Tenoshima is out to reimagine austere high-end kaiseki cuisine as something more casual while continuing to push the boundaries of creativity. The nine-course tasting menu, set at a reasonable ¥10,000, changes roughly every fortnight. It is a showcase for chef and owner Hayashi Ryohei to champion the local, indigenous and seasonal produce of Japan, which he sources directly from farmers and fishermen around the country.

Ryohei Hayashi spent 13 years cooking at the highest level at three-starred kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi in Kyoto. At Tenoshima, his approach to Japanese cuisine balances elegance with accessibility and warm hospitality in a minimalist setting with earthen walls. The food is both creative and comforting, made with sustainable seafood and ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea.

The chef here trained at three MICHELIN stars Kikunoi in Kyoto. Yoshihiro Murata used his excellent English while working overseas sharing Japanese cuisine. Tenoshima offers elegant flavours, with cuisine featuring local foods from the chef’s birthplace, Teshima in Kagawa Prefecture, as well as a distinctly Kyoto-inspired sensibility.

Founded by chef-owner Hayashi Ryohei, who formerly worked in the kitchen of two-Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi, Tenoshima has garnered plenty of attention since it opened in 2018 for its casual yet technically impressive approach to kaiseki. The restaurant offers a nine-course tasting menu that changes every fortnight. Expect plenty of seafood dishes created with produce that he sources directly from local Japanese farmers and fishermen especially from the Seto Inland Sea.

Tenoshima is Chef Ryohei Hayashi’s love letter to his hometown of Teshima Island. Set in the Seto Inland Sea, Teshima is a quaint, rural island known for its flourishing agriculture and equally thriving contemporary art movement. Chef Ryohei Hayashi and his diverse team are out to reinvent the traditional kaiseki experience by infusing it with more intimacy, creativity and awareness of Japan’s seasons and abundant produce, specifically those from Chef Hayashi’s native region.

Tenoshima is a Michelin one-star Japanese restaurant opened by an owner who trained at Kikunoi, a Michelin three-star traditional Japanese restaurant in Kyoto. The restaurant aims to make authentic Japanese cuisine more accessible. At Tenoshima, you can enjoy traditional Japanese dishes, the chef’s regional specialties, and popular Japanese home-cooked meals, such as karaage, which is Japanese-style fried chicken.

Ryohei Hayashi spent 13 years cooking at the highest level at the three-starred kaiseki restaurant Kikunoi in Kyoto. At Tenoshima, his approach to Japanese cuisine balances elegance with accessibility and warm hospitality in a minimalist setting with earthen walls. The food is both creative and comforting, made with sustainable seafood and ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea.