February 28, 2025
Shintaku
Contributing writer
Niigata restaurant makes brilliant comeback after fire
Murakami, located in northern Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, is a small city with a historic atmosphere. Situated in a corner of the city is the gastronomic Japanese restaurant Shintaku. Its predecessor, the traditional restaurant Kinrinkaku, opened in 1867, and its name was subsequently changed. Today the restaurant is run by owner-chef Shinsuke Yamagai and his younger brother Ryota, who create the dishes, and their wives, who are in charge of service. The restaurant’s creative and original cuisine has attracted attention, but there was hardship along the way.
“In 2005, the restaurant burned down,” said Shinsuke, “not just the restaurant — everything, including tableware passed down through generations, became unusable.” Before the fire, Shintaku was a traditional restaurant with a grand hall accommodating up to 100 people. It hosted splendid banquets that even featured geisha.
“With the opportunity of the renewal in 2006, we decided to transform it into a fine-dining restaurant.” The brothers undertook the restaurant’s reconstruction and gradually shifted the focus of the cuisine, and realized that everything they needed was actually produced in Murakami.
In addition, Ryota obtained a hunting license and set up a meat-processing facility on the property. In autumn and winter, the restaurant serves wild boar and other types of fresh game meat. Thus it came about that Murakami products now comprise 90% of Shintaku’s ingredients.
The dishes are created through an exchange of ideas between Shinsuke and Ryota. Even with traditional Japanese methods as a foundation, their cooking results in original dishes found nowhere else. It is this kind of cuisine that serves as a “tourism ambassador” conveying the attractions of Murakami to the world.
Address
Shintaku
3-38 Komachi, Murakami-shi, Niigata Prefecture
https://murakami-sintaku.com/
Hideyo Hanazumi
Niigata Prefecture Governor
It is a great pleasure that Shintaku has been selected for Destination Restaurants 2024. Located in Murakami city, Shintaku is famous for its salmon dishes. The restaurant offers a wide variety of salmon dishes, in which you can enjoy every part of the fish from head to tail. Inspired by over 100 salmon recipes said to exist only in Murakami, Shintaku offers unique flavors that cannot be found anywhere else. The restaurant also won the Special Award at the 2023 Niigata Gastronomy Awards. I hope many people will visit Niigata and experience the appeal of its cuisine.
Kuniyoshi Takahashi
Mayor of Murakami city
I would like to sincerely congratulate Shintaku on its award. Murakami city is a region rich in wonderful ingredients nurtured by its abundant nature, such as salmon, rice and Murakami beef. The fact that these ingredients have been utilized to showcase Murakami’s charm through cuisine, and have been internationally recognized, is truly a testament to the recognition of Murakami’s food culture, and we take great pride in it. I hope this will be passed on to future generations, and I wish Mr. Yamagai continued success in his endeavors.
