Chinese Kinomi (Kinomi) — From Neighborhood Chinese Fare to Authentic Chinese Cuisine! Aiming to Be a Place Where Local People Gather and Connect

Interview with owner Matsumori Daisuke

Chinese Restaurant kinomi serves a wide variety of Chinese and popular Chinese dishes in a casual setting.

We interviewed owner Matsumori Daisuke.

From culinary school to the world of Chinese and casual Chinese cuisine

What did you do before opening the restaurant?

Matsumori (surname only)

I’m originally from Soja City.

When thinking about my future, I wanted to do something different from other people. As it happened, no one around me was pursuing a career in cooking, so I chose the culinary world without giving it much thought.

I went on to culinary school, where I chose to specialize in Japanese cuisine.

Looking back, I feel that what I learned then is very useful to me now.

I entered the world of Chinese cuisine after graduating from culinary school.

It wasn’t so much that I was interested in Chinese cuisine; I just wanted to take a look at a different world.

As it happened, one of my teachers knew someone who ran a Shanghai restaurant in Tokyo specializing in nouvelle Chinese cuisine (innovative Chinese cooking). I was introduced to them and got a job there.

After that, I worked at several Chinese and popular Chinese (neighborhood Chinese) restaurants in Tokyo and Kanagawa, among other places.

They ranged from down-to-earth eateries to high-end restaurants serving authentic cuisine.

I also spent about a year training in Guangdong Province, China.

I worked at popular Chinese restaurants for a long time, and actually, I feel that my experience with popular Chinese cuisine has been the most useful to me today.

Returning home and opening a restaurant in his hometown of Soja after the COVID-19 pandemic

Tell us how you came to open the restaurant.

Matsumori

When I left my hometown, I intended to return to Soja someday.

Since I had entered the culinary world, I always wanted to run a restaurant in Soja.

But I thought it would be difficult to do that when I was older, so I set myself the goal of opening a restaurant in Soja in my thirties.

However, various changes in circumstances, including childbirth and childcare, meant that I never found the right time to return to Soja.

After 20 years away from Soja, the timing felt right, so I returned in 2020.

Wasn’t 2020 around the time the COVID-19 pandemic began?

Matsumori

That’s right.
Even though I had finally returned home, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, and opening a restaurant was out of the question.

So I decided to use the pandemic period to prepare to open a restaurant.

After 20 years away from Soja, I honestly felt like Urashima Taro, and had no idea what Soja was like anymore.

I started looking into things little by little, such as where would be a good place to open, what properties were available, and what the area was like.

The Soja city center is surprisingly popular, and I couldn’t find a suitable property to open a restaurant for quite some time.

For a while, I considered opening in nearby areas such as Mabi, but an acquaintance introduced me to the current property, so I decided to open here.

The building had previously been a cafe, so it had a nice atmosphere and was just the right size.

And so Chinese Restaurant kinomi opened on May 2, 2022.

I ended up opening at age 39, just making it in my thirties (laughs).

While preparing to open, an acquaintance introduced me to a place called “Okuniya,” a daily pop-up restaurant in town that was something like a shared kitchen, where I was able to serve food.

That was a valuable experience, too.

Aiming to create a place where many people gather and connect, like local Mt. Kinomi

How has the restaurant been doing since it opened?

Matsumori

Since opening, we’ve been fortunate to welcome a great many customers, and we have many repeat visitors.

Soja City used to have popular, long-established neighborhood Chinese restaurants such as “Kouchin” and “Tsuru Hachi.”

However, they closed one after another in the 2010s.

So perhaps Soja residents were experiencing a “neighborhood Chinese food void.”

Maybe that’s why so many people have been coming to us, given the circumstances when we opened.

Tell us about the origin of the restaurant’s name.

Matsumori

I took the name kinomi from Mt. Kinomi (Kinomiyama) and the ruins of Kinomi Castle (Kinomijo), the symbols of the Yamada district of Soja City, where I’m from.

It’s a popular local spot for watching the first sunrise of the year, and many people climb the mountain.
I often climbed it when I came back to visit, too.

When I returned to Soja and climbed Mt. Kinomi to see the first sunrise, I saw a huge number of people gathered there.
Some lived locally, while others had left the area and were back visiting for a while.

I felt that it had incredible power for a mountain in such a rural area.

When I opened the restaurant, I wanted it to be a place where all kinds of people would gather, like Mt. Kinomi, so I decided to borrow the mountain’s name.

The logo is a stylized version of the “no” in “kinomi”.

In Japanese, the attributive particle “no” connects one word to another.
In the same way, I want this to be a place where people connect with one another.

Creating a restaurant that grows together with its customers

What makes kinomi distinctive?

Matsumori

Rather than focusing on a particular specialty such as Cantonese or Sichuan cuisine, we offer a wide and varied selection, from authentic Chinese dishes to Japanese-style popular Chinese cuisine.

I want people to enjoy a variety of Chinese and popular Chinese dishes in a casual setting.

Another thing I keep in mind is making this a restaurant that grows together with its customers.

Although I’m from Soja, my cooking experience has been only in Tokyo and Kanagawa.

As of November 2023, it’s been a year and a half since we opened, so I still don’t know the tastes and preferences of people living in Soja.

So I intend to listen to our customers and make changes where needed.

For example, I was surprised that sweet-and-sour pork is popular.

Before opening, I asked people around me what dishes they liked at Kouchin, the now-closed famous restaurant in Soja.
By far, the most common answer was sweet-and-sour pork.

So I made sweet-and-sour pork a priority when we opened.
It’s still one of our popular dinner dishes.

By the way, we offer two kinds of sweet-and-sour pork: sweet vinegar and black vinegar.

Yurinchi is also a popular dish, so perhaps many people like sweet-and-sour flavors.

I was also surprised that dishes with thickened sauce are popular.

I want to keep growing the restaurant together with our customers in this way.

Focusing on maintaining the current course for the remaining year and a half before reaching the three-year mark

Tell us about your plans for the future and what you’d like to try.

Matsumori

I think it takes about three years for a restaurant to get on its feet.

It’s now (as of November 2023) been a year and a half since we opened, so we’re right at the halfway point.

Until now, I’ve tried and changed various things just to keep the restaurant running.

More than a year has passed since opening, and I’ve gotten a sense of the annual cycle. I feel that I’ve finally found a rhythm in my work.

So my goal is to focus on continuing this for the remaining year and a half.

Then, once three years have passed, I’d like to try various challenges and experiments.

For now, I want to focus on maintaining the current state for a year and a half and reach the restaurant’s third anniversary.

“Chinese Restaurant kinomi,” where you can enjoy everything from casual neighborhood Chinese and popular Chinese dishes to authentic Chinese cuisine

Chinese restaurant kinomi aims to be a community-rooted establishment, offering a diverse menu backed by extensive experience in Chinese and casual Chinese cuisine.

Enjoy a casual lunch or a dinner featuring a wide-ranging menu—each has its own appeal.

Whether you’re dining alone or with a group of friends or family, you can feel at ease here. Why not come and try kinomi’s food for yourself?

Chinese Restaurant kinomi Information

Name	Chinese Restaurant kinomi
Address	2-9-1 Ekinan, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture
Contact	0866-31-5603
Parking	Available
Hours	11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Closed	Tuesday, Wednesday, and irregular days ※See the calendar posted on Instagram
Payment methods	Cash Credit cards Transit IC cards such as Suica, iD, QUICPay, nanaco, PayPay, d Payment, au PAY
Reservations	Accepted
Seating	27–29 seats in total ・Counter: 4 stools ・Four two-person tables ・One four-person table (terrace) ・One five-person table ・One table seating 6–8 people (semi-private room)
Smoking	Entirely non-smoking
Restroom	Western-style toilet
Families with children	・Strollers allowed ・Children's tableware available
Accessibility	Ramp Wheelchair access available (restroom not accessible)
Website	Chinese Restaurant kinomi Official Instagram

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