Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Book early. This Nishiazabu counter earns its star.
Kasumicho Yamagami earned a Michelin star in 2024 and holds a 4.6 on Google — a quiet, third-floor Nishiazabu address that rewards returning diners who know what to expect from precision Japanese dining at the ¥¥¥¥ tier. Book four to six weeks ahead minimum. This is a dine-in-only commitment, and it's worth making.
If you've dined at Kasumicho Yamagami once and are weighing whether to return, the answer is yes — provided you can secure a table. This Nishiazabu Japanese restaurant earned a Michelin star in 2024, holds a 4.6 on Google across 31 reviews, and sits at the ¥¥¥¥ price tier, which in Tokyo's fine dining context means you're in serious company. The category here rewards repeat visits more than first-timers, because knowing the format in advance lets you make better choices at the table. If you're still deciding between this and comparable venues in the city, read the comparison section below before committing.
Picture a third-floor room in Nishiazabu's Hachiman Building, the kind of address that requires a little intention to find. That specificity — a building name, a floor number, a residential-grade quiet , signals what Kasumicho Yamagami is: a destination that does not perform for foot traffic. The experience begins before the food arrives, in the way the space is held, the way the pace is set. In Japanese fine dining at this tier, the kitchen's discipline tends to express itself in ways you register before you consciously identify them: the temperature of a dish, the precision of a pour, the absence of anything rushed.
The 2024 Michelin recognition places Yamagami in a competitive bracket within Tokyo's Japanese restaurant scene. For context, a single Michelin star in Tokyo is not a participation award , the city has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other in the world, which means the committee's threshold is well-calibrated by local competition. Earning that star in the current cycle is a meaningful signal, particularly for a venue that appears to operate without a heavy PR infrastructure. The Google score of 4.6 across 31 reviews is a small but consistent sample: not enough to draw sweeping conclusions, but the absence of significant score variance in a small-review pool suggests guests who do make it in are not walking away disappointed.
For a returning diner, the practical question is sequencing. At the ¥¥¥¥ level, Kasumicho Yamagami is likely running a set-course format , this is the standard structure at this price point and star tier in Tokyo Japanese dining. If your first visit oriented you to the rhythm of the meal, a return gives you room to engage more deliberately: tracking what's changed seasonally, paying closer attention to technique rather than orienting yourself to format. Autumn and winter are typically when Japanese cuisine at this tier makes the sharpest impression, with ingredients like matsutake mushroom, buri, and crab cycling through menus. If you're planning a visit in the current season, that's the context worth holding.
On the question of takeout and delivery: at the ¥¥¥¥ tier with Michelin recognition, off-premise dining is not a realistic option at Kasumicho Yamagami, nor should it be. The food at this level is designed around immediate service, sequential pacing, and room temperature control that a delivery container cannot replicate. If you're looking for Japanese food in Nishiazabu that travels well, you're looking at a different category entirely. What Yamagami offers is the opposite of convenience , it offers deliberateness, and that proposition only holds in the room. This is worth stating clearly because it shapes how you should plan: this is a block-the-evening commitment, not a flexible option.
Nishiazabu is one of Tokyo's more composed dining neighbourhoods, with enough density of serious restaurants to justify a full evening in the area. If you're building a Tokyo itinerary around meals, pairing Yamagami with venues like Azabu Kadowaki or Myojaku on separate nights gives you a useful range across Japanese cuisine styles. For those exploring beyond Tokyo, the same level of precision dining is available at Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and HAJIME in Osaka, both of which offer instructive points of comparison if you're calibrating how Tokyo Japanese dining sits within Japan's broader fine dining geography.
The address in Minato City , specifically the Nishiazabu sub-district , is worth noting for logistics. This is not a venue directly above a subway exit. Plan your routing in advance, particularly for an evening reservation when unfamiliarity with the block can cost you time. Arriving composed matters at this level of dining; Yamagami is not the kind of place where being five minutes late sets a comfortable tone.
For broader Tokyo planning, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide, our full Tokyo hotels guide, and our full Tokyo bars guide. If you're extending into other cities, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, and Isshisoden Nakamura in Kyoto are worth considering within the same calibre of intentional dining.
Seating configuration details are not confirmed in available data. At the ¥¥¥¥ Michelin tier in Tokyo Japanese restaurants, counter seating is common and often the preferred format , it puts you closer to the kitchen's work. If counter dining matters to you, confirm directly when booking. For guaranteed counter experiences in the city, Myojaku is a known option at a comparable level.
No specific policy is confirmed in available data. At this price tier and format in Tokyo, dietary requirements should be communicated well before your reservation date , ideally at the time of booking. Japanese fine dining kitchens at the Michelin level typically accommodate serious restrictions with advance notice, but last-minute requests at a set-course restaurant are difficult to absorb. If dietary flexibility is a primary concern, confirm by phone or through your booking channel before committing.
Tokyo's ¥¥¥¥ Japanese restaurants are among the leading cities in the world for solo fine dining, and venues at this tier typically include counter seating that makes solo visits feel natural rather than awkward. Yamagami's Nishiazabu address and Michelin standing suggest it fits that pattern, though seat configuration isn't confirmed. Solo dining here is likely a strong option , the format rewards focused attention on the food, which suits a solo diner more than a large group.
At ¥¥¥¥ with a 2024 Michelin star, the set-course format is the point, not a constraint. The star signals that the committee found the cooking consistent and technically accomplished enough to recommend. Whether it's worth it for you depends on how you value precision Japanese cuisine against comparable spend: Kagurazaka Ishikawa and Azabu Kadowaki operate in the same bracket and offer useful comparisons. If Japanese kaiseki or omakase-style dining is your format, the Michelin credential here supports the spend.
For a focused diner who values technical Japanese cooking in a quiet, composed setting, yes. The 2024 Michelin star is a meaningful external validation, and the 4.6 Google score across 31 reviews is consistent. At ¥¥¥¥, you're in the same tier as Ginza Fukuju and Jingumae Higuchi , venues where the spend is justified by craft, not by spectacle. If you're primarily after atmosphere or flexibility, there are better uses of a ¥¥¥¥ budget. If you're after precision, it holds.
Book at least four to six weeks out, and longer for Friday and Saturday evenings. A 2024 Michelin star with a small, quiet operation in Nishiazabu is a combination that fills quickly without generating much visible availability. Tokyo's international dining audience has grown substantially, and starred venues at this tier are often booked by local regulars in advance. If your travel dates are fixed, treat this as one of the first reservations to make, not one of the last.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in available data, so dish-level recommendations would be speculation. At this tier of Japanese dining, the kitchen leads , the set-course format is designed so that ordering is not your job. Trust the sequence. If you have strong preferences or a dish style you want to prioritise, communicate that at booking, not at the table. For a broader sense of what Tokyo Japanese cuisine at this level produces, our full Tokyo restaurants guide covers the range.
Three things: the address requires navigation (third floor, Hachiman Building, Nishiazabu , not a walk-in-friendly location), the price tier is ¥¥¥¥ so budget accordingly including drinks, and the format is almost certainly a set course, which means the meal moves at the kitchen's pace. Arrive on time. If you're newer to Japanese fine dining at this level, 1000 in Yokohama or Kashiwaya in Osaka offer useful context before committing to a venue of this calibre. Also see our full Tokyo experiences guide for planning the rest of your visit.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasumicho Yamagami | Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Harutaka | Sushi | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Florilège | French | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How Kasumicho Yamagami stacks up against the competition.
Counter seating is the format here — Kasumicho Yamagami operates as a Japanese counter restaurant on the third floor of the Hachiman Building in Nishiazabu. This isn't a bar drop-in; every seat is a full commitment to the meal. Walk-ins are not a realistic option at a Michelin-starred venue of this scale, so plan accordingly.
Tasting-menu restaurants at this price point (¥¥¥¥) in Tokyo typically require dietary restrictions to be communicated well in advance of your reservation, not on arrival. Communicate any restrictions at the time of booking. Severe allergies or complex requirements may limit the kitchen's ability to accommodate fully, so be direct and specific when you reserve.
Yes — counter dining formats suit solo diners well, and Kasumicho Yamagami's Nishiazabu setting is exactly the kind of intimate room where a single seat at the counter is a feature, not a compromise. At ¥¥¥¥, it's a considered solo splurge, but the Michelin star (2024) gives you confidence the spend is justified.
At ¥¥¥¥ and with a 2024 Michelin star, the tasting menu format here is the only format — there's no à la carte option to fall back on. If you're committed to the counter experience and Japanese cuisine at this tier, it's worth it. If you're unsure about a full omakase commitment, consider a more flexible Tokyo option before booking.
The 2024 Michelin star is the clearest external validation that Kasumicho Yamagami delivers at its ¥¥¥¥ price point. For Tokyo, that tier is competitive but not unusual among serious Japanese counter restaurants. Compared to Michelin-starred peers across Minato City, the Nishiazabu address and intimate room scale suggest this is a tighter, more personal experience than larger destination restaurants — which for many diners makes the price easier to justify.
Book at least four to six weeks out. Michelin recognition in Tokyo's competitive 2024 guide tightens availability quickly, and a third-floor room in Nishiazabu with limited covers will fill before you expect it to. If you're visiting on a fixed travel window, lock in the date before booking flights.
Kasumicho Yamagami runs a set menu format — you don't order individually. The kitchen leads and you follow, which is standard for this style of Japanese counter dining. Come with no agenda beyond the meal in front of you; at ¥¥¥¥ with a Michelin star, the progression is the point.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
