° ○ a community-driven project aiming to cultivate food culture a little closer to nature. We are calling for chefs who would like to join us on this mission. ○ °
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WHAT ajimi academy is a residency-style program run by ishinoko kitchen that brings together chefs from different cultural and technical backgrounds. The program is designed with the mindset of learning by doing, where we connect global culinary perspectives with the traditions of a specific place.
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WHEN 18-25th October 2026
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<aside> <img src="/icons/map-pin_gray.svg" alt="/icons/map-pin_gray.svg" width="40px" /> WHERE Owase, Mie, Japan
Owase is a coastal town, at the threshold between ancient forest and bountiful sea, and has longstanding traditions of fishing and forestry. Centrally located on an ancient pilgrimage trail, the Kumano Kodo, Owase has been a welcome resting place to many travelers over the centuries. Their rich food culture is a reflection of how the local community values its diverse natural surroundings, where the flavors are in harmony with the forest and sea.
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WHO 〜 10 Chefs who are looking to:
Key partners Owase City NPO Tenmasou Hyakuninkai Iwasaki-gyoten Slow Food Nippon
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WHY ajimi academy was formed from the desire to create moments where local food producers and chefs can grow together. Through collaboration, we aim to cultivate a food culture guided by local peoples and landscapes.
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The theme of ajimi academy Owase 2026 is genryū [源流] which refers to the spring source where water from the land collects, begins to flow as a river, and eventually goes to the sea: connecting the forest to the ocean.
Currently, the global food and beverage industry is undergoing a trend towards "homogenisation." As reliance on global supply chains increases, the diversity of regional food cultures and cuisines is being lost.
This year’s theme invites us to take the principles of a connected food cycle; people, land, and sea, and reimagine a food system rooted in heritage, nature, and living values. As waters trickle through the forest floor, gather at the genryū, and flow to the sea, this year’s chefs will be given the tools to carry the lessons of Owase back to their own waters.
Six pillars of ajimi academy helps define what this program stands for, how we program and what we look for in those who join us.
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Early mornings Before the sun has risen, fishermen of Owase are already on the water. To learn from those around us, we need to break our own schedules and show adaptability, a willingness to set our rhythm aside and meet new places and new people on their own terms.
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Secret ingredient A dish is never just the collection of its ingredients; it is an expression of the soil, season and hands that brought it to life. It is curiosity that sends us looking for what secrets take a dish from “delicious” to something beyond.
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Even the bones A whole fish gives more than a fillet, and it is creativity that turns what is often discarded into surprising delicacies. For us, sustainability and creativity are not separate values; one makes the other possible.
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Three steps ahead
A great dish begins long before the first cut. Cooking as a craft involves caring about the whole process; the budget, team, work environment. We strive to stay curious about how to do each step better, while always thinking ahead, whether autonomously or as a team.
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Itadakimasu Said before every meal in Japan, itadakimasu is an acknowledgement that nothing on the plate arrived by one person's hand alone. To cook with respect is to see the full picture before the first bite, and to let that shape the decisions that follows.
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The washing up It is the part of cooking that happens after the applause, when what remains is the clean up after delicious bites, where the movement of a team really tells you something about their way of working together. We believe we are greater than the sum of our parts, and that the best food comes from kitchens where collaboration is instinctive rather than assigned.
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The curriculum of ajimi academy is built around a series of encounters with fishers, hunters, farmers, fermenters, and the forest and sea themselves. We transform those encounters into lessons where the participants help unlock the content, together. Through direct conversations, observation, and hands-on practice, you are encouraged to explore not only the technical culinary wealth held by Owase and its neighboring towns, but also the stories, relationships, history, and systems behind food production. There are no fixed answers, only a potential we are all part of exploring and harvesting. Each lesson is designed to deepen your understanding of Owase as a living food system, so that by the time you cook your final dish, it carries something of the place in it.
Please note: a detailed program will be shared later on.