Yoshikawa Japanese Cuisine, a six-seat restaurant in Matsuyama’s Chifunecho district, opens Thursday, October 8, 2026, in Ehime Prefecture. Led by chef and owner Masayoshi Kitagaito, the restaurant takes reservations only, and every guest begins the meal together, so each course arrives at its peak of temperature, aroma, and fleeting character.
That precision explains the intimate scale. At the center of the room stretches a counter of about six meters, carved from a single slab of Japanese cypress, or hinoki, its pale grain fragrant and warm beneath the plates.
Kitagaito was born in Matsuyama and spent 17 years honing his craft in the Japanese kitchens of Aichi and Osaka, eventually rising to head chef. He then took a year-long detour into agriculture, growing tomatoes in Kumakogen Town, before heading home to open a restaurant of his own.
A Homecoming, Guided by a Father’s Words
A remark from Kitagaito’s father first set him on the path to becoming a chef. When his father passed away three years ago, the loss prompted him to ask what kind of cook he wanted to be, and how he wanted to live through his food.
The answer led back to Ehime. He hoped to bring the skills sharpened in Osaka and Aichi to his home prefecture, and to build a restaurant in Matsuyama, the city where his father rests.
Lessons from the Field
Working the land in Kumakogen reshaped how Kitagaito thinks about ingredients. Origin and name, he learned, tell only part of the story. What matters is how an ingredient is faring in a particular year, at a particular moment.
For that reason, he does not let the calendar define the seasons. He sees, touches, and tastes what he buys, then shapes each day’s menu around what he finds. The instinct he developed as a farmer now sits at the core of his cooking.
The rice comes from his older brother’s fields in Kumakogen, and the seafood is drawn from the Seto Inland Sea by way of the market in Mitsu. Plates are Tobe ware, the celebrated porcelain of Ehime, while wooden pieces made by artisans in Uchiko Town warm the interior. From the pantry to the furnishings, the restaurant looks to Ehime’s producers and makers at every turn.
The Story Behind the Name
Yoshikawa was the name of Kitagaito’s grandfather. His own given name, Masayoshi, carries the same character, 義 (yoshi), passed down through the family. He long hoped that if he ever opened a restaurant, he would honor his grandfather by taking up the name. It stands as a promise to stay true to his roots as a chef, to put down deep roots in his community, and to create a place that stays with everyone who visits.
The guiding idea is simple: each dish should be enjoyed at the very moment it tastes its best. With that in mind, Kitagaito considers ingredients, temperature, aroma, and atmosphere with great care, and serves every course with sincerity. His hope is that an evening at Yoshikawa becomes a lasting memory built on food, and that guests come away tasting not only the ingredients of Ehime, but also its climate, its culture, and the craftsmanship of its people.
Restaurant Information
Yoshikawa Japanese Cuisine
Chifunecho, Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture
Opening date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Seating: Six counter seats
Reservations: Required; all guests begin dining at the same time
