Nature’s Premiere
Takuto Murota:
About the Chef
Chef Takuto Murota is the owner-chef of LATURE — and also a hunter. His cuisine begins in the mountains, where he follows the traces of wild animals, senses their presence, and takes responsibility for the full process that follows: hunting, butchery, ageing, preparation, and expression through cuisine.
For Murota, ingredients are not anonymous products. They are expressions of land, time, life, and consequence. In Japan, hunting has long existed as part of mountain culture, where people lived with and benefited from the gifts of nature. His work opens another window into Japanese food culture, beyond the international image of sushi and traditional washoku.
His approach is shaped by ecological awareness. In recent years, populations of wild deer, boar, and in some regions bears, have increased, causing damage to agriculture and local ecosystems. At the same time, many of these lives are lost without being meaningfully used. For Murota, hunting is a way to confront this reality — not as performance, but as responsibility.
Chef Quote
“ Spring begins long before the plate — in the forest, in the air, and in the quiet movement of the land.”
Takuto Murota · LATURE
About the Restaurant
LATURE, located in Shibuya, Tokyo, is a restaurant dedicated to expressing the terroir of Japan and the quiet movement of its seasons. The cuisine is grounded in French technique, yet deeply rooted in Japanese landscape, climate, and culture.
Ingredients arrive from across Japan, while game is personally hunted and prepared by Chef Takuto Murota himself. This gives the restaurant a rare sense of authorship: the relationship with nature begins long before the plate reaches the table.
At LATURE, nature is not used as decoration. It is the origin of the experience. Through hunting and foraging in the mountains, Murota encounters the stillness of the forest, the light filtering through trees, and the freshness of air touched by morning dew. These invisible sensations are central to the restaurant’s identity.
The result is a form of Japanese fine dining that feels both precise and instinctive: French in structure, Japanese in soul, and deeply connected to the living world.
Spring Inspiration
For Chef Murota, spring is not only the return of colour. It is the return of movement. It begins in the mountains: the first shoots after winter, the scent of damp earth, the changing air, the quiet awakening of the forest.
At LATURE, spring becomes atmosphere. The freshness of the season is carried not only through ingredients, but through sensation: aroma, temperature, texture, silence, and aftertaste. A dish may suggest filtered light between trees, the coolness of morning air, or the memory of a forest path after rain.
French technique gives the cuisine form and discipline. Japanese sensibility gives it breath, restraint, and emotional depth. Murota’s spring is not decorative. It is alive. It is responsible. It is rooted in the question of what it means to take from nature — and how to return that act as beauty, flavour, and respect.
LATURE, Shibuya, Tokyo
Spring Menu Gallery
A visual journey through Takuto Murota’s Spring Collection 2026 at LATURE.
View the Spring Menu 2026 — LATURE
Spring Menu 2026 · Takuto Murota · LATURE
Opening Expression
Brown-eared Bulbul Mousse
A mousse made from brown-eared bulbul, a bird sometimes considered an agricultural pest in Japan. The dish reflects LATURE’s belief in respecting even the smallest life and giving value to every ingredient. The bird is used with care, including bones and organs, while cassis confiture echoes the fruits it feeds on in nature.
Classical French Forms, Japanese Seasonality
Rabbit Tourte
Inspired by the classic French tourte and shaped by Japan’s delicate sense of seasonality. Domestically raised jumbo rabbit is wrapped with a smooth farce and baked in light pastry. The dish uses not only the fillet, but also the organs, while the bones are roasted into jus — an homage to classical French technique and to the chef who deeply influenced Murota.
Venison & Wild Boar Pithivier
A signature pie of LATURE, made with Hokkaido Ezo venison and Japanese wild boar. Each game meat contributes its own character, layered into a rich, deeply savoury pie. The dish expresses the meeting point between French tradition and the blessings of Japan’s mountains.
Cherry Salmon & Firefly Squid Pithivier
A pithivier made with cherry salmon and firefly squid, two ingredients that symbolize spring in Japan. The gentle richness of the salmon and the bittersweet umami of the squid create a layered expression of the season, evoking the connection between mountain snowmelt, rivers, and the sea.
Cutlassfish & Edo-style Seaweed Pithivier
A pithivier combining delicate cutlassfish with fragrant Edo-style seaweed. Inspired by Tokyo Bay and the chef’s Chiba roots, the dish brings together the aroma of the sea and the buttery fragrance of pastry to express a quiet coastal memory through French technique.
Game, Forest and Mountain
Roasted Ezo Venison
Ezo venison from the vast wilderness of Hokkaido, carefully cooked to highlight its lean beauty, delicate aroma, and pure umami. Hunted by Chef Murota himself, the venison is served with Jerusalem artichoke purée, whose earthy character recalls forest soil and the lingering memory of the mountain.
Royale-Style Wild Hare & Woodcock
A dish inspired by the great classics of French cuisine, expressing Japanese spring game. The wild hare is aged for one month to deepen its aroma and umami, while woodcock brings a lingering richness reminiscent of anchovy and fermentation. Prepared in a royale style, the dish balances intensity with elegance.
Japanese Green Pheasant Pâté en Croûte
A pâté en croûte made with Japanese green pheasant, a species native to Japan. Hunted by the chef himself, the pheasant carries a subtle connection to rice fields and rural landscapes. Through classical French technique, the dish expresses Japan’s nature, agriculture, and cultural symbolism.
Water, River and Sea
Carp & Yuzu Marinade
A contemporary marinade of carp, a fish deeply rooted in Japanese food culture. The aroma and acidity of yuzu delicately lift the freshwater character of the fish, expressing Japan’s mountain and river culture as much as its relationship with the sea.
Yellowtail with Walnut Soba
A dish combining the rich umami of yellowtail with the nuttiness of walnuts and the aroma of soba. Inspired by Nagano’s walnut soba tradition, it joins ocean ingredient, mountain flavour, and regional memory in a French culinary structure.
Grilled Bonito with Spring Vegetable Condiment
Bonito grilled over high heat and paired with a condiment of spring vegetables. Using hatsu-gatsuo, the first bonito of the season, the dish honours Japan’s culture of celebrating the first harvest or first catch. Straw-grilling recalls one of Japan’s most iconic bonito preparations and brings fragrant smokiness to the plate.
For Selective Partners
Nature’s Premiere remains open to a limited number of brands whose products genuinely belong inside Michelin-level spring storytelling — tableware, luxury ingredients, beverage houses, and hospitality suppliers positioned through editorial relevance rather than conventional advertising.