Noma Will Pop Up in Kyoto in Spring

René Redzepi has announced that his Copenhagen restaurant, Noma, will again up sticks and relocate to the other side of the world, popping up in Kyoto, Japan, from 15 March to 20 May next year.

"We are thrilled to announce that we are going to Kyoto, Japan. This spring, under the blooming sakura, we will once again take our team on a great adventure with a ten-week pop-up at @acehotel Kyoto," Redzepi wrote on IG. 

This will be the second time the team has relocated to Japan, a country that Redzepi acknowledges as a place where so much of Noma's own journey began, and a place that has always held a fascination for him, ever since his first tea ceremony.

This time he'll be taking 95 of his team, who will immerse themselves in a different culture in a far corner of the world, ready to meet new people and reinvigorate their creativity. "Hopefully, on the other side, we can bring back new perspectives and a clearer vision for how to be Noma. This trip is also an opportunity for us to travel as a team and shake off the last 2.5 years of the pandemic. We need an adventure, one that will prepare us for our next and greatest transformational journey yet – a new chapter for Noma, which will unfold in 2024," he said.

Kaiseki cuisine

In a letter on the Noma website, he revealed that the team have spent the last two years studying and researching Kyoto, the Kansai region, and kaiseki cuisine - a kaiseki meal being "a selection of dishes prepared with incredible thought and consideration to reflect a particular season". 

"For our Kyoto menu, we will source ingredients from local farmers, hunters, fishmongers, and foragers, and will work very closely with this local network of suppliers. Our menu will reflect the sakura season in Kyoto, yet, we will not be a Japanese restaurant," wrote Redzepi.

Reservations will be available on 7 November, at 1 PM CET, to newsletter subscribers.