Japanese Cuisine Ruka

For beauty beyond Sapporo’s Maruyama Park, you don’t have to go far. While many restaurants showcase their wine cellars upon entrance, Nihonryori Ruka welcomes guests with its pottery cellar. At the helm is owner Nakata Jun, who believes that tableware holds the same importance in Japanese cuisine as the kimono does in Japanese culture: essential. Even before opening the restaurant, Nakata began collecting crockery, piece by piece, carefully building a remarkable collection that now defines the dining experience at Nihonryori Ruka. The restaurant space is architected by Os Design, an Osaka-based studio with whom Nakata has worked for 10 years during his tenure as a sous chef in Nukumori no Yado Furukawa. The menu at Nihonryori Ruka offers evolving dishes that complement the tableware, from delicate asparagus jelly topped with sea urchin to hearty steamed abalone and pumpkin. Even the most straightforward preparations, like simmered sardines with plum and pickled radish, are elevated to extraordinary heights. The piece de resistance is the kamameshi, a pot-cooked rice made with premium Hokkaido-grown Nanatsuboshi rice. Served in clay pots crafted by the renowned potter Ippento Nakagawa, this comforting dish is a perfect ending to his meal. To add to the exquisite cuisine, Nihonryori Ruka offers a carefully curated selection of sake.