Kawaguchi, Saitama Pref. – Making your way to Restaurant Kam does not entail massive planning, a wearisome journey or a significant outlay of yen. Quite the opposite, in fact. If you’re setting out from central Tokyo, the journey can be accomplished in less than an hour. No shinkansen needed — you can even get there by subway.
The location may sound prosaic — not far from Higashi-Kawaguchi Station in suburban Saitama Prefecture, just north of the border with Tokyo — especially in comparison with the exotic, far-flung settings of many other Japan Times’ Destination Restaurants. But once you have made your way through the gateway that marks the entrance to chef Masashi Motooka’s domain, you will find yourself in a restaurant that is far from ordinary.
When Kam opened in April 2021, the timing was hardly propitious. The COVID-19 pandemic was not letting up and Saitama was one of the prefectures targeted by the state of emergency declarations. But there were silver linings for Motooka’s new restaurant.
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