If you love creative, wonderful food prepared by a chef who also loves food, knows his craft, and takes the time to make you one of the best meals you’ve had, this place is for you. Our party of four sat at the bar and enjoyed every single thing about our dinner experience. Plan to stay for the evening…. the chef gives a high level of care and attention to both the meal and the customer, and that takes time. Enjoy!

Such an amazing meal! My family of 4 came right when the restaurant opened and were able to get in for the night. We saw some people get turned away throughout the evening since they can only serve so many people! It is a mother-son duo running the restaurant. The son cooks while his mother tends to the tables. Service can be slow due to this, but I did not mind it one bit. The food was incredible. This is one of the best meals I’ve ever had. If I ever find myself back in Takayama, I’ll be sure to come back!

Amazing food, wonderful hospitality, incredible experience!!! Counter seating designed so you can watch the food being prepared and have a nice chat. Please make a reservation as its just one chef and he does his shopping for fresh ingredients that morning based on his reservations. A real present for taste buds and soul.

Chef Hiroshi and his mom’s restaurant-pub is a must visit place. Prices are really friendly. Hida beef is great, desserts are melting in the mouth and his home made plum wines are just lovely. Just go here and watch him do the magic

Unforgettable dining experience with a dramatic and chatty chef who takes great joy in sharing his culinary delights. Love their beef, toufu, mushrooms, fish, tempura… the creative cocktails . Chef Hiroshi is the star here… he even shared his surprise cocktails with us( on the house)… conversations around the bar table with the other guests made this a delightful evening. Be prepared though, to spend at least 3 hours there. I am so glad the hotel secured the reservation for us. The price is great too.. we thought this ‘Michelin worthy’ experience would cost us an arm and a leg. It didn’t.

Hiroshi-San and his mum are incredible. The food is delicious and exciting, the service is second to none if you enjoy intelligent and warm conversation. My favourite meal in Japan! We feel so lucky to find this little gem. And Hiroshi-San I will be here next year to deliver your Manchester brewed gin and drink all of your umeshu! 🧡🧡🧡

After a bit more than ten days traveling around Japan, we ate at Sakurajaya and it took our already very high food experience to another level. The chef was super friendly and we have decided to go for his recommendations. We couldn't have chosen better. Everything we had was just pure poetry for our eyes and even more for our sense of taste. Thank you so much for having us!

One of the most satisfying meals I've had during my short trip in Japan. Chef Hiroshi made everything from scratch right in front of my eyes. I loved the fried tofu, soft-cooked chicken liver and especially the mushroom tempura. The smoked potato chips had such an awesome flavour! It was the cooler season so I enjoyed some warm sake. Thank you Hiroshi!

Best dining experience in Takayama, must visit. Thanks Hiroshi-san and mother for the great hospitality!

Amazing dinner and experience! The food is great and it is possible to chat with the chef during the dinner. You can see he really loves his job. Not to miss if you are in Takayama

Phenomenal. Absolutely fantastic food. Watching the chef prepare the food in front of us was also a great experience. The tapas/pub style was great. Very welcoming atmosphere, and very good for english speaking tourists as well. Reservation is required. I went the day before to reserve but it seems possible to get one on the same day if it's not too busy. Was also able to customize and alter meals for a gluten free diet. I made the request when I made the reservation so he had some warning.

Just wow! We have been travelling Asia for 6 months and this was the best meal we have had since leaving home! The food was sooo tasty, and flavourful, it was cooked right in front of us and the owner / chef explained everything he was doing. It was truly incredible! Lovely food and lovely atmosphere! Would 100% Recommend to anyone staying in Takayama!! Thank you!

Far and away the best meal I've had in Japan to date. And probably top 5 all time. Hiroshi is an absolute master chef; everything was prepared fresh, from scratch, right in front of us. We had a sashimi salad, mushroom tempura, Hida beef, fried tofu, and plenty of sake. Every dish was wonderful. I didn't have a reservation, but went just ahead of lunch opening and was one of three people there. Hiroshi showed us his dinner bookings and he's totally swamped, so go early for lunch and try to get a spot. The nice thing about going at opening is that he brings the freshest ingredients straight from the market. Thank you, Hiroshi! If you stay in Takayama, do yourself a favor and eat here. It doesn't get much better.

The food here is the most amazing thing you will ever experience, all the ingredients are freshly sourced and watching the chef cook is like watching an artist paint a masterpiece. We were lucky enough to dine on his 11th anniversary, five stars does not do this place justice, absolute culinary highlight of our trip.

This was truly a 5-star experience, worthy of a Michelin star or two. Do yourself a big time favour and add this spot to your itinerary. Making a reservation is highly recommended, and sitting at the bar seat is absolutely best for solo/couple/small group travellers. English, Japanese and German are all spoken by the chef.

I would highly recommend this restaurant, the food was delicious, drinks were fantastic (even the non-alcoholic ones) and both the chef and his mum were attentive and friendly. It was amazing experience watching each dish be made in front of us. Pre-covid the restaurant was really busy but is only starting to pick up again so we had no trouble making a reservation and it wasn't busy. An absolute must for anyone staying in Takayama!

The best meal we had in Japan. Intimate, all dishes made in front of us by a friendly/enjoyable chef. The best salad I have had in my life and amazing tempura. Extremely reasonable pricing. We are still talking about this meal. Thank you!

An incredible izakaya restaurant featuring the best of local produce. This was not simply a meal, it was an experience. Hiroshi is a brilliant Chef who clearly enjoyed educating us on the produce used and techniques. And the food was incredible! I recommend the tofu and the mixed tempura - yum! Thank you to both Hiroshi and his Mum for a wonderful experience. We hope to return.

Absolutely fantastic meal. We were glad we stopped by at lunch time to reserve for the evening as it was fully booked by the evening. Lots of options for those who don’t eat meat - fried tofu and mushroom tempura were exceptional. The fried aubergine dish was best aubergine I’ve ever had but be aware for pure veggies it does come with bonito flakes in the sauce. Home made bread very nice and my partner loved the duck sashimi too - he seasoned it with a pepper crust and seared it slightly. English menu available and chef speaks English well so it’s very easy

Best dinner ever. Hiroshi is an excellent chef and host. Food was delicious. Special mention goes to the sashimi salad, but everything was great. The service was perfect, good ambience. A must. Thanks a lot!

In my opinion the best food I’ve had on this visit to Japan. We are obsessive foodies and this hit every spot - great quality ingredients, all very fresh, cooked before our eyes by a chef who seems to love sharing his knowledge and love of food with his customers. Everything we had tasted amazing and was beautifully presented. A really nice evening … booking essential!

This place is amazing! My wife and I have been traveling Japan for over 3 weeks and this is the best meal and food experience we’ve had. We came for lunch and we’re the only customers and thus sat at the bar and spoke with the owner throughout our meal. He is an incredibly interesting guy, who speaks great English. His homemade bread was excellent and the sashimi salad is a must. One of the coolest meals I’ve had traveling - can’t recommend it enough!

Amazing experience where the chef prepares every single dish in front of you. Ingredients were fresh and culinary experience was excellent. Recommended.

I don’t usually write reviews but this restaurant is absolutely incredible. The food was phenomenal and the service was exceptional. It is a must-do whilst in Takayama. Thank you very much to the chef for making our night so special! Make sure to book in advance and ask for a counter seat for the best experience.

If you ever visit Takayama in Gifu prefecture you *must* plan for a meal at Sakurajaya! This was the best meal my husband and I have had in Japan to date. The owner and chef, Hiroshi, is a true artist and master of his craft. He only used the freshest local vegetables, quality cuts of local Hida beef, and everything is hand made. Typically, you need reservations as he only takes up to six customers at a time, but right now his business (like so many others) is struggling due to lack of tourism/Covid. We were able to walk right in and were his only customers on a Saturday night so it was like our own private dining experience. You sit at the bar and he will show you the ingredients he is using and explain each step. He speaks very good English and is fluent in German too. Seriously - add this restaurant to your must visit list! It was sooooo good.

The Chef cum Owner is amazing. To start with, this is a Restaurant cum Bar . Ordering something you like to drink is important! The menu is reasonably priced ! To us, it’s really super value for money ! His knowledge on his local ingredients is amazing . Most of what he use are local produced. You can order what’s on his menu or you can name something that’s not on his menu if he has time to make it for you. Everything is made right in front of you. The owner loves communication with his customers. If you love cooking too, this is the restaurant you can go to to talk about food and enjoy casual chef cooking and end the end of the night. You will feel great having what he cook cos he really cook it just right! Even the salad he make is fantastic! Stil your pocket feels very comfortable! So if you are in Takayama, do reserve a night to dine with him, communicate with him. Don’t just take photo and keep your mobile away for a night. To top it, cos it’s a bar, the more you drink, the more you will enjoy the session. We had 2 adults and 2 children. The night was great ! Btw, if you are ODC type that cannot stand chef preparing your food with his hands, don’t go. We had our culture shock but at the end, we stil enjoy the shock dinning session.

Okay, food fanatics. This is It. The holy grail of izakaya. Our host (he really was a host) is Japanese born and European trained. We dined on quality local ingredients, carefully prepared in front of us with expertise and flair. We drank local Japanese sake and British gin. We ate from antique porcelain and admired modern robots. The food… I don’t want to describe it here because half the fun is the mystery and the on-the-fly preparation. Just go - you won’t be disappointed. Completely outstanding. Note: we didn’t eat much vegetarian but there were options available. Given that the meals were prepared to order in front of us, I’d gamble that he can cater to specific needs.

Such a wonderful dinner and experience at the counter. Thank you Hiroshi. The food is excellent, the show is beautiful ! You are a Master Sensei

If you’re a bit of a foodie and happen to be in Gifu prefecture, then Hiroshi’s place “Sakurajaya” is an absolutely must visit! As many of the other reviews have eluded too the food is nothing short of amazing and the Tapas style menu allows you to try several small delicious courses! Beyond the food, Hiroshi is an excellent bartender and host who makes you feel welcome the second that you enter his restaurant. Do yourself a favor and visit Sakurajya - I know that my wife and I will be back if we’re ever in the area again.

EXQUISITE FOOD. A must do! We had dinner twice in this restaurant (in a 2 days stay). On our first visit, it was a super quiet off-peak season day and we wonderfully turned out to be the only customers. It was one of our best restaurant experience ever as we could see the chef cooking to us and we were talking about life, food and the prep involved in the meal preparation (the chef speaks English very well) Food is VERY good, all locally sourced and price range is super super affordable. Really loved the friendly atmosphere as well as the creativity of the chef. We would go back in a heartbeat. Highly recommended !!!!!!!!!!

Excellent interesting and unique restaurant with Japanese fusion food..... delicious...hida beef and tempura ,smoked chicken salad of local greens.....wonderful experience...watch the chef owner cook... at the counter seats......great value........

Best meal of our two week trip by a mile! We couldn’t stop raving about this place. Hiroshi cooked us an incredible selection of dishes, all of which were Michelin star standard. We even had to order one of them again (grilled fish in white miso sauce) as it was just SO GOOD! Hiroshi and his mother were perfect hosts, telling us about the dishes as they were prepared. Insanely good value for this standard of food (Hiroshi should increase his prices!!). We would come back to Takayama just to visit again!

OMG :) This is one of a kind experience. It's a bit different than elsewhere, more like tapas style Japanese cuisine. The food is prepared there and then and simply delicious ( full stop ). The chef is the owner and he was helped by his Mother :) We came in just a bit after opening on a Sunday night, no reservation needed although I can image that during more busy days a reservation is a must. Highly recommend visiting if you're making a stop in Takayama.