When chef Kazuhiro Inoue and his wife, Mariko, decided they’d had enough of running their busy neighborhood restaurant in the bustle of metropolitan Tokyo, they looked around for somewhere a bit quieter and closer to nature. They finally found the ideal location, though it meant moving 300 kilometers away to rural Niigata Prefecture.
The pair did more than just swap the concrete jungle for rice paddies and glimpses of snow-capped peaks: Starting afresh on the premises of the Japanese restaurant formerly run by his wife’s parents, Inoue overhauled his menu and rethought his cuisine.
For a chef relatively unknown outside of Tokyo, it was a bold decision to relaunch his restaurant in a regional city, Sanjo, that is much better known for its artisan metalworking than for refined cooking. But the move has paid off more than they might ever have expected. Over the past seven years, Uozen has won accolades, including two Michelin stars, and developed a reputation that extends far beyond its immediate vicinity.
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