Restaurant in Karuizawa, Japan
Tabelog Gold. Book before the crowd finds it.
Restaurant Naz holds Tabelog Gold awards for both 2025 and 2026, a La Liste score of 95, and a rapid climb to #120 on Opinionated About Dining Japan — all within its first year of operation. Reservation-only, with dinner running JPY 60,000–79,999 per head, it is the most credentialed innovative tasting-menu destination in the Karuizawa area. Private rooms for four or eight make it a practical choice for group occasions.
If you are already planning a Karuizawa trip and wondering whether to drive the extra few minutes to Shinano Oiwake for a serious dinner, the answer is yes — but only if you are prepared for a reservation-only experience at JPY 60,000–79,999 per head. Restaurant Naz earned a Tabelog Gold Award in both 2025 and 2026 (scoring 4.52 and 4.46 respectively), placed at 95 points on La Liste 2026, and climbed from #226 to #120 on Opinionated About Dining Japan between 2024 and 2025. That trajectory, for a restaurant that only opened on 1 June 2025, is unusually steep. The more useful comparison is not whether Naz is worth the money — the awards data suggests it is , but whether Karuizawa rather than Tokyo is the right place to spend it.
Karuizawa has long had good hotels and reliable resort dining, but it has not historically been a destination for the kind of serious innovative cooking that pulls itineraries out of Tokyo. Restaurant Naz changes that calculation. Located in the Oiwake district , the quieter, more residential edge of the Karuizawa area, about 2,244 metres from Shinano Oiwake station , it is not positioned as a convenience stop. You come here with purpose, and the setting reinforces that: the restaurant is housed within GREEN SEED Karuizawa, a low-density plot with on-site parking, and private rooms are available for parties of four or eight. For a meal at this price point, the spatial experience matters, and the separation from the busier resort core works in Naz's favour.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki leads the kitchen. The cuisine is classified as innovative, which in Japan typically signals a rigorous tasting menu format drawing on seasonal Japanese produce with a willingness to borrow technique from Western fine dining. Given the Tabelog Gold status and La Liste score of 95, the cooking is operating at a level where comparison to HAJIME in Osaka or Goh in Fukuoka is reasonable. Those are Tokyo-or-major-city restaurants requiring dedicated trips; Naz offers a comparable tier of ambition in a mountain resort setting, which is the real story here.
For someone who visited once and is deciding whether to return, the honest question is: what changes between visits? Nagano's growing season runs roughly June through October, which aligns almost exactly with Naz's opening date. The summer and autumn months , when highland vegetables, mushrooms, and game are at their peak in this elevation band , are likely to produce the most ingredient-driven menus. If you ate here in summer, an autumn visit will almost certainly show a different set of priorities on the plate. That seasonal arc is worth planning around.
The restaurant sits firmly in Karuizawa's broader offer as a weekend escape from Tokyo, and it anchors the area's claim to serious dining in a way that nothing else locally quite manages. For context on the wider area, see our full Karuizawa restaurants guide. If you are combining the meal with a stay, our Karuizawa hotels guide covers where to base yourself, and our experiences guide covers how to fill the rest of the trip.
Comparable innovative tasting menus worth considering elsewhere in Japan include akordu in Nara, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, and 1000 in Yokohama. Further afield, alla prima in Seoul and Soigné in Seoul represent the innovative format at a similar ambition level in the broader region. For those building a Japan itinerary around serious cooking, affetto akita in Akita, Aji Arai in Oita, Ajidocoro in Yubari District, Abon in Ashiya, and 6 in Okinawa all offer regional alternatives worth cross-referencing.
Restaurant Naz is reservation-only with no walk-in option. Booking difficulty is rated easy at this stage, though the Gold Tabelog status and strong OAD trajectory may tighten availability as word spreads. Book by phone: +81-267-46-8840. The restaurant opened in June 2025, so online booking infrastructure may still be developing , calling directly is the most reliable route. Credit cards are accepted; electronic money and QR code payments are not.
Hours: Lunch 12:00, Dinner 18:30, Thursday through Tuesday (closed Wednesday). Note that the Tabelog listing also flags Thursday closures in some records , confirm directly before visiting, as hours may have been updated since opening. Budget: JPY 60,000–79,999 per head for dinner (lunch pricing not separately listed). Reservations: Required; call +81-267-46-8840. Payment: Credit cards accepted; no IC card or QR payments. Parking: Available on site. Private rooms: Available for 4 or 8 guests; full private hire possible. Getting there: Approximately 2,244 metres from Shinano Oiwake station , car or taxi recommended. Dress: Not formally specified; at this price tier, smart casual to formal is standard practice for tasting-menu restaurants in Japan. Smoking: Not specified. For bars and wineries nearby, see our Karuizawa bars guide and our Karuizawa wineries guide.
No dress code is formally listed, but at JPY 60,000–79,999 per head with a Tabelog Gold award and La Liste recognition at 95 points, this is a restaurant where smart casual is the floor, not the ceiling. In Japan's fine dining context, men in dark trousers and a collared shirt and women in equivalent smart attire will be appropriately dressed. Avoid sportswear or very casual clothing.
The restaurant does not list counter seating or a stated solo policy, and private rooms are configured for four or eight. That said, most innovative tasting-menu restaurants in Japan accommodate solo diners , the format is inherently suited to it. At JPY 60,000–79,999, a solo visit is a real commitment, but the Karuizawa setting makes it a logical choice if you are already in the area. For solo dining in a more urban context, Harutaka in Tokyo offers a counter experience at a comparable tier.
Yes. Private rooms are available for four and eight guests, and full private hire of the venue is possible. This makes Naz one of the more practical options in Karuizawa for a business dinner or a celebratory group booking at the high end. Call +81-267-46-8840 to arrange group reservations directly.
It is one of the stronger choices in the Karuizawa area for a significant occasion , the Tabelog Gold 2025 and 2026 status, a La Liste score of 95, and private room availability all support that. The Oiwake location and the on-site parking add to the sense of arrival. The price range of JPY 60,000–79,999 is consistent with what a milestone dinner in this tier costs across Japan's leading innovative restaurants. If the occasion calls for kaiseki rather than innovative cuisine, HAJIME in Osaka is a comparable splurge in a different format.
Restaurant Naz is currently the highest-credentialed innovative restaurant in the immediate Karuizawa area, which makes direct local alternatives hard to name at the same tier. For comparable innovative fine dining in Japan, the closest reference points are in other cities: Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, and 1000 in Yokohama. See our full Karuizawa restaurants guide for the leading of what is available locally at lower price points.
Dinner is the main event. The dinner budget is listed at JPY 60,000–79,999; no separate lunch price is given, which may indicate a shorter or differently structured lunch service. If cost is a consideration, lunch could be the more accessible entry point , but confirm the format when booking, as the experience may differ materially. Dinner at 18:30 in the Karuizawa highlands, with the ability to arrive by car and use the private room, is the complete version of what Naz offers.
The format is innovative tasting menu , there is no à la carte selection to choose from. The kitchen, led by Chef Natsuki Suzuki, determines the progression. Given the Nagano location and the restaurant's opening in June 2025, dishes are likely to reflect highland seasonal produce: summer vegetables, mountain herbs, autumn mushrooms, and game as the year progresses. The practical advice is to communicate any dietary restrictions clearly when booking, rather than trying to direct the menu.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
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| HAJIME | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Harutaka | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| L'Effervescence | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| RyuGin | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| HOMMAGE | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
No dress code is listed in the venue data, but at JPY 60,000–79,999 per head with Tabelog Gold status, this is a formal dining context by any reasonable standard. Dress as you would for a serious tasting-menu restaurant in Tokyo. Leave casual resort wear behind.
Private rooms are configured for parties of 4 and 8, which suggests solo counter dining may not be the primary format here. If solo tasting-menu dining is your goal, Tokyo venues like Harutaka offer counter-first seating that suits singles better. That said, confirm directly with the restaurant by phone (+81-267-46-8840) before assuming solo bookings aren't possible.
Yes. Private rooms seat parties of 4 and 8, and the venue is available for exclusive private use. For groups of 4 or 8, Restaurant Naz is a practical choice; groups outside those sizes should contact the restaurant to confirm configuration options.
It's a strong case for one. Tabelog Gold in both 2025 and 2026, a score of 4.46–4.52, La Liste 95 points, and private room availability all point to a restaurant that delivers on occasion. At JPY 60,000–79,999 per head, the spend signals commitment — which is exactly what most special occasions need.
There are no peer-level innovative tasting-menu restaurants documented in Karuizawa at this award tier. If you're willing to travel to Tokyo, HAJIME, L'Effervescence, and RyuGin all operate at comparable or higher prestige levels. Restaurant Naz is the reason to make Karuizawa the destination, not a fallback option within it.
The Tabelog budget data covers dinner at JPY 60,000–79,999, with lunch pricing listed as unavailable. Until lunch pricing is confirmed, dinner is the documented experience at this spend level. Book dinner unless you have specific reason to prefer the lunch service.
Restaurant Naz is classified as innovative cuisine under chef Natsuki Suzuki, and the format is reservation-only — almost certainly a set menu with no à la carte selection. Specific dishes are not documented in available data. check the venue's official channels at +81-267-46-8840 to confirm the current menu format before booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
