Young Chef Turns Tokyo Suburb Garden Into French Restaurant

When Masashi Motooka opened Restaurant Kam in April 2021, the pandemic made dining out nearly impossible across Japan. But the young chef saw opportunity where others saw obstacles.

Motooka took over his wife's grandfather's old landscaping property in Kawaguchi, just north of Tokyo. The 70-year-old traditional timber house became his restaurant, and the surrounding plots became his garden.

Today, dozens of vegetable varieties grow where saplings once stood. Fennel, thyme, and rosemary bushes fill the air with fragrance while butterflies flutter around twelve types of citrus trees.

The French-trained chef didn't just want a restaurant with a garden. He wanted the garden to dictate the menu entirely, a practice he learned at an organic farm restaurant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

At just 23, Motooka had already worked at Michelin-starred Agape in Paris and won awards at Japan's prestigious RED U-35 competition against chefs a decade older. When his previous restaurant closed in 2020, he knew exactly what to do next.

He partnered with childhood friend Keisuke Tashiro, a sommelier who shares his vision. Together they created "Kam," combining their first initials into a name they'd dreamed up ten years earlier as students.

The restaurant seats only eight guests maximum across three tables. Diners remove their shoes in the entrance lobby and settle into what feels more like a private dinner club than a commercial restaurant.

The Ripple Effect

Motooka's approach proves that constraints can spark creativity. Limited by pandemic restrictions, he and Tashiro initially ran everything themselves, serving just six guests per meal.

The intimate setup forced them to focus on what mattered: the connection between soil and plate. Motooka grows around 30 vegetables, 30 herbs, and 12 fruits, picking only what's perfectly ripe.

Tashiro transforms the same garden produce into juice blends and ferments for nonalcoholic pairings that rival his French wine selections. Nothing goes to waste, and every element tells the story of that specific season.

The restaurant has added one staff member since opening, but the philosophy remains unchanged. Each dish reflects whatever Motooka believes is ready to be harvested that day.

Guests might taste mini cigars stuffed with yellow beet, savory madeleines topped with sweetfish liver paste, or his signature ricotta cheese drizzled with olive oil and presented under a glass dome filled with hickory smoke. The first garnish of fresh rosemary comes straight from the garden moments before serving.

The location is accessible by subway from central Tokyo in under an hour. No bullet train required, no massive planning needed.

What makes Kam special isn't exotic ingredients or a remote location, but a young chef's commitment to letting the seasons lead, and a garden that feeds both the menu and the soul.