Okumura

Ryutaro Okumura, the owner-chef of Okamura — a high-end kaiseki restaurant in Fukuyama city — discovered his calling while working at a sushi restaurant in university, then trained for 10 years at traditional Japanese restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka before opening this place in 2002. The culinary world is all the better for the fact that he chose to continue on the chef’s path, as now he serves up some of the best traditional Japanese cuisine in Fukuyama. He sources seasonal ingredients to create fantastic interpretations of favorite dishes: pufferfish in winter; grilled sea bream in spring; duck bone broth with Kyoto vegetables in summer; and matsutake mushrooms, sweet potato, and burdock representing the earthy flavors of fall. A meal at this tastefully sparse (and reasonably-priced) Michelin-starred kappo restaurant is sure to be a highlight of your trip to Fukuyama.