When chef Tsutomu Nakajima, originally from Hyogo Prefecture, decided to strike out on his own more than a decade ago, he was aiming for Kyoto. It would have been a natural fit: He apprenticed in Arima, a famous hot-spring resort town nestled in the mountains of Hyogo, learning the craft of creating elaborate multi-course meals (kaiseki ryōri), and his aim was to open up in Kyoto, the kaiseki capital.

He ended up instead at a halfway point: Osaka. Before I learned Nakajima was from Hyogo, I had pegged him as a local boy. He's warm, self-deprecating and astute, characteristics usually associated with Osakans, and which make for a hospitable host.

Sato no Ie Hanase occupies the corner of an office building around the corner from Sukunahikona Shrine, which dates back to the ninth century. Once you pass through the noren curtains on the threshold of Nakajima's restaurant, the first thing you'll encounter is a painting of a cherry tree in bloom, which fans out across the entire back wall of the kitchen. The best seats, unless you are with a group, are at the counter, facing the tree and Nakajima, who calls it his "year-round-blossoming cherry tree."