Ginza Kojyu
“Two stars at a counter cut from 700 year old cypress: Okuda's Shizuoka rooted kaiseki. Book it to close a deal.”
About Ginza Kojyu
Toru Okuda ships his own water into Ginza. The Shizuoka native built Kojyu in 2003 around the products of his home prefecture: spring water for the dashi, fish out of Suruga Bay, wasabi and tea from the hills he grew up under. That stubborn provincialism, practiced on a fourth floor in Ginza 5 chome, is what separates the room from its neighbors. Guests sit at a counter cut from a 700 year old cypress and watch a kitchen that has trained half the neighborhood.
The kaiseki here follows no fixed architecture; the menu is rewritten with the seasons and sometimes the morning's market. Expect a progression from a single perfect broth through sashimi, charcoal work and a rice course that regulars treat as the main event. Lunch runs about ¥20,000 and dinner about ¥30,000 before drinks, and the sake list leans on small brewers chosen to sit under the food rather than over it.
One correction matters, because older articles still get it wrong: Kojyu holds two Michelin stars in the 2026 Tokyo guide, not the three that some lists continue to print. Two stars held across two decades is its own argument. Reservations favor the persistent: the restaurant books by phone domestically, while platforms such as Tableall and AutoReserve carry seats for international diners. The counter is the seat to insist on.
The Room
A hushed fourth floor room: the cypress counter up front, tatami and Western private rooms behind, lighting that flatters lacquer and skin alike. The register is old Ginza, precise without stiffness. Dress smart; jackets are common and never wasted. Counter seats put you in conversation range of the chefs, and the private rooms swallow business talk whole.
Why book it, occasion by occasion
No restaurant is right for every evening. Here is the occasion work Ginza Kojyu actually does.
For the handshake that needs old Ginza gravity
Kojyu's private rooms carry the specific authority of a restaurant that has fed Ginza's decision makers for twenty years. The fixed kaiseki removes ordering friction, the staff treat discretion as a technique, and dinner at about ¥30,000 a head is serious without being extravagant, which is exactly the message a negotiation wants. Book a tatami room for the formality or the counter for a warmer close, and let the rice course time your final ask.
For the solo diner who wants a masterclass
A counter seat here is one of Tokyo's great solo evenings: eight or so courses built in front of you, chefs close enough to answer questions, and a room that treats a party of one as a peer rather than a problem. Lunch is the easy entry at about ¥20,000. Sit center counter if offered, drink what the staff suggest by the glass, and watch the knife work between courses; the education is included in the bill.
For the guest who measures restaurants by their water
Some clients are impressed by chandeliers; the ones worth keeping are impressed by a chef who ships spring water from Shizuoka because Tokyo's will not do. That story, told over the first broth, lands harder than any wine flex, and two stars held across two decades supply the institutional proof. Seat your guest facing the cypress grain, order the top sake the staff will pour, and leave the etiquette to the room.
What to order
The menu is the chef's, so your calls are the seat, the timing and what you drink beside it.
- The counter over the rooms, first visit
The private rooms earn their keep for business, but the cypress counter is the restaurant's beating heart. Watch the owan course assembled and you will understand the stars.
- The rice course, treated as the main
Regulars pace themselves for the donabe rice near the close. Whatever the season puts on top, it is the dish people book back for.
- Lunch at about ¥20,000
The gentlest entry to a two star kaiseki kitchen in central Ginza, and the easiest reservation in the building.
- Sake by the staff's hand
The list favors small brewers matched to the dashi. Name your budget per glass and let the room drive.
Practical
- Address
- Karioka Building 4F, Ginza 5 chome, Chuo
- Reservations
- Phone domestically · Tableall or AutoReserve from abroad
- Menus
- Lunch about ¥20,000 · dinner about ¥30,000
- Seats
- Cypress counter plus tatami and Western rooms
- Drinks
- Sake from small brewers · short wine list
- Dress
- Smart · jackets common
- Dietary
- Seasonal kaiseki; allergies with advance notice
- Station
- Ginza, a few minutes on foot
Questions diners ask
Is Ginza Kojyu worth it?
Yes, especially at lunch. Two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide, a counter cut from 700 year old cypress and Okuda's Shizuoka supply chain make it one of Ginza's most complete kaiseki evenings. At about ¥20,000 for lunch and ¥30,000 for dinner it undercuts several lesser rated neighbors.
Does Ginza Kojyu have three Michelin stars?
No. Older articles still repeat the three star claim, but the 2026 Tokyo guide lists Ginza Kojyu at two stars. Two stars held across two decades under the same chef remains a rarer feat than most one year three stars, and the room's standards have not moved.
How do you book Ginza Kojyu?
Domestically, by phone. From abroad, reservation platforms such as Tableall and AutoReserve carry seats, and hotel concierges manage the rest. The counter is the seat worth asking for by name; private rooms need earlier notice, especially for weekend dinners and autumn dates.
What does dinner at Ginza Kojyu cost?
About ¥30,000 per person at dinner and about ¥20,000 at lunch before drinks, with platform bookings adding fees. Sake by the glass keeps the bill reasonable; plan on ¥35,000 to ¥50,000 a head at dinner all in.