About Arc
Wagyu Teppanyaki Restaurants & Taiko Entertainment in Kyoto and Nara
all brought together into one experience.For an afternoon among Japan’s landmarks, an evening of celebration, a quiet drink and conversation.
From eight restaurants across Nara, Kyoto, Osaka’s Kitashinchi and Ashiya, find the one that suits your day.
The Meaning of “Arc”
A5 heifer wagyu and ingredients bought directly from producers. Nothing but the genuine article.
The chef’s skill, the setting and every gesture — a refined moment, cared for down to the smallest detail.
A temple carpenter’s house, artisan craft, tea and the performing arts — the Japanese sense of beauty, served alongside the meal.
Who We Are
Beyond the food itself, we design every element — the space, the service and the gestures, from welcome to farewell — as one experience.
We take pride in being a group that hotel concierges and travel partners can recommend to their guests with confidence.
Food · Traditional Culture · People
Japan’s ingredients are among the finest in the world. Led by A5 heifer “Queen of Wagyu,” we serve only ingredients bought directly from producers or chosen at market with a discerning eye.
A temple carpenter’s house, hand-hammered craft, a glass tea room, Nihon buyo dance and our live taiko show, Japanese Drums Entertainment EN — the Japanese sense of beauty, shared through all five senses.
From welcome to farewell, heartfelt hospitality turns every meal into a dining experience you will remember. We aim to be a place where every team member can grow and work with pride.
True quality speaks softly.
Bringing Japanese food culture
to the world.
— A mission born from a childhood question —
The years I spent at a boarding school in England as a child made me ask a fundamental question: what does it mean to be Japan, to be Japanese? Looking at Japan from the outside, I came to appreciate anew our sensitivity, our deep kindness and the refined culture we can be proud of before the world. The wish to share this culture with the world — truthfully and beautifully — is the origin of our business.
— The Japanese aesthetic, through food and experience —
Arc shares the Japanese sense of beauty through food, space and hospitality. With our restaurants at the core, we create places where guests can feel Japanese culture with all five senses.
— With our producers, toward the future —
Japan’s ingredients are among the finest in the world. We work hand in hand with producers across the country, grow together, and carry that value to the world — while building a restaurant industry that young people admire and are proud to work in.
— The meaning behind our name —
“Arc” comes from Authentic × Refined × Culture. By connecting food, traditional culture and people, we will carry the authentic, refined value of Japan to the world and to the future, creating experiences that stay in the heart.
Arc Inc.
Shinichiro Kawabata, Representative Director & CEO
Our Founder & CEO
Shinichiro Kawabata (川畑 慎一郎), CEO
From the age of 9 to 14, Shinichiro Kawabata attended a boarding school in the UK as its only Japanese student. Seeing Japan from the outside became the starting point of his mission: to share what is truly authentic about Japan with the world. Back in Japan he studied at Doshisha University, then earned a master’s degree at the Kyoto Institute of Technology, researching textiles and the motion analysis of master craftsmen and presenting at an international conference. Through this research he built lasting ties with the keepers of Kyoto culture, including a Kyo-maki-e lacquer master, a Kyoto pottery kiln and an ikebana grand master.
He led the revival of a Nara brush (Nara-fude) workshop, applying its traditional brush-making techniques to cosmetic brushes for women, and handed the business over to a listed company in 2019. The same year he founded Arc Co., Ltd. Arc now runs eight wagyu restaurants in Nara, Kyoto, Osaka and Ashiya, serving only A5 heifer wagyu — the “Queen of Wagyu” — bought directly from producers. Kiyomizu SOU and Todaiji Monzen Nagomi have won Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best two years in a row. In 2025 he launched the taiko show Japanese Drums Entertainment EN at Hulic Hall Kyoto, sharing Japanese culture with travelers through both food and the performing arts.
Company
- Company
- Arc Inc.
- Representative
- Shinichiro Kawabata, Representative Director & CEO
- Address
- 2365 Oshikuma-cho, Nara-shi, Nara 631-0011, Japan
- Established
- August 1, 2019
- Capital
- 93 million yen
- Business
- Planning and operation of restaurants
- Restaurants
- Todaiji Monzen 和 Nagomi (Nara)
Kiyomizu 創 SOU, Nishiki 雅 MIYABI, Gion 舞 MAI, 禅 ZEN (Kyoto)
和衷 WACYU (Kitashinchi, Osaka)
Ashiya Yakiniku 結 YUI (Ashiya), Yamato Yakiniku 結 YUI (Kashihara, Nara) - Main Bank
- The Bank of Kyoto
- Related Company
- Wonderland Japan Co., Ltd.
History
Wagyu cooked with uncompromising care and seasonal fish, served as courses.
Yamagata heifer wagyu and fine sake, with warm hospitality.
Heifer wagyu yakiniku in a calm kominka house.
A temple carpenter’s 120-year-old house, reborn in a modern Japanese style.
A hidden retreat, 2 minutes from the temple.
Upstairs from Kawaichi, a historic greengrocer.
Kiyomizu 創 SOU #4 and Todaiji Monzen 和 Nagomi #7 in Japan.
On Yasaka-dori, 3 minutes from Yasaka Pagoda.
Kiyomizu 創 SOU #13 and Todaiji Monzen 和 Nagomi #7 in Japan. Nishiki 雅 MIYABI receives Travellers’ Choice.
Our flagship — wagyu teppanyaki, a glass tea room and a bar lounge.