Beppu, Oita Pref. ¨C Set on a hillside well above and away from the bustling center of Beppu on the coast of Oita Prefecture, the location chosen by chef Taizo Hirokado, for his eponymous restaurant could hardly be more apposite.
Behind it rise the forested slopes of volcanic Mount Tsurumi. Ahead, facing almost due east, it looks down over Beppu Bay and, far in the distance, the turbulent waters of the Hoyo Strait where the Pacific Ocean meets the waters of the Seto Inland Sea. The site encompasses all the aspirations Hirokado held when he opened here in 2021 at the age of 39: to showcase the remarkable ingredients from land and ocean that this region has to offer.
He needed to be close to his suppliers, the farmers and fishermen, the foragers and producers. And he knew this was where he could find the best: his hometown of Beppu.
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