Ihashi Satoru, a chef who has trained in kitchens across Japan, closes his Kagurazaka restaurant Raku-an and moves to Ginza to resume his culinary apprenticeship. His new workplace is the high-end Japanese restaurant Kinoya, located in a district crowded with luxury dining establishments. Surrounded by a growing number of international customers, Satoru finds himself challenged to understand Japanese cuisine from a global perspective. He struggles to balance traditional techniques with the expectations of diners from different cultural backgrounds, all while testing the limits of his own skills and knowledge.

During his tenure at Kinoya, two new members join the staff. Sana is a university student pursuing a career as a stage actress, bringing an outsider’s curiosity to the kitchen. Hasegawa is a veteran chef who previously operated a Japanese restaurant in France, offering fresh insights on how washoku adapts when served abroad. Their arrivals shift the dynamic of the workplace and push Satoru to reconsider what it really means to cook Japanese food in an increasingly interconnected world.

Over the course of two volumes, the series follows Satoru’s daily struggles and small victories as he rediscovers the essence of washoku. Each episode presents a specific dish or ingredient, exploring how it can be reinterpreted for a foreign palate without losing its identity. The narrative focuses on the tension between preserving tradition and embracing change, framed by Satoru’s personal growth and the diverse cast of characters who pass through Kinoya’s doors.