URUICHI | Hamamatsu

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Niku Ryori URUICHI is a reservation-only wagyu course restaurant in Itaya-cho, Hamamatsu, run by chef Ryuji Hayashi, who spent decades in the kitchens of Hotel Okura. For an anniversary or a night with someone who matters, it is the place I recommend without hesitation.

URUICHI is not an ordinary restaurant, and Chef Hayashi is not an ordinary chef. Romanian wine is my work, and this is, personally, one of my favourite restaurants anywhere.

The evening starts before the door

A path into another world

URUICHI is on the 3rd floor of the FOOD Subaru building, about eight minutes on foot from JR Hamamatsu Station. At the top of the stairs, a modern Japanese path of bamboo and small stones leads to a heavy wooden door. At night, small lights glow at your feet.

Walking that path, you understand that you are about to enter another world. It asks you to slow down and get ready. The evening has begun before you even open the door.

Japanese beauty, modern lines

A dining room that resembles its chef

The design is classic and serious, with traditional Japanese details woven beautifully into a modern space. Behind a counter cut from a single slab of wood, the open kitchen is set like a stage. There are also three semi-private rooms, and a noren curtain can close one off for two.

Nothing here is for show. The room is elegant, composed and quietly dignified, and every time I visit I think the same thing: it is exactly like Mr. Hayashi.

Who is Chef Ryuji Hayashi?

Japanese, Western and Chinese technique, learned at Hotel Okura

Ryuji Hayashi began cooking in 1992 at Nagoya Okura (Continental Foods) and later moved to Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu, where he was deputy head chef of the Chinese restaurant Toukarin and then head chef of the teppanyaki restaurant Sazanka.

Today he chairs the Hamamatsu Mitsuboshi-kai chefs' association and is a certified "Fujinokuni Shoku no Miyako" chef of Shizuoka Prefecture. Having run both a Chinese kitchen and a teppanyaki grill, he moves naturally between Japanese, Western and Chinese technique in a single course.

URUICHI's stated aim is to respect ingredients and producers, and to cook specially sourced beef without being bound by any one style.

A restaurant built for special time

Opened in Itaya-cho in November 2021

URUICHI was founded by its president, Ryuichi Morikawa. Visiting restaurants across Japan, he was moved by places where a single thoughtful word made a guest feel welcome, and on 1 November 2021 he opened URUICHI in Hamamatsu.

What matters here is the whole evening, from the moment you open the door to the moment you leave. In guest reviews, the care shown from arrival to farewell comes up again and again.

First, meet tonight's beef

Wagyu with its origin on the table

Before anything is cooked, the beef is brought out for you to see. On the night of these photos, the wooden tray held three Shizuoka beefs, Diamond Fuji, Shizuoka-gyu and Mineno-gyu, alongside Hida-gyu from Gifu.

Next to it stood a Japanese Black wagyu sales certificate, down to the animal's individual ID number. Showing exactly where the meat was raised and who supplied it says a great deal about how this restaurant works.

A course where Japanese, Western and Chinese meet

Technique and tableware, plate by plate

The course changes with the seasons. That evening it opened with a starter plate set with a small hand-painted porcelain box, followed by a dish served in clear broth, a fried course, and wagyu grilled in front of us. Silver-leaf plates and indigo bowls make the tableware part of the pleasure.

At the counter you can watch Chef Hayashi grill the beef a few feet away, which is a luxury of its own.

What is URUICHI's truffle sukiyaki?

A dish that opens like a treasure box

The signature dish is truffle sukiyaki. It arrives in a treasure box that opens in a cloud of smoke, and the wagyu is finished with generous shavings of truffle, served with a Nagoya Cochin egg yolk, grilled Japanese leek and rice.

The richness of the yolk and the scent of truffle wrap around the beef. It is a dish you are sorry to finish.

Romanian wine, from before the doors opened

Chef Hayashi discovered Romanian wine before he opened URUICHI

Chef Hayashi found Romanian wine before URUICHI existed. In July 2021, more than three months before opening, we delivered his first bottles. He tasted his way through them one by one and chose the wines he would pour.

So from its very first month, URUICHI has had Romanian wine on its list. Five years on, he still chooses it.

To see our Romanian wines beside the course of a chef like this is, for me, a deep honour.

In the glass that evening

That night we drank Caii de la Letea Volume 1 Feteasca Neagra, a dry red made by VSN from 100% Fetească Neagră, Romania's native black grape, in Dobrogea in the country's southeast. The horse on the label is one of the wild horses of the Letea forest in the Danube Delta.

Romanian wines you may find at URUICHI

Here are a few of the wines URUICHI has chosen from us. Ask the staff which ones are open that day.

• Nomad Pinot Noir 2021: a light, dry Pinot Noir from Sahateni in Dealu Mare, one of Romania's best known wine regions.
• Mirachi Sauvignon Blanc 2024: an off-dry white from Histria in Dobrogea, with pineapple and green apple on the nose.
• Promessa Chardonnay 2023: a dry white from Sahateni in Dealu Mare, with green apple and grapefruit.

Transylvanian wines from Jidvei are also among Chef Hayashi's choices.

You can find more in our Romanian wine collection.

Access and reservations

Niku Ryori URUICHI is about eight minutes on foot from JR Hamamatsu Station and three minutes from Act City Hamamatsu, on the 3rd floor of the FOOD Subaru building. There is no elevator; the restaurant is reached by stairs.

• Address: 〒430-0928, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Chuo-ku, Itaya-cho 672, FOOD Subaru 3F
• Hours: from 17:30 (reservations only)
• Closed: Mondays, and the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month
• Seats: 4 at the counter, 3 semi-private rooms
• Courses: from 11,000 yen (tax included, plus 10% service charge; as of October 2026)
• Reservations: book online with TableCheck
• Website: official URUICHI website
• Instagram: @uruichi.inc

Hours, closing days and prices may change. Please check the official website or Instagram before you visit.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a reservation at URUICHI?

Yes. Niku Ryori URUICHI serves courses only and takes reservations only, through TableCheck online booking.

Can I drink Romanian wine at Niku Ryori URUICHI?

Yes. URUICHI has served Romanian wine from Daniel's Wine Club since it opened in 2021.

In short

URUICHI offers a special evening that begins before the door, wagyu chosen by Chef Hayashi, a course that moves freely between Japanese, Western and Chinese cooking, and Romanian wine.

I recommend it with complete confidence. I cannot imagine you not loving it. When you are in Hamamatsu, walk that path and open the heavy door. And if you mention that you came from Daniel's Wine Club, we think the evening will be a memorable one.

Written by BERES Daniel, Daniel's Wine Club