Published on 16/01/2025

The beauty of small gestures

The beauty of small gestures

In Japan, the care and attention paid to each guest to ensure their personal satisfaction is called omotenashi, and this culture is contained in every little gesture of service. Whether on behalf of a chef, gardener or waiter–in the dining room, spa or for room service–every task is carefully choreographed and a spectacle to behold, like a theatrical performance carefully staged for a small group, perhaps even an individual.

MASSAGE
There are some gestures that you don’t so much see as feel, such as the pressures, vibrations, friction and stretching of Japanese massage or shiatsu. The fingers, palms, elbows and even feet of the massage therapist work in coordination to loosen the muscles and release tension, aiming to circulate the vital energy known as qi.

THE KIMONO
It can take hours for a person to dress in a ceremonial kimono. Other kimonos are worn on a daily basis, for example to work. The garment sets the tone for the body’s movements. The sleeves, or sodetake, have a variable length and must be delicately held out of the way.


Gôra Kadan Hakone, Japan © Kazumasa Harada

WAGASHI
During a traditional tea ceremony, a small sweet pastry–or wagashi–is served to help balance the bitterness of the matcha. The shape and color of the treat reflect the season. It is placed on a kaishi, a paper napkin used to wipe the fingertips. But first, the little bean paste cake is sliced with a kuromoji, a fine bamboo knife that is also used as a pick.


Gôra Kadan Hakone, Japan © Kazumasa Harada

ELEVATING GESTURES OF HOSPITALITY TO AN ART FORM IS TO FULLY CONTROL THEM. THIS SUPREME MINDFULNESS PRODUCES PROFOUND ELEGANCE AND HARMONY.

GARDENING
Walking backwards in extreme concentration, a gardener draws a sunakakibō through the fine white gravel of a typical Japanese rock garden at the Gôra Kadan Hotel in Hakone. Slowly, as if part of a Zen meditation practice, he uses this special rake to create concentric circles that represent the movement of water around rocks and mosses.


Gôra Kadan Hakone, Japan © Kazumasa Harada

SLICING FISH
The Japanese art of preparing fish is a craft that takes years to master, and the preparation of sashimi is one of its most precise expressions. Different techniques are employed, according to the variety of fish or seafood at hand. Each practice has an influence on the texture and even the taste of the dish. The chef’s mindful usage of his knives–particularly the long yanagiba–contribute to guests’ enjoyment and appreciation of this savoir-faire.


Gôra Kadan Hakone, Japan © Kazumasa Harada

THE ART OF SERVICE
A personification of mindful Japanese hospitality, the nakai-san is responsible for anticipating the needs and desires of guests throughout their stay. Though cordial, such is the discretion of the nakai-san that their presence almost amounts to a silhouette that floats behind a shoji paper screen. They serve each meal with grace and restraint, ensuring that each guest has exactly what they need at every step.


Gôra Kadan Hakone, Japan © Kazumasa Harada

Attention to every little detail–including the carefully finessed gestures of impeccable service–can be experienced in all 20 properties in Japan. Here’s a glimpse into the collection.

DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE CONTEMPORARY CONCRETE ARCHITECTURE of Otowa: this restaurant is a friendly, family destination where Kazunori Otowa prepares dishes hand-inhand with his son Hajime, while his second son So and daughter Kana manage the service and business. Contrasting with this streamlined decor, all the spectacle happens on the table, where French inspiration lends artistic flair to each dish. In fact, the chef learned to cook in France with Alain Chapel. The desserts are just as exquisite: Concocted by Asuka Otowa– Hajime’s wife–they are delicate works of Japanese artistry, with many adorned with minute details designed with a gold dust maki-e, as if decorating in lacquer. Almost too beautiful to eat, but you’ll give in, of course.
OTOWA RESTAURANT, Utsunomiya, Japan


OTOWA RESTAURANT, Utsunomiya, Japan © RYO HATA

HOKKAIDO: THE GREAT NORTHERN ISLAND remains a terra incognita, full of surprises and mysteries. In the kitchen of the elegant, sunlit restaurant Molière, Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi connects, in his own way, with the age-old knowledge of this mountain territory. His extremely precise cuisine–which is particularly accurate when it comes to cooking methods–is inspired by local ingredients, including dozens of varieties of potatoes or shoots and sprouts that have been gathered in the forest for centuries, in communion with the nourishing earth. This master is obsessed with what is known as ‘the moment,’ demonstrated by gourmet bites, such as a tiny tart filled with a fragrant cream, designed to be seized with the fingertips and popped into the mouth in a guileless, almost childlike, way.
MOLIÈRE, Sapporo, Japan


MOLIÈRE, Sapporo, Japan 

CHEF MASAHIRO TANABE’S RESTAURANT is nestled in the Japanese Alps, one valley over from Nagano. It is auspiciously set in a converted kura, a lovely warehouse where Japanese families traditionally stored their most precious belongings. Here, cooking is a sacred practice. The beef and salmon of Shinshu (the former name of this prefecture), like the local vegetables, are prepared here with care and respect. To chop produce, the chef usually uses an usuba, a rectangular knife that can be used for multiple techniques, from slicing daikon radish into fine sheets–known as sen-giri–to quartering, or kushigata-giri. These marvels of precision invite guests to admire their dishes before tucking in. Itadakimasu!
HIKARIYA-NISHI, Matsumoto, Japan


HIKARIYA-NISHI, Matsumoto, Japan © Yosuke Ito

IN THE CENTER OF OSAKA, LA BÉCASSE RESTAURANT offers an understated elegance where the eye is never distracted from the food. There are only 12 seats in this gourmet temple, where Chef Yoshinori Shibuya truly pampers his guests. In fact, there is no menu at La Bécasse: the chef is entirely in charge, offering an omakase, which would be called a ‘chef’s choice’ menu in the West. The taciturn master becomes completely absorbed in his work. His creative side is more evident, however, as he shops at the morning market. Swept up in inspiration, he sniffs, caresses, inspects, rejects and listens to–yes, listens to–each vegetable and every fish to ensure he selects only the very best. At just over 60 years old and with a Michelin star, Chef Shibuya still sees himself as a craftsman: one whose gestures are all the more precise for being time-worn.
LA BÉCASSE, Osaka, Japan


LA BÉCASSE, Osaka, Japan

ON THIS TRANQUIL STREET– despite being in the center of Kyoto–you might not even notice the entrance to the Kanamean Nishitomiya ryokan. You’ll step through a sliding wooden door, pass down a narrow passageway, then leave your shoes before entering a much larger space. Its seven tatami-lined rooms are situated across two levels. Like their bathrooms, which feature Japanese tubs in cypress wood, each one offers a perfectly framed view of the tsubo-niwa– small, indoor gardens. Each view is as carefully composed as a woodblock print, by white gloved gardeners who prune and pamper each scene to perfection. For dinner, choose from Michelin-starred kaiseki or kaname teppanyaki cuisine that tells a story of the region–and the seasons–through all five senses.
KANAMEAN NISHITOMIYA, Kyoto, Japan


KANAMEAN NISHITOMIYA, Kyoto, Japan © SaekoWakuda

AT THIS RYOKAN ON THE COAST northwest of Kyoto, you get a first-hand experience of Japanese tradition. The village of Kinosaki Onsen stretches along the river and is renowned for its hot springs. Here, guests move from one bath to the next dressed in a relaxed style of kimono, known as yukata. Back at the all-wooden building of the hotel, whose elegant sukiya style is redolent of traditional tea houses, you may enjoy your evening meal in your room, an increasingly rare luxury. Sitting on the tatami mat floor, you can admire each refined gesture of your server. In her embroidered kimono, she glides around the table with absolute grace, producing elegant foods on what might be tiny dolls’ dishes. She kneels to pour sake into cups before vanishing soundlessly.
NISHIMURAYA HONKAN, Toyooka, Japan


NISHIMURAYA HONKAN, Toyooka, Japan © Nishimuraya

 

 

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