The atmosphere is as elegant as the cuisine at this amazing restaurant.

Ganko is a Japanese restaurant group with most of its locations in the Osaka area. They’ve got a whole bunch of sub-brands with different specialties, such as Ganko conveyor belt sushi or curry restaurants. Today, though, we’re talking about Ganko’s Oyashiki locations, which are restaurants converted from yashiki, or classical Japanese manor houses.

▼ Photos of some of Ganko’s Oyashiki restaurants

Yashiki are architectural works of art, but preservation costs often make them too expensive for use as private residences anymore, and converting them to museums is also something that’s not always economically viable for local communities. With its Oyashiki restaurants, Ganko wants to help these historical landmarks obtain long-term sustainability, and there’s even an Oyashiki Ganko in Tokyo, in the Tachikawa district to the west of downtown.

Tachikawa Station is the nearest railway stop to Oyashiki Ganko Tachikawa Saryo, to use the restaurant’s full name. From the station, you can walk to the restaurant in about 15 minutes, or you can hop on a bus for a five-minute ride to Sakaecho Sanchome, the closest bus stop.

▼ Right after getting off the bus, we spotted the sign for Ganko (がんこ)

When Ganko moves into a yashiki, they don’t just preserve the building, they take care of the garden too, and we walked down an old-school stone path, past a bush of early-flowering azaleas, on our approach to what was once the Nakano estate, with its main building constructed in the early part of the Showa period (1926-1989).

▼ The Nakano (中野) family name plate is still posted by the entrance.

Because of its vintage, the house’s interior has a mix of Japanese and Western aspects, but they’re all elegantly retro,

Given the very high-class ambiance, you might expect very high-priced food too. To be sure, Oyashiki Ganko isn’t a place you’d go to if stretching your food budget is you primary concern. However, you don’t need an aristocracy-level income in order to dine here. Course meals range from about 4,000 to 10,000 yen per person, and this location even has a Japanese-style afternoon tea set for 3,630 yen (US$23), which is a pretty affordable luxury (though note that the restaurant charges a 10-percent service charge).

We were actually the first customers of the day, so after being led into a beautiful dining room with wide views of the inner garden…

…we got to choose a seat with a widow directly in front of us.

So what comes in Oyashiki Ganko’s Japanese-style afternoon tea set?

As with many fancy restaurants in Japan, the exact items vary seasonly, but since we were there during cherry blossom sweets season, the dessert tier included sakura mochi, along with mitarashi dango (dumplings in a sweet sauce), sliced fruit, and a mini strawberry parfait.

The proteins, meanwhile, were on the lower plate, where we had wagyu roast beef, ball-shaped temari sushi, more sushi wrapped in a bamboo leaf, and soy milk gelatin with cherry blossoms.

Then there were the dishes that were served separately from the tea plate tower, a bowl of kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) soup…

…a seasonal sakura cake…

…and a bowl of yuba (tofu skin) with ankake sauce.

▼ The yuba bowl was the designated main dish of our Japanese-style afternoon tea set, but Ganko also has sets with extra sushi hamburger steak instead.

Everything tasted wonderful, and the set also gives you your choice of two types of beverages from a total of six options: Kyoto-grown black tea, yuzu tea, freshly brewed coffee, and orange, mango, and white peach juice.

We can’t stress enough, though, how much Oyashiki Ganko is a treat for the eyes as well as the taste buds. The ceramics, paintings, and latticework combine to give the place the feeling of an art museum that just so happens to serve delicious food, and the building is so photogenic that it’s practically impossible to take a bad picture.

The location of this Oyashiki Ganko makes it an easy option for Tokyoites wanting to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city center for an afternoon, and it’s also easy to slot into the rest of your Tokyo sightseeing itinerary if traveling in the capital. With the dining room’s counter seating, we didn’t feel self-conscious about solo-dining here either, so this is truly a special place that’s not to be missed.

Restaurant information
Oyashiki Ganko Tachikawa Saryo / お屋敷がんこ たちかわ茶寮
Address: Tokyo-to, Tachikawa-shi, Sakaecho 3-17
東京都立川市栄町3丁目17番
Open 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (weekdays), 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (weekends, holidays)
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]