ORI Corporation (headquartered in Taito-ku, Tokyo) will open two new culinary establishments on January 9, 2026 (Friday) in Kyoto City's Shimogyo Ward, Gion Shijo area: "A kyoto," a dining venue that fuses Japanese cuisine with teppanyaki, and "B kyoto," a cafe-bar centered on Japanese tea and domestic gin.
The establishment is housed in a renovated traditional Kyoto machiya over 100 years old. The space, created through the skilled craftsmanship of experienced plasterers, presents a unique atmosphere that feels both nostalgic and fresh.
Taking advantage of its prime location along the Kamo River, the first floor features a dining space where guests can enjoy immersive teppanyaki cuisine, while the second floor is designed as a Japanese tea cafe-bar where visitors can relax while overlooking the Kamo River and Minami-za theater. Guests can experience Kyoto's four seasons through cuisine, ambiance, and scenery with all five senses.
A kyoto - Japanese Creative Teppanyaki Kaiseki (1st Floor)
A kyoto on the first floor offers course meals centered on Kuroge Wagyu beef and Kyoto vegetables, featuring premium seasonal ingredients from the Kansai region. Course content changes on the first day of odd-numbered months according to the season, with the next menu update scheduled for March 1st.
The teppan griddle is used from the appetizers onward, with each dish carefully prepared using seafood caught in the Kansai region and seasonal vegetables.
For the main meat course, only Kuroge Wagyu tenderloin is used. Without relying on fat, the supple, premium red meat's flavor is maximized on the teppan. The steak, finished by the chef right before your eyes and cut at the perfect moment, is a feast for the senses—from aroma to sound to rising steam.
Yellowtail with Miso Yuuan, Grilled on Cedar Plank
Kuroge Wagyu Tenderloin Teppanyaki
Seasonal Fish and Kujo Negi Aromatic Grilled with Ginger Butter Soy Sauce
Grilled Conger Eel Steamed Rice with Fresh Yuba Ankake
In the counter-focused interior, guests can enjoy a distinctly Kyoto dining experience with live cooking action complemented by views of the Kamo River. Seasonal elements are treasured in the accompaniments and tableware, creating moments where seasonal dishes harmonize with domestic sake.
For Kyoto, which has accumulated a thousand years of history, the fusion of Japanese cuisine's delicacy with teppanyaki's dynamism was chosen as the most fitting stage to embody the essence of Japanese culture, from food and space to tableware and the spirit of hospitality.
B kyoto - Japanese Tea and Domestic Gin Cafe-Bar (2nd Floor)
B kyoto on the second floor operates as a lounge-style space, functioning as a cafe during the day and a bar at night.
Large windows offer views of the Kamo River and Minami-za theater, allowing guests to enjoy different expressions of Kyoto throughout the day.
During cafe hours, in addition to coffee, matcha, hojicha, and Japanese black tea drinks, Kyoto-style sweets are available.
During bar hours, Japanese tea cocktails using only first-harvest tea from Uji, Kyoto are featured, along with matcha Kahlua, matcha gin and tonic, and Japanese black tea highball, offering "a taste of Kyoto in a glass."
Additionally, over 60 varieties of domestic craft gin and more than 15 types of domestic whisky are available, proposing new encounters with Japanese tea.
Matcha Gin and Tonic
Uji First-Harvest Tea × Domestic Gin
Japanese Black Tea Highball
Kyoto-Produced Japanese Black Tea × Kyoto Whisky
Matcha Kahlua
Uji First-Harvest Tea × Domestic Liqueur
Matcha Basque Cheesecake
Using Only Uji First-Harvest Tea
The substantial pillars and beams that have long supported the machiya are preserved as-is, with raised seating installed by the windows. Guests can spend quiet, relaxing time while gazing at the scenery.
Through this establishment, the aim is to deliver to many visitors to Kyoto, both domestic and international, the ingredients, techniques, and atmosphere that can only be experienced here, infused into each cup.
Experience a special time deeply etched in memory, where Japanese tea and domestic gin overlap with views of the Kamo River, feeling Kyoto's four seasons.
Store Design and Spatial Planning
The exterior and entrance respect the charm cultivated by the Kyoto machiya over many years, preserving the existing gate and finishes as much as possible while aiming for an appearance that naturally blends with the surrounding streetscape.
By organizing the entrance configuration and designing the entrances for "A kyoto" and "B kyoto" to be adjacent, the design symbolically expresses the coexistence of two different worldviews within one machiya. On the stairs leading from the first to the second floor, the plasterer's finish gradually changes, and the space itself quietly transitions from "A kyoto," which conveys the power of Japanese cuisine × teppanyaki, to "B kyoto," a cafe-bar with a calm color palette.
Plasterer Finishes
Noren Curtain Using Kyoto Kitayama Cedar
Tatami-Style Seating
Original Furniture and Cushions
On the first floor, "A kyoto" was constructed using Kyoto materials, traditional finishes, and handcrafted techniques.
Earth walls, earth floors, earth ceilings, and earth counters—most of the space features plasterer finishes, with a design concept of "alleys" or "tunnels" where sightlines extend from the street side to the Kamo River. The arrangement that gently connects town and river, interior and exterior, adds depth to the time spent facing the cuisine.
At the entrance, a noren curtain finished with botanical dye using Kitayama cedar, a Kyoto material, is installed. The texture of the material and the warmth of handcraft invite guests into the world of "A kyoto" from the moment they step inside.
On the second floor, "B kyoto" switches finishes and furnishings between the bar space and lounge space, clearly differentiating how each area is meant to be experienced.
All furniture is custom-designed for the space. The lounge side features lower seat heights with deep sofa seating, and tatami-style seats by the windows. The layout allows guests to relax and lose track of time while viewing the Kamo River and cityscape.
Cushions and zabuton use deadstock fabrics handled by YUGEFABRIC, incorporating the expressions and serendipity inherent in the materials to add subtle richness and warmth to moments spent enjoying Japanese tea and domestic gin.
Store Information
■A kyoto
Reservation site: https://www.tablecheck.com/ja/a-kyoto/reserve/message
Address: 140-6 Saito-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 600-8012, 1F
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/pyg5pHW7RvDqns7A9?g_st=ipc
Phone: 075-708-8183
Closed: Tuesdays, irregular holidays (check Instagram for details)
Hours: Lunch 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM, Dinner 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Seats: 12
Access: 2-minute walk from Hankyu Kyoto Line "Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station," 2-minute walk from Keihan Main Line "Gion-Shijo Station"
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a__kyoto/
■B kyoto
Address: 140-6 Saito-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto 600-8012, 2F
Google map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oa1i9j2GTkMxj5BX9?g_st=ipc
Phone: 075-708-2123
Closed: No fixed closure days, irregular holidays (check Instagram for details)
Hours: 1:00 PM to 12:00 AM
※Some cocktail drinks are available from 7:00 PM onwards
Seats: 24
Access: 2-minute walk from Hankyu Kyoto Line "Kyoto-Kawaramachi Station," 2-minute walk from Keihan Main Line "Gion-Shijo Station"
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b__kyoto/
Company Information
Interweaving with Japan's Fine Things, Places, Crafts, and People to Weave "Light"
～Japan Has "Authenticity" to Be Proud of Worldwide～
Japan's unique ingredients, beautiful scenery, artisan techniques, and human warmth.
ORI Corporation doesn't simply "preserve" these—we create new value = "Light" by "interweaving" them.
Like warp threads (ORI Corporation) and weft threads (things, places, crafts, people) overlapping in weaving, this means aiming to enrich Japan's tourism industry and become an entity that truly "shows the light of the nation," as the characters for "tourism" literally suggest.
What we weave is a new form of tourism that connects past and future, tradition and innovation, Japan and the world.
＜ORI Corporation＞
Address: 2-14-3 Hanakawado, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0033
Phone: 03-5830-6804
Contact: info@ori-1101.com
