Koji Kawaguchi

The Essentials At HINOKICHO LABO, Koji Kawaguchi’s cooking is built on restraint, precision and the kind of detail that holds up in a slow meal. The named signature, Daikon a la Koji, is the clearest read on that approach: a refreshing dish with enough lift to work as an appetiser, but also as a snack alongside cocktails or beer. That range is part of the craft here. It is a dish that can open a meal or sit comfortably in the looser rhythm of drinks. A direct self-identification keeps the work rooted in role and place. Koji Kawaguchi has said, "I am Koji Kawaguchi, a Chef of Japanese Restaurant HINOKICHO LABO." It is a plain statement, and that plainness suits : chef, restaurant, name. On opening, he states, "I have opened this restaurant in 2020." The year marks the start of HINOKICHO LABO as its own operation, and frames the current expression of his cooking. Earlier work with family in Roppongi gives a second line of continuity. Koji Kawaguchi has said, "I used to work with my parent in Roppongi until 2019." Read as trade background, that points to years spent in a working kitchen environment shaped by family labor and day-to-day repetition. The present restaurant is separate in time and place, but the discipline carries forward.

Signature

Koji Kawaguchi’s signature dishes are Daikon a la Koji and Oyakodon. The pair shows a cook working across two registers: one dish defined by freshness and lift, the other by familiarity and comfort. Daikon a la Koji is the more flexible of the two, suited to the start of a meal or to the side of drinks. Oyakodon brings the repertoire back to Japanese home cooking, giving the menu a grounded counterpoint. Together they point to a style that is measured, practical and built to fit the setting.

In Their Words “I am Koji Kawaguchi, a Chef of Japanese Restaurant HINOKICHO LABO.” “I used to work with my parent in Roppongi until 2019.”