Menu Changes per Year
The Space
The entrance to Nami, hidden behind a cedar screen on a quiet Higashiyama lane.
The omakase counter, crafted from a single slab of hinoki cypress.
Location
Nami
3-14 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto 605-0862, Japan
Hours
Dinner: Wednesday — Sunday
First seating: 6:00 PM
Second seating: 8:30 PM
Closed Monday and Tuesday
Join us at the table.
Reservations are required and open thirty days in advance.