Restaurant in Nara, Japan
Michelin-recognised Japanese dining at accessible prices.
Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards (2024, 2025) at a ¥¥ price point make Kiyosuminosato AWA one of the more practical Michelin-recognised options in Nara. Booking is easy, the Google rating holds at 4.2 across 85 reviews, and the AWA name hints at a drinks focus worth exploring. A sensible addition to any Kansai itinerary.
If you are a food and drink enthusiast visiting Nara and want a Japanese dining experience that sits at an accessible price point without sacrificing the Michelin credibility that justifies a dedicated trip, Kiyosuminosato AWA is worth your attention. Two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024 and 2025) confirm this is not a casual neighbourhood restaurant — it is a venue that has been evaluated and found to meet a standard. At ¥¥ pricing, it sits a full tier below the majority of Michelin-recognised Japanese restaurants in the Kansai region, which makes it a practical choice for travellers who want quality with cost discipline. Book for a focused meal rather than a celebration splurge.
Kiyosuminosato AWA is located at 861 Takahicho in Nara city, a destination that is often treated as a half-day excursion from Kyoto or Osaka rather than a dining destination in its own right. That framing undersells Nara's food scene, and venues like this one are part of the reason to reconsider. The address places it within the city's central area, though without precise coordinates available, visitors should confirm directions before arrival.
The cuisine is Japanese, and the Michelin Plate , awarded in both 2024 and 2025 , signals consistent kitchen quality across consecutive inspection cycles. A Michelin Plate does not carry the same weight as a star, but it is a meaningful signal: inspectors found the cooking good enough to single out. For a ¥¥ venue in a secondary city, that is a genuine credential. The Google review average of 4.2 across 85 reviews supports the picture of a reliably solid experience rather than a polarising one.
Precise details on the menu format, specific dishes, chef background, and hours are not available in Pearl's current data for this venue. The practical guidance below reflects what is known with confidence.
The name includes "AWA," which in Japanese contexts frequently connects to sparkling drinks , most commonly AWA sake, Japan's emerging category of bottle-fermented sparkling nihonshu. Nara itself has deep sake-brewing heritage: the prefecture is credited with pioneering the polished rice brewing techniques that shaped modern sake production. If AWA in the venue's name does reference a sparkling sake focus or a broader drinks programme built around Japanese fermented beverages, that would be a compelling match for the cuisine and a point of genuine differentiation from standard Japanese restaurants in this price range. Visitors with an interest in Japanese wine and sake culture , particularly the AWA sake category that has been building recognition since the AWA Sake Association formalised standards , should enquire directly about what the drinks list offers. That said, Pearl has no verified data confirming the specific drinks programme at this venue, so treat this as a strong hypothesis worth investigating rather than a confirmed offer. For context on how Japanese restaurants at this level typically approach sake pairing, venues like Myojaku in Tokyo and Azabu Kadowaki in Tokyo demonstrate what a considered Japanese drinks programme can look like at Michelin-recognised houses.
Booking difficulty at Kiyosuminosato AWA is rated Easy by Pearl's current data. For a Michelin Plate venue in a city that receives significant tourist traffic but is not as heavily booked as Kyoto or Tokyo, this is plausible , though easy availability today does not guarantee it in peak season. Nara's busiest periods align with cherry blossom season (late March to early April) and autumn foliage (mid-October to mid-November), when accommodation and dining across the city tightens considerably. Outside those windows, securing a reservation should be manageable with standard advance planning.
Phone number and website are not available in Pearl's current data. Contact details should be confirmed through the venue's Google listing or through your hotel concierge in Nara. If you are travelling from Osaka, HAJIME in Osaka operates at a significantly higher price point and difficulty level; AWA offers a lower-pressure alternative for the same trip. Travellers combining Nara with Kyoto should also consider Gion Sasaki in Kyoto for a full-spectrum comparison of what the Kansai region offers across different price tiers.
Kiyosuminosato AWA sits within a Nara dining scene that has more depth than its day-trip reputation suggests. For other verified options in the city, Pearl tracks NARA NIKON, Oryori Hanagaki, Tsukumo, Ajinokaze Nishimura, and Ajinotabibito Roman. See the full picture in our Nara restaurants guide, and if you are planning an extended stay, our Nara hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city's offer. For Michelin-tracked Japanese dining elsewhere in Japan, Harutaka in Tokyo, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa are all worth knowing.
Book Kiyosuminosato AWA if you are in Nara and want a Michelin-recognised Japanese meal without paying the ¥¥¥ prices that most starred venues in the region demand. The back-to-back Plate recognition gives confidence that this is not a one-season success. The drinks programme , if it does lean into AWA sake as the name implies , could add a layer of genuine interest for anyone tracking Japan's evolving fermented beverage culture. Easy booking makes it a low-risk addition to a Kansai itinerary. The gaps in Pearl's current data (no confirmed hours, no menu format, no contact details) mean a little extra pre-trip homework is required, but the core case for booking is solid.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiyosuminosato AWA | Japanese | ¥¥ | Easy |
| akordu | Spanish, Innovative | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Wa Yamamura | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Araki | Sushi, Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Tama | Okinawan, French | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| NARA NIKON | Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
At ¥¥ pricing with a Michelin Plate awarded in both 2024 and 2025, the format here delivers recognised quality without the ¥¥¥ outlay you'd expect at most Michelin-starred venues in Kyoto or Osaka. If you want structured Japanese dining in Nara without committing to a high-end omakase budget, this is a credible option. The AWA element — likely sparkling sake — adds a drinks angle that most comparable Nara venues don't offer.
Within Nara, Tama and NARA NIKON are both worth considering depending on your format preference. If you're willing to travel slightly, Wa Yamamura offers a more formal kaiseki experience. Kiyosuminosato AWA's case over those alternatives is primarily value: a Michelin Plate at ¥¥ is a practical choice when the alternatives push into higher price brackets.
Yes, at the ¥¥ price point it is. Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 means the food has cleared a documented quality threshold. For a Nara meal that won't derail a travel budget but still carries independent credibility, this is one of the more straightforward calls in the city.
The venue data doesn't specify a dress code. At a ¥¥ Michelin Plate venue in Nara — a city that draws day-trippers and sightseers — neat, tidy clothing is a reasonable baseline. Arriving in full tourist gear is probably fine; arriving underdressed for what is still a recognised dining room is worth avoiding.
No specific group policy is documented for this venue. Pearl's current data rates booking difficulty as Easy, which suggests availability isn't severely constrained — but groups of four or more should check the venue's official channels before assuming space is guaranteed. The address is 861 Takahicho, Nara; no phone number is currently listed in Pearl's database.
Booking is rated Easy, so you don't need to plan weeks ahead. The ¥¥ pricing makes this accessible compared to the Michelin-starred tier in nearby Kyoto. The AWA name signals a likely focus on sparkling sake, so if that category interests you it's worth factoring in. Nara is commonly visited as a day trip, but Kiyosuminosato AWA is a reason to treat it as a full dining destination rather than a detour.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
