Chugokukusai Naramachi Kuko

The story

Chugokukusai Naramachi Kuko in Nara: Sichuan and Cantonese Chinese Cuisine

Chugokukusai Naramachi Kuko is a Chinese restaurant at Kideracho 913-2 in Nara-shi, where the Sichuan and Cantonese kitchen holds one Michelin star (2026). The menu takes its cue from foods with roots in Nara, such as tofu, tea, miso, soy sauce and sake, which arrived through the envoys who traveled to Tang China.

Cooking from the farm

The kitchen grows Yamato traditional vegetables and Chinese greens on its own plots in the mountains, roughly ten minutes from the Naramachi district. The farm works without pesticides or chemical fertilizer, and its produce carries the Peta-kin no megumi certification for environmentally considerate growing. The restaurant has also held Michelin Green Stars in each year from 2022 to 2025.

Dim sum and dinner courses

The lunch course runs to eight dim sum, with skins made by hand and folded shortly before guests arrive so the morning's harvest keeps its texture. Dinner moves between Sichuan and Cantonese cooking, follows the seventy-two seasonal divisions, and relies on spices and house-made fermented seasonings. The drinks list pairs the food with Chinese teas, Shaoxing wine, and Nara sake.