‘Nikomi’ means ‘stew’, and owner-chef Kimura’s stews are justly famed. She prizes the deep umami she extracts from her ingredients through hours of patient stewing. Year-round favourites are the tofu with beef and konnyaku with beef sinew. For added flavour, she adds chicken broth and ichiban-dashi. The oden, with its numerous ingredients, is a winter’s delight. The shuko, a fried fish paste called Jakoten brought in from Ehime Prefecture, conveys the flavours of her hometown.