Hiyama: Matsutake and White Truffle Dinner Courses

Hiyama (樋山) is known among Japanese diners as the “sanctuary of matsutake”. The owner buys wild pine mushrooms directly from foragers and serves them the day they are picked. Reviewers describe the quantities as a lifetime’s worth in a single evening, and one guest was told 1.5 kg per person had gone into the meal. In late autumn and winter, Piedmont white truffle is grated over nearly every course. The restaurant has won a Tabelog Award every year since 2021.

Almost every review dwells on the volume of matsutake. Guests single out the chawanmushi (savoury egg custard) and the dobin-mushi (clear broth steamed in a teapot), both more mushroom than anything else. The other highlight is three charcoal-grilled matsutake per person, cooked at the table, with diners sipping the juices first. Matsutake fry with the house sauce, sukiyaki and matsutake rice packed to take home also come up often. Outside the season, the white-truffle egg sandwich and the eel sandwich with mustard and Calpis butter are called the best people have eaten. The chef’s talks on sourcing are a recurring pleasure.

Criticism is minor and mostly about the setting. The room is izakaya-like, in a nondescript building, and the service comes from young part-time staff, which feels plain at this price. One guest found the chairs on tatami uncomfortable, and a few thought the bill high. One first-timer was mildly disappointed by a non-matsutake course.

Hiyama serves dinner only; there is no lunch. Typical spend is ¥60,000–80,000 per person, but recent bills run higher. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥90,000 for the white-truffle course and about ¥95,000 each for the spring bamboo-shoot course. Matsutake and truffle with plenty of drinks came to ¥95,500. Individual dish prices are not documented. Reviewers broadly consider it good value on its own terms. The same amount of top-grade matsutake and truffle would cost far more elsewhere, drinks are inexpensive, and leftovers go home with you.

• Getting there: 5 minutes on foot from Higashi-Kawaguchi Station (JR Musashino Line and Saitama Rapid Railway). Leave by the south exit and walk east along the JR Musashino Line tracks. Turn left at the street where you can see Daiei; the mixed-use building is on your right, and the restaurant is upstairs. Note that this is Saitama, not Tokyo.
• Booking: reservation only, so walk-ins are not possible. Regulars hold most seats, with waits of one to two years, and joining an existing booking is the usual route. One reviewer booked a spring course via Ikyu about a month ahead. Changing the date, time or number of guests incurs a cancellation fee.
• Seasons: matsutake runs roughly July to October. Other months bring fugu, game, eel or wagyu courses, and bamboo shoots in spring.
• Payment: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX and Diners are accepted. Electronic money and QR code payments are not.
• Seating: 16 seats, with one seating per night. Private tatami rooms take groups of 2 to 8. The whole restaurant can be booked for up to 20.
• Children: children are welcome.
• Drinks: according to reviewers, you may bring your own wine with no corkage fee.
• Smoking: non-smoking, with a smoking area outside.
• Parking: three affiliated coin parking lots nearby offer service vouchers.