A Harvest-Time Bowl Combining Japan-grown Fresh Chestnuts with Japanese Soup Stock
Royal Masterpiece
RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima
Japanese Restaurant RIJOH
Chestnut Rice
The Japanese Restaurant RIJOH at the RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima offers a relaxed and tranquil setting where you can enjoy Japanese cuisine and a wide selection of Japanese sake. In this installment, we introduce “kuri gohan” (chestnut rice), a favorite taste of autumn. The name of the dish evokes the sweet aroma of chestnuts rising with steam from the rice and the texture of chestnuts that softly melt when you take them into your mouth. It’s a dish that signals the arrival of a bountiful autumn.
RIJOH’s chestnut rice uses only Japan-grown fresh chestnuts. This is because frozen chestnuts lose moisture, resulting in a drier texture and less juiciness. Fresh chestnuts are used as is, so you can enjoy a flavor that unfolds across the palate together with a moist mouthfeel.
The chefs carefully peel each fresh chestnut by hand, one by one. “It’s a bit labor-intensive, but we prepare the dish carefully so guests can enjoy the deliciousness of the ingredient itself,” says Head Chef Mitsugi Kurahashi.
The rice that serves as the base of chestnut rice is Nagano-grown Koshihikari, featuring a beautiful sheen, springy texture, and refined sweetness. To that is added about one-fourth Hiroshima-grown Kirarimochi barley. This barley is small and rounded, with a snappy, popping texture. The barley’s natural stickiness adds a glutinous mouthfeel to the rice as a whole, highlighting the contrast with the chestnut’s unique texture. Another attractive point is that barley is rich in dietary fiber and gentle on the body.
The flavor of this dish, however, is ultimately determined by the soup stock (dashi). The stock made from Hokkaido-grown Japanese kombu yields a clear, refined flavor that complements Japanese cuisine, and when combined with mirin (a type of sweet sake used in cooking), it adds depth. Adding slightly more sake keeps the rice fluffy and soft, while adding roasted salt from Setouchi brings out the chestnuts’ natural sweetness with a gentle saltiness, elegantly finishing the dish as a whole.
Chestnut rice prepared this way is a dish where the natural flavors of the ingredients and the chef’s careful attention resonate with one another.
Head chef Kurahashi speaks with confidence: “The gentle sweetness of the chestnuts, the rich depth of the Japanese kombu stock, and the pleasant springy texture of the moistly cooked rice all come together in this dish. I hope you will enjoy the harmony of sweetness, saltiness, and umami.”
Chestnut Rice
Available for a limited time only, from November 1 to 30, 2025. Chestnut rice is the concluding dish of the Aioi Kaiseki (from ¥11,500) and Rijo Kaiseki (from ¥14,000) courses, offering luxurious indulgence in the flavors of autumn such as monkfish, Japanese Spanish mackerel, and fugu (blowfish).
RIHGA Royal Hotel Hiroshima
Japanese Restaurant RIJOH
TEL +81(0) 82-228-5919
6F 6-78 Motomachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0011, Japan
*All prices include tax.
*All pictures shown are for illustration purposes only.
Menu items are subject to change depending on the season and availability of ingredients.
*Opening Hours may be subject to change without notice. Please check the *Opening Hours before visiting.
