Visit Nara

Up the sweeping drive, you find an elegant stone building that could be a celebrity hideaway in the South of France. Although the cuisine is classic French, the attention to detail is very Japanese. Owner and chef Kinji Ogawa got his start at a traditional Japanese Ryotei restaurant, before falling in love with all things French. Many of the ingredients are sourced from the restaurant’s own farms and Ogawa even helped to create some of the tableware to match the food. In the elegant main dining room, you can try the course menu, around ¥3,500 for lunch and ¥8,000 for dinner. There is also a more casual cafe with a conservatory for sandwiches and light meals and a small patisserie for take-out cakes. The restaurant is about a 15-minute walk uphill from Koriyama Castle, or take the No.20 bus bound for Yatadera.