In shortModern kaiseki at a counter in a quiet Nagoya suburb. Reservations run in Japanese and are hard to place from abroad, so our Tokyo desk requests the table for you, by phone and in Japanese.
Price
From ¥24,200 per person, tax included, service charge extra
Hours
Dinner only, 18:00–21:30; last entry 19:00
Closed
Sundays and Mondays
Seats
16 — a six-seat counter plus private rooms for four and six
Payment
Cards accepted (Visa, Master, JCB, Amex, Diners)
Getting there
Irinaka (Tsurumai Line), 12 minutes on foot; Nanzan bus stop, 3 minutes
Sekine is the Nagoya answer to a question we hear from travelers who
have done Kyoto and Kanazawa and want the next serious Japanese
kitchen: where is the kaiseki in Aichi that a visitor can actually
sit down to? When Michelin published its one and only Aichi–Gifu–Mie
guide in 2019, this small house in the Nanzan hills of Showa Ward
took two stars, and it
has stayed on Tabelog’s Japanese Cuisine East 100 list in 2023 and
2025. Yet it is not in a hotel or a shopping street. It sits on the
ground floor of a low building in a residential neighbourhood
between Irinaka and Yagoto stations, with four parking spaces out
front, and the master and his wife run the room themselves.
What you eat
A single seasonal course, from ¥24,200 with tax (service is added).
A local area guide describes master Koji Sekine as a cook who
trained in Tokyo before settling in Nagoya, and his style is often
described as kaiseki with a modern hand. The house does not publish
its menus, but a December dinner one diner recorded ran from a hassun
with tuna and milt through monkfish‑liver dumpling with abalone,
fugu, beef shabu‑shabu and duck hotpot to a pot of crab rice, ending
with kuzukiri and chestnut ice cream. Fish and vegetables lead;
allergies are handled for five items only (egg, milk, shrimp,
buckwheat, crab), and the house asks you to declare them when you
book.
The booking reality
The rule is written on the official site in one line: completely
reservation‑only, by telephone only, 16:00–21:00, no online
booking. A concierge listing records the cadence — on the first
business day of each month the house opens dates through the end of
the month three ahead — and diners’ own accounts agree: one booked
three months out, another found a table a month ahead, a third was
given a single seat through a regular. Dinner is one service, 18:00
to 21:30 with the last entry at 19:00, closed Sundays and Mondays.
The line is Japanese only, and it is answered in the late afternoon
and evening, which is awkward from most time zones. That is exactly
the gap our desk fills: we call in Japanese on the opening day, ask
for your dates, and confirm the counter or a room. The house does
not publish a solo‑diner policy, a child policy or a cancellation
schedule; we settle those with them when we call.
Travelers routing between Tokyo and Kyoto who want one serious
kaiseki dinner in Nagoya rather than a hotel meal — and anyone who
prefers a six‑seat counter run by a couple to a banquet hall. Allow
a taxi back; the neighbourhood is quiet after nine.
Free release-date alerts: the day before, on the morning of release day (08:00 JST) and about 30 minutes before when the time is known — or a weekly summary if the house opens a little every day.
Sekine: common questions
Can you book Sekine from abroad?
Yes, through our Tokyo desk. Phone only, in Japanese, 16:00–21:00; a 2023 listing says the book opens on the first business day of each month for dates through the end of the month three ahead — confirm when calling. We call the restaurant for you, in Japanese, and the ¥6,000-per-seat fee is charged only if we confirm your table — no seat, no fee.
Some of these links are referral links: if you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Restaurants never pay us to be listed or ranked. Editorial policy
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Facts on this page were checked by our Tokyo desk. You are welcome to quote them with a link:
