i. Biography
Masafumi Nomoto’s Paris story runs from the udon street food he began promoting to Parisians in 1991 to his work as chef of Charbon Kunitoraya in Paris. The path has moved through handmade noodles, Rue Villédo binchotan cooking, and a group of Paris addresses that now includes a bistro, a bar, and an onigiri counter inside the Maison de la Culture du Japon.
Early Years
In 1991, Nomoto began promoting udon street food to Parisians, a specialty that became the through-line of his cooking in France. He has been a pioneer in that work, introducing a city of diners to a form of Japanese eating built on directness, repetition, and the daily craft of noodles. At age 34, he opened his first Paris restaurant, also named Kunitoraya. The restaurant became known for traditional handmade udon noodles, a specific craft that gave his work its public identity before the later expansion of his Paris footprint.
Making a Name
The next turns came through new formats rather than a single address. He launched Udon Bistro Kunitoraya in Paris, extending the udon work into another setting under the same family of restaurants. In September 2022, he launched Stand Tora, a bar in Paris. He also launched Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya at the Maison de la Culture du Japon, placing onigiri within one of the city’s Japanese cultural institutions. Another turn came on Rue Villédo, where he transformed one of his restaurants into a gastronomic restaurant devoted to binchotan cooking. For that project, he used Tosa binchotan from Kochi, linking the charcoal technique to a precise Japanese place and material.
The Present
Nomoto’s current Paris roles span chef at Charbon Kunitoraya, chef at Udon Bistro Kunitoraya, chef at Stand Tora, and chef at Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya. Across those addresses, the work moves from udon and onigiri to a more formal expression of fire, skewers, and set-menu composition. At the Rue Villédo restaurant, the omakase course offers yakitori, local cuisine from Kochi Prefecture, and the essence of French cuisine. The course has been described as the first to offer yakitori in France, making that menu a clear marker in his Paris career. The kaiseki-style set menu includes skewers of Japanese beef, Bresse poultry, seafood, and eel, plus fried seaweed-marinated sweetbreads. The meal is accompanied by hot udon soup and a French sweet, bringing the arc back to the noodles that first shaped his Paris cooking. The menu also includes a Hassun in three parts: a smoked quail egg on a bed of heart and gizzard, a poached oyster on vin jaune cream, and a foie gras, cep, and morel flan. In that sequence, the restaurant’s language is exact: Japanese structure, Kochi reference points, French ingredients, and binchotan heat.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Masafumi
What roles has Masafumi Nomoto held?
He has opened his first Paris restaurant at age 34, launched Udon Bistro Kunitoraya, Stand Tora, and Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya, and serves as chef across his current Paris addresses.
What is Masafumi Nomoto doing now?
He is chef at Charbon Kunitoraya, Udon Bistro Kunitoraya, Stand Tora, and Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya in Paris.
Where else has Masafumi Nomoto worked?
His Paris work includes Kunitoraya, Udon Bistro Kunitoraya, Stand Tora, Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya at the Maison de la Culture du Japon, and the Rue Villédo restaurant he transformed for Tosa binchotan cooking.
