Oritoha meaning "Lees and Leaf"
Oritoha dining
A one-table restaurant in Tsuruta, Aomori
OUR STORY
Where the lees speak, and the leaf weaves.
The Lees — The Depths That Hold Us
Life sustains its balance by dissolving and rebuilding itself again and again.
If this perpetual motion is the lees, then every passing moment,
every memory that settles within us,
becomes the quiet foundation of who we are.
What lies beneath is easy to overlook,
but the unseen is not absent it patiently waits to be found.
The Leaf — What Is Yet to Come
Swaying in the wind, receiving light, breathing in the moment —
it becomes a leaf, quietly expanding toward the future.
Where and how it grows depends on the heart that receives it.
To create is to speak without words.
To eat is to read without text.
Yet every act of cooking carries within it the violence of taking life.
To live is to continue by taking the lives of others — plants, animals, time itself.
And because of that, we must accept, receive, and pass it onward with care.
That circulation is the shape of the world,
and the rhythm of our existence.
“Oritoha” lives within that flow of time.
The wind of this land, the scent of the seasons, the quiet labor of hands,
the warmth of daily life, the fleeting scenery that arises in one’s heart—
these moments shape this place,
and together with you, give rise to new currents once again.
The Place — Tsuruta
To live in the countryside.
Tsuruta is a small town, unremarkable at first glance.
It is not a tourist destination, but an ordinary place that many might pass by unnoticed.
And yet, we continue to live here, doing what we can each day.
We gather wild herbs and mushrooms, receive vegetables from friends,
and preserve what overflows — pickling or drying them for winter.
For the people here, these are not special acts but a quiet way of life.
That is why we feel this ordinary is in fact extraordinary —
for within the flow of time here lies a certain beauty and meaning.
From Here to You.
“From here to you” means to offer something beyond time, place, or thought —
from this very moment, here,
to every person who comes, who sees, who feels.
It is our wish to share the same time with you,
so that something unseen may quietly take root within.
Why One Party a Day
Eating lasts only for a moment,
yet its aftertaste unfolds slowly within the heart.
We do not simply wish to serve food,
but to offer the entirety of that time itself.
That is why “Oritoha” welcomes only one party per day.
We wish each guest to share time only with those they have chosen,
to experience the air, the silence, the words,
as one complete expression of nourishment.
Without the pressure of time,
as if visiting a friend’s home —
simply feel the passing of this moment as it is.
About Drinks
Tsuruta Town is Japan’s leading producer of Steuben grapes.
Within Aomori Prefecture — a region best known for its apples —
Tsuruta stands out as a rare “town of grapes.”
In recent years, small wineries have begun to appear nearby,
and we serve mainly local wines, pairing them with the seasons and our dishes.
As the chef himself has a deep love for wine,
we also curate a small selection from around the world with great care.
Alongside wine, what we cherish equally is tea.
Japanese tea — especially steamed sencha —
is, surprisingly, a relatively young yet distinctively Japanese expression of tea.
When brewed cold, it harmonizes beautifully with food.
When steeped slowly in a kyusu teapot,
each infusion reveals a new depth of flavor and time.
Yet beyond quality and craftsmanship,
tea holds another, quieter meaning.
In country homes, serving tea is a gesture of welcome —
a way of saying, “We’re glad you came.”
In Tsugaru, elders often say,
“Ochako demo nonde igihe” — “Have some tea, stay and rest a while.”
That warmth of spirit is something we deeply value here.
We also prepare a range of other drinks to accompany the season and the meal —
fine teas from abroad, house-made syrups,
drinks made with seasonal fruits,
and our own kombucha brewed in-house.
Our manager, Utako Oka, cannot drink alcohol due to her constitution.
For that reason, she nurtures here
a world of drinks that fulfill the heart .
Course: from ¥11,000 (tax included, drinks separate)
Drinks: tea, wine, local juices (please inquire)
Guests: one party per day (1–4 persons)
Duration: approximately 3–4 hours