Restaurant Kikusui

Restaurant Kikusui: A Century-Old Western Dining Landmark by Kyoto's Kamo River

Standing at the eastern foot of the Shijo-ohashi Bridge, directly across from the historic Minamiza Kabuki theater, Restaurant Kikusui is one of Kyoto's most beloved architectural icons. Founded in 1916 (Taisho 5) and housed in a striking five-story reinforced-concrete building completed in 1926, this pioneering Western-style restaurant has welcomed generations of guests for more than a hundred years. The building, with its unmistakable parabolic elevator tower and Spanish-tiled roof, was officially registered as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on May 7, 1997, and remains a living monument to the cosmopolitan spirit of Taisho-era Kyoto.

A Pioneer of Western Cuisine in Kyoto

Restaurant Kikusui's story begins in 1916, when its founder Okumura Kojiro opened "Kikusui-kan" on May 1 of that year. Before turning to Western cuisine, Okumura had run a shop selling kawara-senbei rice crackers under the same Kikusui name, with branches in front of Minatogawa Shrine in Kobe and beside Minamiza in Kyoto. To launch his ambitious new venture, he invited a disciple of Akiyama Tokuzo — the famed Imperial Household chef known as the "Emperor's Chef" — together with a former manager of the New Carlton Hotel in Shanghai. With this exceptional team, Kikusui-kan quickly established itself as one of the very first authentic Western-style restaurants in the ancient capital.

The original premises occupied a converted rice cracker shop, a wooden three-story building with an upper floor styled after the famous Kinkaku-ji pavilion. Ten years later, in 1926, the family replaced this early structure with the imposing Western-style building that still stands today. During the Showa Imperial enthronement ceremonies, Kikusui catered for the imperial household, and the restaurant was also patronized by the Yi royal family of Korea and the Kuni-no-miya princely house. After the Second World War, the building was designated as a post exchange (PX) for the Allied occupation forces, and the second-generation owner Koshiro went on to create what is said to have been Kyoto's very first rooftop beer garden.

Why It Was Designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property

The current Kikusui building, completed in 1926 and designed by Matsumura Jiro of the Ueda Construction Office, was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property by the Agency for Cultural Affairs because it is considered an exemplary work of new architectural activity in Taisho-era Kyoto. Its overall design is rooted in Expressionism, an avant-garde European style of the 1910s and 1920s, while skillfully weaving in details drawn from a variety of contemporary trends — Art Deco motifs, Spanish-style roof tiles, and other modernist flourishes are arranged together with remarkable coherence.

The building is constructed of reinforced concrete with five floors above ground and one below, plus the famous tower on top, and has a footprint of approximately 203 square meters. Although the interiors have been refurbished over the decades to meet the needs of a working restaurant, the exterior preserves the dignified yet playful character of 1920s Kyoto modernism. The structure is also notable for having been completed at almost the same time as the Tokasaikan building on the opposite bank of the Kamogawa, and the two together form a celebrated pair of riverside Taisho-era landmarks.

Architectural Highlights and Things to See

The single most photographed feature of Restaurant Kikusui is its parabolic tower rising from the rooftop. This curving silhouette is in fact the elevator's pulley housing, and its sweeping arc captures the optimistic, modernist spirit of Taisho design. Above the main facade, Spanish-style tiles in warm earth tones add a Mediterranean note that contrasts beautifully with the geometric concrete forms below. Decorative reliefs, distinctive fenestration, and the tall vertical lines of the elevator shaft all reward a careful look from across Shijo-ohashi Bridge.

Step inside, and the experience continues. The first floor functions as a cafe and parlor, ideal for coffee, cake, or a light meal in a softly lit room with a view onto Shijo-dori. The second floor offers a more formal grill restaurant where French-influenced courses are served. The third floor, once famous for grand dance parties in the Showa era, still occasionally hosts dance evenings, and a chandelier from those early years continues to cast its warm glow over the room. In summer, the rooftop transforms into a popular beer garden — Kyoto's pioneering rooftop biergarten — with sweeping views of the Higashiyama hills.

The restaurant's signature dish has been on the menu since the founding years: Beef Stew Bordelaise, slow-simmered until meltingly tender and brought to the table in a sizzling copper pot, where it is finished with a flame at the guest's side. It is the kind of theatrical, generous-hearted dining that defined Kyoto's golden age of Western cuisine, and tasting it inside this historic building offers a vivid sense of how stylish and adventurous Taisho-era Kyoto truly was.

The Surrounding Area

Few addresses in Kyoto are as central or as evocative as the eastern foot of Shijo-ohashi Bridge. Directly across the street from Kikusui stands the Minamiza, the historic kabuki theater whose Momoyama-style facade has presided over the district since the early 17th century, and whose annual "Kaomise" face-showing performances each December are one of Kyoto's signature cultural events. A short walk east leads directly into the heart of Gion, with its lantern-lit teahouses, the willow-draped Shirakawa canal, and the famous Hanamikoji street.

To the north along the Kamogawa, the Pontocho alley faces the river from the opposite bank — a narrow, atmospheric lane lined with traditional restaurants and bars that come alive after dark. A few minutes' stroll east takes visitors to Yasaka Shrine, the guardian shrine of Gion and the spiritual home of the Gion Festival, with its great south gate and the lively approach of Shijo-dori climbing up the slope. From the eastern hills behind, the temples of Kodai-ji and Kiyomizu-dera are within easy reach, making Kikusui an ideal lunch or pre-theater dinner stop on a day of Higashiyama sightseeing.