A Pregnancy-Friendly Japanese Restaurant in Kyoto | Enjoy Seasonal Japanese Cuisine at Masumasu Masuda | 和食は京都府、京都市のますます増田 | ブログ

Japanese cuisine often includes raw fish, and kaiseki-style dining may also include dishes prepared with different types of seafood, meat, and seasonal ingredients.

We understand that guests who are pregnant may have different dietary preferences or restrictions from those they normally have.

For example, you may prefer:

• No raw fish
• Thoroughly cooked meat
• Certain ingredients to be avoided
• Advice about dishes containing alcohol

If you tell us about your preferences in advance, our chef can consider the entire course and make adjustments where possible.

Because our omakase menu changes monthly according to the season and available ingredients, the exact alternatives will depend on the menu being prepared on the day of your visit.

For this reason, advance notice is especially helpful.

Sashimi and other raw seafood are an important part of many Japanese dining experiences.

However, if you would prefer not to eat raw fish during pregnancy, please let us know.

When possible, we can replace a raw seafood dish with another preparation, such as grilled or simmered fish.

We do not simply substitute one ingredient for another without considering the course as a whole.

Instead, our chef considers the seasonal ingredients available that day and adjusts the dish so that it remains part of the overall flow of the omakase experience.

Our goal is for you to feel that you are enjoying the same seasonal Japanese cuisine, rather than simply receiving a collection of special substitutions.

Masumasu Masuda sometimes serves carefully selected Japanese beef, including Tochigi Wagyu, from the chef’s home region of Nikko.

If you prefer your meat to be thoroughly cooked during pregnancy, please tell us in advance.

The chef can adjust the cooking method where possible while still considering the texture and flavor of the meat.

Rather than simply cooking the meat longer, we consider how to achieve the desired level of doneness while maintaining the quality of the dish.

If you are pregnant, we recommend telling us as early as possible.

For example:

“I am pregnant and would like to avoid raw fish.”

“Please make sure that any meat is thoroughly cooked.”

“I would like to discuss dishes containing alcohol.”

The more information we receive in advance, the better we can prepare.

Because our restaurant serves a changing omakase course, some last-minute changes may be difficult depending on the ingredients and preparation required that day.

Advance communication allows our chef to consider your preferences when planning the course.

There is a personal reason why this is important to us.

When our own baby was still in the womb, my wife experienced what it was like to think carefully about food during pregnancy.

Even when you love Japanese cuisine, pregnancy can make you stop and think:

“Can I eat this?”

“Should I avoid this?”

“Is this cooked enough?”

We experienced those questions ourselves.

That experience made us think more deeply about what it means to prepare food for someone whose circumstances have changed.

As a restaurant, we wanted to be a place where pregnant guests could say:

“I would still like to enjoy Japanese cuisine during my trip to Kyoto.”

And where we could respond:

“Please tell us what you need, and we will do our best.”

Pregnancy is a unique period in life.

For some guests, a trip to Kyoto during pregnancy may also be a special journey before welcoming a new family member.

Perhaps it is a couple’s last trip before becoming parents.

Perhaps it is a family vacation.

Perhaps you are visiting Kyoto for a special anniversary while expecting a baby.

Or perhaps you simply love Japanese cuisine and would like to experience seasonal Kyoto cooking during your pregnancy.

Whatever the reason, we hope that your meal can become a positive memory.

Being pregnant does not necessarily mean giving up the experience of Japanese cuisine.

With appropriate adjustments, you may still be able to enjoy many of the elements that make Japanese dining special:

Seasonal vegetables.

Freshly prepared fish.

Dashi.

Japanese ingredients.

Beautiful tableware.

Seasonal presentation.

The atmosphere of a Kyoto machiya.

And the changing flavors of the season.

At Masumasu Masuda, we want to preserve these elements as much as possible while respecting the dietary needs you communicate to us.

Masumasu Masuda is located in a traditional machiya townhouse in Nishijin, Kyoto.

Our monthly changing omakase course is designed around seasonal ingredients from Kyoto, Tochigi, and other regions of Japan.

The chef considers not only individual dishes but also the balance of the entire meal.

Vegetables are an important part of the course, and we aim to create Japanese cuisine that is satisfying without feeling excessively heavy.

For pregnant guests, we can discuss possible adjustments in advance so that the experience remains as close as reasonably possible to our seasonal omakase.

Food has a special connection with family.

We believe this even more strongly because of our own experience.

When our baby was still in the womb, we were already thinking about how we wanted to create a restaurant that could become part of people’s important moments.

One day, our child may hear stories about the restaurant and the people we met there.

Perhaps a guest who visited us while pregnant will someday return with their child.

Perhaps they will say:

“You were here with us before you were born.”

That kind of connection is something we would be honored to be part of.

A restaurant does not only create meals.

Sometimes, it becomes part of someone’s memories.

There is a Japanese word that is deeply connected to the way we think about food:

“Itadakimasu.”

Japanese people say “itadakimasu” before eating.

The word expresses gratitude for receiving food and, in a broader sense, acknowledges the lives and efforts involved in bringing food to the table.

As chefs, we work with ingredients that come from living things and from the work of farmers, fishermen, producers, and many others.

Food connects life with life.

Pregnancy also reminds us of that connection in a very direct way.

A new life is growing inside the mother, while the mother herself is carefully choosing what she eats.

Our experience during my wife’s pregnancy made us think even more deeply about the responsibility and meaning behind preparing food for another person.

When our baby was still in the womb, we could not yet imagine everything that lay ahead.

But that experience changed the way we thought about our restaurant.

We want Masumasu Masuda to be a place that can accompany people through different moments of life.

A first trip to Kyoto.

A wedding anniversary.

A family reunion.

A business dinner.

A birthday.

A visit during pregnancy.

And perhaps, years later, a return visit with a child who was once inside their mother’s womb during that first meal.

We cannot know what memories our restaurant will become part of.

But we can choose what kind of place we want to be.

A place that listens.

A place that prepares carefully.

A place that respects each guest’s circumstances.

And a place where people can enjoy Japanese cuisine together.

We are a restaurant, not a medical facility.

Dietary recommendations during pregnancy can differ depending on individual circumstances, health conditions, and medical advice.

Therefore, please prioritize the guidance of your doctor or healthcare provider regarding foods you should avoid or limit during pregnancy.

Our role is to respond to the information and requests you provide and to make reasonable adjustments to our cuisine where possible.

If there are particular foods you have been advised to avoid, please tell us in advance.

If you are looking for a pregnancy-friendly Japanese restaurant in Kyoto, we would be happy to discuss your needs before your visit.

Masumasu Masuda offers a monthly changing seasonal omakase in a traditional Kyoto machiya in Nishijin.

If you are pregnant and would like to avoid raw fish or have your meat thoroughly cooked, please let us know when making your reservation.

We will consider the ingredients, the season, and the balance of the entire course and do our best to create an enjoyable dining experience within what is reasonably possible.

For us, this is not simply about accommodating a dietary request.

It comes from our own experience of preparing for a new life.

From the moment our baby was still in the womb, we began to understand food, family, and hospitality from a slightly different perspective.

And we hope that perspective will continue into the future.

A meal is more than food.

It can become part of a family’s story.

And perhaps one day, the little life who was once with you at the table will return to Masumasu Masuda and create a new memory of their own.

We would be honored if your time in Kyoto became part of that story.