Located in the Tama area, Auberge TOKITO is now open to welcome guests to discover a platform where Japanese food and culture are shared worldwide from Tachikawa through the eyes of Michelin Chefs Yoshinori Ishiia and Kenji Okawara with the assistance of their spectacular kitchen brigade.
The property houses four guest rooms with hot spring water flowing from the source, a dining area and a tearoom. Every stay presents a unique chance to encounter the true richness of Japanese food through a gourmet experience shaped by the chefs in a one-night stay including dinner and breakfast for two as well as an open-air Onsen hot spring bath.
From the concept idea to the design
In Japanese language, ‘toki’ means ‘time’ or ‘moment’, and it is the interest of Auberge TOKITO to fill every guest’s time with happiness. The name TOKITO encapsulates the eternal question of what it means to fill one’s time with happiness. The cuisine refers not only to what is on the plate, but also the ideas and philosophies behind it, the tableware and setting, the producers, hunters, fishermen, and the surrounding communities.
The creator, Yoshinori Ishii, after his last success of UMU, a kaiseki restaurant in London – the first of his to receive a Michelin Star – returned to Japan’s restaurant industry for the first time in 20years as the mastermind of this unique gastronomy project and executive chef in charge of a first-class brigade. His philosophy lives throughout the full project: from the internal space of the property to the handmade ceramics he and his team use, made of the clay at the base of the property to the overall Auberge TOKITO experience.
Yoshinori comments: “Over the past few years I have been focusing on innovating Japanese cuisine that looks at the tradition of the meguru megumi philosophy and Japanese authentic gastronomy offer to give life to what I like to call the ultimate Japanese cuisine feast.”
“To give our selected guests a fulfilling experience of our culture and passion for the Japanese gourmet culture, the overall concept of Auberge Tokito is focused on regenerative bounties – since our country has long had a culture of respecting and deifying nature,” concludes Yoshinori. Auberge TOKITO is a time capsule platform where the team promises to deliver an overall experience able to celebrate the sense of time and heritage in Japan starting from the long-inherited origins of the kaiseki feast. With this in mind, every single aspect of the property and restaurant has been carefully crafted by hand by the team. The four rooms, the common areas and the over 1,000 pieces of earthenware used on the property whilst the trees that were cut down for building on the property are revived and used as tableware for the inn.
“Working with Yoshi on this project has been one of the most stimulating and fascinating experiences in my career, after knowing him over the last 20 years” said Kenji Okawara, the General Manager and Head Chef. “We did not leave out any details. Since he arrived on site, he has made more than one thousand plates, bowls, and so forth, using the clay we found on property during the construction. I can say that Auberge Tokito is a result of passion and hard work – we are all artisans, all together,” Okawara- san adds.
The lodging
The shukubo guest rooms are limited to four rooms, measuring 106 square meters each, and come fully equipped with their own open-air bath appointed with privately drilled hot spring water, flowing constantly from the source 1,300 meters below ground. From the bedroom, you can see the outdoor garden through the spacious living room while the generous bathroom leading to the open-air bath incorporates a treatment area complete with a spa bed. Each of their design offers guests a chance to seek restoration for both body and soul, as they experience the ultimate healing immersed in a refined atmosphere.
The facilities
The shokubo dining room has 10 counter seats exclusively for Auberge staying guests, 20 table seats in the hall for visitors, 3 private rooms with table seats (4 seats per room), and one annex (three-span hall for up to 22 guests) for private parties, business functions, and ceremonial occasions. Guests at our counter seats and hall seats can leave the menu up to our chefs while various arrangements can be made at the annex. Many of the tableware used in the shokubo dining room are made by Ishii-san himself, designed with his aestheticism to match the cuisine he aims to create.
The sabo tearoom is hidden away in the garden. The aesthetic world of tea spreads before guests’ eyes once they open the wooden door. It is a space to experience a new kind of peace and entertainment by interpreting modern Japanese tea culture that has evolved in a myriad of ways with the regions, customs, eras, and recipes. In the daytime, guests can enjoy afternoon tea with their favourite tea complemented by a chaukebako box of sweets and savouries, while in the evening, they are invited to wind down at our tearoom-turned-bar.
The food experience
In order to enrich the guests, the community, and the Japanese food culture, the overall project concept is based on meguru megumi philosophy – focused on regenerative bounties – since Japan has long had a culture of respecting and deifying nature.
The promise is to develop innovative cuisine that reflects the cultural climate of Japan while simultaneously returning to and momentarily separating ourselves from the long-inherited origins of the kaiseki feast. With this in mind, Ishii-san personally visits suppliers of top-notch foodstuffs. The words itadakimasu (a pre-meal greeting for accepting the life of animals and plants) and mottainai (a term signifying regret over waste) have become well-known across the globe. Ishii-san hopes that his dishes would exemplify the tremendous reverence for nature that is ingrained in the mindset of the Japanese people.
Alongside Chef-Producer Yoshinori Ishii, five other chefs are part of Auberge Tokito kitchen brigade: Kenji Okawara – General Manager and Head Chef; Hiroki Hiyama – Head Chef; Kei Sazawa and Kenichiro Ueno – Sous Chefs and Yuka Tanigaito- Service Manager. Most of them have been working with Yoshinori for decades, with a deep-rooted passion for the art of cooking.
Auberge TOKITO Signature experiences
The stay at Auberge TOKITO can also include signature experiences such as:
- Modern tea culture in the authentic atmosphere at Shukubo or Teahouse, enjoying Afternoon tea Tokito Style.
- Pottery making: Since Ishii-san makes the majority of the ceramics and potteries that the auberge is using, guests can certainly experience pottery making with Ishii-san’s guidance.
