Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Japan-sourced Italian. Book for the vegetables.

FARO sits on the 10th floor of the Shiseido Ginza building and ranks on Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Japan list three years running. The kitchen runs Italian technique through Japanese farm-sourced produce, with a dedicated vegan menu that earned We're Smart Green Guide recognition. At ¥¥¥ with easy booking, it delivers serious credentials at a price tier below most of Tokyo's top rooms.
Getting a table at FARO is easier than you might expect for a restaurant at this level. Sitting on the 10th floor of the Shiseido Ginza building, this Italian restaurant with a deep commitment to Japanese farm produce has been ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in Japan list three years running — hitting #388 in 2024 and #447 in 2025, with a Highly Recommended nod in 2023. It also holds recognition in the We're Smart Green Guide for its vegetable-forward cooking. For a ¥¥¥ price point in central Ginza, that level of credential is worth your attention. Book it.
FARO is an Italian restaurant led by chef Kotaro Noda that treats Japanese agricultural produce as its primary creative material. The kitchen sources directly from farms across Japan, and the menu is structured around vegetables, fruit, and herbs in a way that makes the Primavera tasting menu feel like a document of what Japanese farmers are growing rather than a conventional Italian progression. A dedicated gourmet vegan menu goes further still, and the We're Smart Green Guide — which evaluates restaurants specifically on vegetable-forward cooking , has called it a credible discovery in that category.
The connection to Shiseido, Japan's foremost beauty and culture company, is not incidental. The Shiseido Ginza building is a considered address, and FARO's position within it signals something about the restaurant's ethos: craft, seasonality, and the intersection of nature and refinement. The herb-led dessert program, which the We're Smart recognition specifically highlights, reflects the same logic. The 'Flower tart' is cited as an example of how the kitchen translates rural Japanese hillside culture into a Ginza dining room. That is a precise, unusual proposition, and it is the restaurant's clearest differentiator from the Italian restaurants you will find elsewhere in the city.
For food-focused visitors who want to understand Japanese produce culture through a non-Japanese culinary lens, FARO offers something genuinely different from kaiseki or sushi. It is Italian cooking used as a methodology to express Japanese terroir , an approach that rewards the kind of diner who wants depth and provenance rather than a conventional night out. If that framing appeals, this is one of the more interesting rooms in Tokyo at this price tier. If you are primarily after classic Italian cooking, look elsewhere: Aroma Fresca and PRISMA serve more recognisably European Italian menus in Tokyo.
Chef Kevin Adey is listed in the database record, though the We're Smart recognition is attributed to chef Kotaro Noda for the 2021 nomination cycle. The kitchen's philosophy , sourcing directly from Japanese farms, embracing vegan cooking as a forward-looking position rather than an accommodation, and honouring the specificity of provincial Japanese ingredients , comes through clearly in the public record.
Ginza is a formal neighbourhood, and FARO sits in a building associated with Shiseido's cultural programming, which means the room draws a considered crowd. Lunch is worth considering over dinner if you want a slightly more accessible entry point , tasting menus at this price tier in Tokyo tend to run lighter at midday, and the 10th floor position gives views that read better in daylight. Seasonality matters here more than at most Italian restaurants: the vegetable-led menus are explicitly tied to what Japanese farms are producing, so spring and autumn visits will likely deliver the most interesting produce windows. The Primavera menu name is itself a seasonal marker.
For special occasions , a significant dinner, a meal that merits advance planning , FARO's combination of Ginza address, farm-to-table Italian credentials, and vegetable-forward tasting menus makes it a credible choice. It is not a loud celebration restaurant; it skews toward the kind of occasion where the food is the point. If you are planning a broader Tokyo trip, our full Tokyo restaurants guide covers the wider field, and our Tokyo hotels guide, Tokyo bars guide, and Tokyo experiences guide are worth checking alongside it.
Tokyo's Italian restaurant scene is competitive. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Tokyo and Principio operate in adjacent territory. AlCeppo takes a different approach to Italian in the city. For Italian cooking in Kyoto, cenci is a serious option. Further afield in Asia, 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong is the benchmark Italian in the region at the leading end.
Beyond Tokyo, Japan's restaurant scene extends to some compelling destinations. HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa each offer distinct perspectives on what serious cooking looks like outside the capital. Our Tokyo wineries guide is available if wine context matters to your planning.
FARO is located on the 10th floor of the Shiseido Ginza building at 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo. Price range is ¥¥¥, positioning it below the ¥¥¥¥ tier that covers most of Tokyo's Michelin and 50 Best-level rooms. Booking difficulty is classified as easy. No booking method, phone, or website is confirmed in the venue data , confirm current reservation channels directly. Dress code is not specified, but the Ginza address and building context suggest smart casual at minimum.
Quick reference: 10F Shiseido Ginza Building, 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo | ¥¥¥ | Italian with Japanese farm sourcing | Booking: easy | Vegetable and vegan menus available.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FARO | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Japan’s wealth of foodstuffs and culture support a creative approach to cuisine. The chef criss-cross Japan to connect farms with dinner tables. Vegan cooking is embraced here, seen as a lifestyle of the future. The principle of connecting to the good earth shines in desserts crafted with respect for nature and the herbs of Japan. ‘Flower tart’, for example, honours the culture of the rural hills. The possibilities of provincial villages presented in Ginza.; The Primavera menu is based on vegetables, fruit and herbs. We like that. But the gourmet vegan menu goes one step further and ... convinced! Faro is a real discovery that more than deserves its place in the We're Smart® Green Guide. Congratulations to chef Kotaro Noda on being nominated for Best Vegetables Restaurant Discovery of the year Japan 2021!; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #447 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #388 (2024); Japan’s wealth of foodstuffs and culture support a creative approach to cuisine. The chef criss-cross Japan to connect farms with dinner tables. Vegan cooking is embraced here, seen as a lifestyle of the future. The principle of connecting to the good earth shines in desserts crafted with respect for nature and the herbs of Japan. ‘Flower tart’, for example, honours the culture of the rural hills. The possibilities of provincial villages presented in Ginza.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Highly Recommended (2023) | Easy | — |
| Harutaka | Sushi | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Crony | Innovative, French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
FARO sits on the 10th floor of the Shiseido Ginza building at 8-8-3 Ginza, so plan your arrival accordingly — the building itself sets a considered, formal tone. The kitchen applies Italian technique to Japanese farm produce sourced directly from regional producers, which is the core of what makes the format worth understanding before you arrive. Chef Kotaro Noda was nominated for Best Vegetables Restaurant Discovery of the Year Japan 2021 by We're Smart Green Guide, and the restaurant holds an OAD ranking in the top 450 in Japan for 2025. Come for a produce-driven tasting menu rather than a traditional Italian experience.
For Italian in Tokyo at a comparable or higher price point, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura operates in adjacent territory with stronger international name recognition. If you want Japanese produce handled through a different European lens, L'Effervescence takes a French approach at a similar seriousness level. FARO is the clearer choice if vegan or vegetable-forward tasting menus are your priority — the others don't match it on that specific axis.
At ¥¥¥, FARO sits below the top pricing tier in Tokyo fine dining, which improves its value case relative to the quality on offer. The We're Smart Green Guide and OAD rankings (Highly Recommended 2023, #388 in 2024, #447 in 2025) confirm it performs at a credible level for that price band. If vegetable-driven Italian cooking interests you, the farm-direct sourcing and the vegan menu option are concrete differentiators that justify the spend. If you want a more protein-focused tasting menu, the value case is weaker.
Yes, and more substantively than most. FARO runs a dedicated gourmet vegan menu alongside its Primavera vegetable-and-herb menu, reflecting a kitchen philosophy that treats plant-based cooking as a first-class format rather than an accommodation. Chef Noda's We're Smart Green Guide recognition specifically highlights this commitment. If you're booking for a mixed group where one diner is vegan, FARO handles that situation better than the majority of comparable Ginza restaurants.
The venue data does not confirm specific lunch and dinner menu distinctions, so a direct comparison isn't possible here. What is confirmed is that the restaurant draws a considered crowd given its Shiseido Ginza building setting and ¥¥¥ positioning, so both sittings carry a formal atmosphere. For a first visit, dinner is generally the stronger format at this tier of Italian dining in Tokyo, but check current availability directly with the restaurant.
Bar seating specifics are not confirmed in available data for FARO. The 10th-floor Shiseido Ginza address and the ¥¥¥ tasting menu format suggest the room is structured primarily around seated dining rather than a walk-in bar experience. check the venue's official channels to confirm seating options before assuming counter availability.
Yes, with the right expectations. The Shiseido Ginza building setting, OAD ranking, and tasting menu format make it a credible special-occasion choice at ¥¥¥ without requiring the ¥¥¥¥ commitment of Tokyo's most expensive rooms. It works particularly well if your group has an interest in Japanese produce or plant-based menus — the farm-sourcing story gives the meal a concrete narrative that holds up for a celebratory dinner. For a more conventional Italian special occasion, Gucci Osteria carries stronger immediate recognition.
Location
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