Tabelog ratingNote: service at this location was reported to have ended on 31 October 2025, and no reservations were being taken. Check by phone before planning a trip.
Warabino (わらび野) is a one-man restaurant in a restored farmhouse on the Kaida Kogen plateau. Furuhata Hironobu designed the interior, which centres on a lacquered counter. The owner-chef served a single party a day and grew, foraged, fished or hunted almost everything himself. The set menu therefore changed daily, and there was no printed list. His signature is iwana (mountain char), kept live and salt-grilled so slowly that it is eaten whole, head to tail. Tabelog selected it for its Japanese cuisine EAST "Tabelog 100" in 2021 and 2023.
Nearly every review singles out the iwana. Close behind is tekone or chirashi sushi heaped with golden iwana roe. Reviewers also praise a feather-light shinjo in clear dashi, made with butterbur buds, corn or matsutake depending on the season. Others mention spring mountain-vegetable platters, deer tataki with wild-garlic soy, chilled Kaida corn soup and matsutake dishes. Many guests came back repeatedly, one of them twelve times.
Criticism is minor. Because everything was foraged, winter and late-season meals could be thinner, and a spring frost once wiped out some wild vegetables. Two reviewers found the matsutake small. One felt that a matsutake request pulled the menu away from its simpler strengths. Getting there is a long drive.
The budget was agreed by phone before booking, roughly ¥5,000–10,000. In 2025 reviewers paid about ¥8,250 for a six-course meal, about ¥11,000 for a full dinner course and about ¥8,000 for lunch. A 2022 matsutake menu ran about ¥15,000. The listing's review-based average is ¥15,000–19,999. Reviewers consistently called it exceptional value, far below what comparable cooking costs elsewhere.
- Status: reported closed at this location from 31 October 2025.
- Booking: reservation only, by phone (090-4261-1755). One party per day, no walk-ins.
- Getting there: from Kiso-Fukushima Station, take the Kiso Town Kaida Kogen Line towards Kaida Branch Office and get off at "Saisaikan". The restaurant is directly across the street. The fare is ¥200, and the service connects with express trains. By car it is about an hour from Ina IC.
- Parking: available.
- Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR payments are not accepted. A service charge is added.
- Seating: counter. There are no private rooms, but the whole restaurant can be booked for private use.
- Smoking: non-smoking.
