Yanagiya

This formerly Michelin-starred restaurant in Mizunami, Gifu used to hold the top spot on the most popular rating site in the country. That’s because it offers a dining experience like no other. Walk into the repurposed old Edo period house and you’ll find bright and wide private rooms, each with a low fire pit at its centre. It’s at these rectangular fire pits that the guests are seated, with a stone ledge around the rim for plates and glasses. The pit is filled with sand, raked up into a flat-topped Fuji-like mound, with concentric circles raked onto tho the top reminiscent of the patterns of Zen gardens. At the center of these circles is the mound of charcoal. Your kimono-clad hostess will don fireproof gloves before starting up the fire. The chefs gather the best of the earth, rivers, forests, and mountains of Gifu and mount them on skewers. These skewers are then pushed into the sand with their delicious seasonal ingredients angled towards the fire. There’s a wild and primal feeling to gathering around a firepit, watching wild-caught fish slowly cook in front of you. If you’re lucky enough to land a seat by one of these hearths, you won’t soon forget the experience. Michelin Stars: 2020 - 2 Michelin stars 2021 - none