i. Biography
Hitoshi Ishihara is the owner and chef of Mizai, a three-Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto, Japan. He previously served as food chief at Kitcho Arashiyama at age 27 before opening Mizai independently. Born in Shimane prefecture, he is renowned for his pursuit of perfection in seasonal kaiseki cuisine, as featured in the NHK documentary 'Not Yet There'.
