Restaurant in Kyoto, Japan
Three Michelin stars, one sitting, no shortcuts.
Mizai holds three Michelin stars and a sustained Tabelog track record across nearly a decade, with dinner running to ¥80,000–¥99,999 per person all-in. Chef Hitoshi Ishihara structures the meal around the spirit of the tea ceremony in a 15-seat room inside Maruyama Park. Book for a serious special occasion; reservations are near-impossible to secure without months of advance planning.
If you are comparing Mizai against other three-Michelin-star kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto, the honest answer is that Mizai occupies a specific and demanding position in that tier: dinner-only, reservation-only, 15 seats, and a cuisine charge of ¥65,000 before tax and the mandatory 10% service charge. Based on review-weighted spend data on Tabelog, most diners land between ¥80,000 and ¥99,999 per person all-in. That is more than Gion Nishikawa and in the same bracket as Kikunoi Honten, yet Mizai consistently draws higher Tabelog scores than either. Book it for a special occasion with someone who takes kaiseki seriously. Do not book it as your first kaiseki experience in Kyoto.
Mizai sits inside Maruyama Park in Higashiyama, the same park known to Kyoto regulars for its weeping cherry tree and evening lantern light. The location is deliberate rather than incidental: chef Hitoshi Ishihara structures dinner around the spirit of the tea ceremony, specifically the chakaiseki tradition, in which a meal precedes the serving of matcha. Service begins promptly at 18:00; guests are asked to arrive by 17:45, and entry opens from around 17:30. The garden lanterns are lit for evening service, and the 14-seat counter arrangement means that every seat faces the kitchen. There is no background noise problem here, no competing tables. The room holds 15 people at maximum capacity, and the experience is deliberately still.
Ishihara's philosophy is embedded in the restaurant's name: mizai is a Zen term meaning "not yet here," referencing an ideal of continuous self-improvement rather than arrival at a fixed standard. That framing is not marketing copy; it shapes what you actually eat. Portions are generous by kaiseki norms, which distinguishes Mizai from the more austere, portion-controlled style you find at some competitors. The meal follows the chakaiseki sequence, opening with a simple dish alongside freshly steamed rice. Sashimi arrives in lavish cuts. Stews are served in vessels chosen to signal the season. The meal closes with kogashi tea brewed from scorched rice and, in keeping with the ceremony format, strong matcha. Sake and wine are available; credit cards are accepted (VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX); electronic payments and QR codes are not.
The awards record is unusually consistent. Mizai held the Tabelog Silver Award from 2017 through 2022, dropping to Bronze from 2023 onward as Tabelog recalibrated its scoring tiers. It has been selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine WEST Top 100 in 2021, 2023, and 2025. La Liste scores it at 92 points in both 2025 and 2026. Opinionated About Dining ranked it 54th in Japan in 2023, 68th in 2024, and 99th in 2025. The Michelin Guide awards it three stars as of 2025. Google reviews average 4.4 across 209 ratings. That depth of recognition across independent platforms, across multiple years, signals real and sustained quality rather than a single good season.
The single leading time to visit Mizai is spring, when Maruyama Park's cherry blossoms are in season and the walk to the restaurant through the lit garden becomes part of the occasion. Autumn foliage in Higashiyama is the second-leading window. Both periods are also Kyoto's most-booked travel seasons, which compounds an already difficult reservation situation. Mizai is dinner-only, six nights a week (closed Wednesday), running one seating from 18:00. There is no lunch service.
Getting a reservation is genuinely difficult. The restaurant confirms bookings approximately one week before the date, at which point a cancellation fee applies. If a no-show leaves a seat unfilled on the day, the full charge is levied. Phone contact is unreliable during service hours and for one hour either side; the Tabelog listing offers online reservation, which is the practical route for most international visitors. Booking difficulty is near-impossible by any standard measure, and advance planning of several months is realistic for peak dates.
Access: the nearest stations are Keihan Gion-Shijo and Hankyu Kawaramachi, both roughly a 15-minute walk. From JR Kyoto Station, a taxi takes approximately 15 minutes. No parking is available at the restaurant. If you are combining dinner at Mizai with a broader Kyoto itinerary, see our full Kyoto restaurants guide, our full Kyoto hotels guide, and our full Kyoto bars guide.
Mizai is well-suited to celebration dinners, anniversary meals, and high-stakes business dinners where the setting needs to do real work. Private room use is available for up to 20 people; the counter seats 14. Tabelog's own data flags friends' gatherings as the most commonly cited occasion. It is non-smoking throughout. The format is not family-friendly in any conventional sense; there are no children's options, and the tea-ceremony pacing of a full kaiseki progression runs close to two hours. Solo diners are accommodated at the counter and are entirely appropriate here.
For Japan context: if you are planning a multi-city trip, HAJIME in Osaka and RyuGin in Tokyo operate at a similar three-star tier with different stylistic registers. Kanda in Tokyo is a useful comparison for a quieter, less ceremony-forward kaiseki approach. Within the Kansai region, akordu in Nara offers a different price-to-ambition ratio if budget is a constraint.
| Detail | Mizai | Gion Sasaki | Hyotei |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Kaiseki (chakaiseki) | Kaiseki | Kaiseki |
| Price per head (all-in est.) | ¥80,000–¥99,999 | ¥¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ |
| Michelin Stars (2025) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Seats | 15 (14 counter) | Counter-led | Counter-led |
| Booking difficulty | Near impossible | Very hard | Very hard |
| Lunch available | No | Yes | Yes |
| Private rooms | Yes (up to 20) | Yes | Yes |
| Closed | Wednesday | Varies | Tuesday |
For reference, Gion Sasaki and Hyotei both offer lunch seatings, which opens a second reservation window and allows you to keep evening hours free. Gion Maruyama is a nearby alternative in the same Higashiyama neighbourhood. See also Harutaka in Tokyo, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa for three-star-tier experiences across Japan. Browse our full Kyoto experiences guide and our full Kyoto wineries guide to round out your trip.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Mizai | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Gion Sasaki | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| cenci | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Ifuki | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Kyokaiseki Kichisen | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| SEN | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
Comparing your options in Kyoto for this tier.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but at ¥65,000 per head (excluding tax and a 10% service charge) with a format modelled on the Zen tea ceremony, treating this as a formal evening is the safe call. Suit or equivalent for men, formal dress or kimono for women. Arriving dressed down at a three-Michelin-star counter in Kyoto is a risk not worth taking.
Mizai is kaiseki-only — there is no à la carte menu. The cuisine charge is a fixed ¥65,000 per person before tax and service, so the kitchen dictates what you eat. Sake and wine are available to accompany the meal. If you want any input over the menu format, note at the time of reservation; otherwise, arrive prepared to follow the house sequence in full.
Yes. Fourteen of the fifteen seats are counter seats, which makes solo dining a natural fit here. You are close to the kitchen action and the format is sequential and unhurried. Solo diners at this price point (reviews average ¥80,000–¥99,999) should confirm availability well in advance, as the 15-seat room fills quickly and reservation-only policy means you cannot walk in.
Kyokaiseki Kichisen is the most direct comparison for prestige kaiseki in Kyoto at a similar or higher price point. Gion Sasaki offers a counter-focused kaiseki experience with somewhat greater accessibility. Ifuki and SEN sit at lower price thresholds and are better options if the ¥65,000 cuisine charge is the sticking point. cenci is a different category entirely — European-influenced tasting menus — and suits diners who want the kaiseki setting without strict kaiseki format.
Mizai serves dinner only, Tuesday through Monday except Wednesday, from 18:00 to 22:00. Entry opens at 17:30 and the restaurant asks guests to arrive by 17:45 for a prompt 18:00 start. There is no lunch service, so this is not a decision you need to make.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
