“Tominokoji Yamagishi”, a kaiseki restaurant which first opened in Kyoto in 2015, adheres to the spirit of cha-kaiseki omotenashi hospitality. Our mission is to allow our customers to witness the evolution of the four seasons through the careful selection of seasonal Kyoto produce, food plating and dish curation. In less than three years since our foundation, we were awarded with a one Michelin star recommendation from the authoritative Michelin Guide to fine dining. In 2019, we opened our first overseas restaurant “Tominokoji Yamagishi Hong Kong” in K11 MUSEA mall, Hong Kong, and a sister restaurant “Nijo Yamagishi” in Kyoto. Our spirit which our founder, Yamagishi-san draws from arts of tea ceremony, flower arrangement and calligraphy continues to thrive in different adaptations.

On the 16th of February 2021, “Tominokoji Yamagishi” will unveil at K11 MUSEA, a completely new brand “JIKON”, which fuses the concept of kaiseki cuisine with modern Japanese yakiniku culture to provide an unprecedented yakiniku experience.

The name “JIKON”, meaning “now” in English, is derived from the motto of Yamagishi-san, the founder of “Tominokoji Yamagishi”. It is the truth realised by zen master, Dōgen Zenji when he trained in China and reminds people to live in the present with all your might - without restraint from past or future. Yamagishi-san believes that since we live in a chaotic world, we must adhere strictly to the teachings of “JIKON”, and hence the name was born.

Discernment for quality ingredients
“JIKON” has chosen to work with “Hiyama Meat Industry Co., Ltd.”, a wagyu beef supplier in Tokyo with over a hundred years of history. “Hiyama” is committed to both food safety and quality and runs a global management system which has attained the highest level 3, and Excellent-grade in SQF certification for its food manufacturing process and product certification. Furthermore, “Hiyama” tastes each wagyu beef it sources to ensure the highest quality beef. They also run a tracing system where each cow has an individual certificate which can trace their farm, feed, breeder, and other related breeding information. Partnering with “Hiyama” is our way to provide our customers with the safest and most delicious beef.Kagoshima is Japan’s biggest producer of wagyu. The vast majority of wagyu that “Hiyama” selectively sources for “JIKON” is satsuma wagyu from Kagoshima.

Since Kagoshima satsuma wagyu are fed with valuable, high quality roasted soybeans and are given freedom to roam, their meat develops a refreshing amount of lean meat with a soft texture and signature aroma. Highly experienced buyers choose the most premium A5 satsuma wagyu which is delivered chilled and direct by air so that our customers can savour the freshest cuts of wagyu beef. The defining characteristic of satsuma beef is its perfect ratio of fat and lean meat, the fat is speckled evenly across the marbled meat like frost. According to a wagyu connoisseur, exactly half of the beef is sweet, succulent fat and the other half is lean, flavourful meat.

At “JIKON”, we store the freshly delivered wagyu in an exclusive chill room which is maintained to strict temperature and quality management controls. Our menu is based on our “wagyu golden ratio” which we devised following a thorough investigation into the umami and fat flavour profile of wagyu beef. It allows customers to savour the true meaty deliciousness of beef while enjoying the delicate aromas of its fat. Such are the distinct qualities of A5 wagyu beef.Apart from grading, brand, and origin, we also place emphasis on the meat itself, from fragrance, colour, marbling and melting point of fat to product control. From familiar parts to rare parts, we will present each piece of A5 wagyu yakiniku in its most optimum cut.

As a tribute to the iconic dish “Uni Dog” at “Tominokoji Yamagishi”, we created the “Beef Dog” which combines the spirit of kaiseki with the passion of authentic modern-day yakiniku. We hope our innovative dining experience will disrupt the typical impression of yakiniku.

At the helm of “JIKON” is Hiromi Nomura, who has worked with an acclaimed yakiniku master at one of Tokyo’s most famous yakiniku restaurants. She later trained at a wagyu farm followed by Tokyo Meat Wholesale Market where she was involved with auctioning, slaughtering, and deboning. Apart from mastering wholesale and retail knowledge, Nomura’s wealth of specialist knowledge in wagyu and immaculate cutting skills all come from her experience at the wagyu wholesale store. It was there where she learnt that regardless of the beef cut, the key to the tastiness of the yakiniku meat relies on its size and the heat. Even if they are from the same cow, different cuts must be roasted at different temperatures to achieve the best taste. "The weather, slight temperature or humidity changes will affect the quality of the meat, so every day we must do our best to choose the optimum barbecue method for that moment, so as to present wagyu beef in its most delectable form for our customers."

While food plays an especially important role in the dining experience, the environment has an influential role too. “Omotenashi” is the highest form of Japanese hospitality and “JIKON” adopts it as our motto. We are dedicated to providing our customers with the most satisfying experience. We believe “omotenashi” should be based on the customer’s perspective - what can we do to give them contentment? How can we serve our customers, so they feel we care? This is our way of building a comfortable and heart-warming environment.

Yakiniku requires the customer to do the grilling. If you need grilling advice, you are always welcome to ask our staff. Even yakiniku novices can master grilling techniques to enjoy the best of wagyu yakiniku. In addition, the most advanced menus provide start to end grilling services.