Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan
Evening-only kaiseki; book by phone.
Ankyu is a reliable choice for a serious kaiseki dinner in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward. Chef Hiromi Ueda's kitchen ranked #171 on the 2025 OAD Japan list — up two years running — and holds a Tabelog Bronze Award. Evening-only sittings, easy booking by Kyoto standards, and an atmosphere suited to special occasions make it one of the more accessible high-quality kaiseki options in the city.
Ankyu earns a confident recommendation for a special-occasion kaiseki dinner in Kyoto. With only evening sittings available and a small counter in Higashiyama Ward, this is not a place you drift into — it requires planning, and that planning pays off. Chef Hiromi Ueda has built a track record strong enough to land Ankyu at #171 on the 2025 Opinionated About Dining Japan list, up from #186 in 2024, with a Tabelog Bronze Award and a score of 3.9 reinforcing what the rankings suggest: this is a kitchen operating at a serious level. If you are in Kyoto for one meaningful dinner, Ankyu belongs on your shortlist.
Ankyu sits in Miyagawasuji, a quieter stretch of Higashiyama Ward that runs parallel to the more tourist-heavy lanes around Gion. The address puts you close enough to Kyoto's traditional hospitality corridor to feel the weight of the city's culinary heritage, but far enough from the main drag to suggest a place that earns its reputation through the plate rather than the postcode. Evening-only hours — 18:00 to 22:00, Monday through Saturday , reinforce the sense that this is a destination built around a single, deliberate service rather than volume.
Kaiseki at this level is, by definition, a seasonal format. The menu follows what is available, what is at peak condition, and what the chef judges worthy of the course structure. That orientation toward sourcing is not a marketing position at Ankyu , it is the operating logic of the cuisine itself. Kaiseki discipline means every element from dashi base to garnish reflects a decision about provenance and timing. For a diner weighing whether to book, what matters is this: the OAD ranking trajectory (highly recommended in 2023, #186 in 2024, #171 in 2025) suggests a kitchen that is not coasting. The direction of travel matters.
The room carries the ambient feel typical of intimate Kyoto kaiseki counters: composed, low in noise, and oriented toward the meal rather than the crowd. This is not a room for a loud group celebration. It is well-suited to a couple marking an anniversary, a business dinner where the food does the talking, or a solo traveler who wants a serious meal without theater. The 4.6 Google rating across 56 reviews is a modest sample but consistent with the formal credentials.
Booking is rated easy by Pearl standards, which is notable for a venue of this caliber in Kyoto. Many kaiseki restaurants at this recognition level require advance reservations of weeks or months, particularly for international travelers who may need English-language booking support. Ankyu's relative accessibility is a genuine advantage if you are building a Kyoto itinerary. Reach out early regardless , evening sittings at a six-days-a-week counter with no published seat count can fill faster than the booking difficulty rating implies during peak travel seasons (cherry blossom in late March to April, autumn foliage in November).
For context on how Ankyu fits into a broader Japan itinerary, Pearl also covers kaiseki options at Kikunoi in Tokyo and Hirosaku in Tokyo, as well as destination restaurants including HAJIME in Osaka, akordu in Nara, and Goh in Fukuoka. Within Kyoto, Pearl's full restaurant guide covers the broader dining landscape, alongside guides for hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.
Booking difficulty: Easy. Hours are 18:00–22:00, Monday through Saturday. Phone: 075-531-5999. No website is currently listed. For international travelers, a hotel concierge or a reservation service that handles Japanese-language bookings is the most reliable route. Book as early as your itinerary allows , peak Kyoto seasons compress availability across every serious restaurant in the city.
If Ankyu is fully booked or you want to compare options before committing, Pearl covers several strong Higashiyama-area and Gion alternatives: Ifuki, Chihana, Doujin, Gion Suetomo, and Hassun. Each sits in a different price tier or booking difficulty band, so the right alternative depends on your timeline and budget.
Smart casual is the floor, but erring toward formal is the safer call. Kyoto kaiseki restaurants at this recognition level , Tabelog Bronze, top-200 OAD Japan , tend to attract guests who treat the dinner as an occasion. You do not need a jacket or tie, but jeans and trainers would feel out of place. Think clean, understated, and occasion-appropriate. If you are coming from a day of temple visits, plan ahead and change before your 18:00 sitting. For comparison, dress expectations at Ifuki and Chihana follow similar conventions.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ankyu | Easy | — | |
| Gion Sasaki | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| cenci | ¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Ifuki | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Kyokaiseki Kichisen | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Kyo Seika | ¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Ankyu and alternatives.
Ankyu is a kaiseki counter in Higashiyama Ward running evening sittings only, which signals a formal dinner context. Smart dress is appropriate: for men, collared shirts and trousers; for women, a dress or equivalent. Kaiseki venues at this tier — Tabelog Bronze, OAD Top 200 Japan — generally expect guests to dress in a way that matches the formality of the meal, even when a strict dress code is not published. Trainers, shorts, or casual streetwear would be out of place.
Ankyu is primarily known for Kaiseki in Kyoto.
Ankyu is located in Kyoto, at Japan, 〒605-0801 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, Miyagawasuji, 3 Chome−283 ハクユウ宮川.
You can reach Ankyu via the venue's official channels.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
