Karma Kitchen Kobe

In April 2017, we hosted our first Karma Kitchen in Kobe, after many months of excited planning. If you'd like to stay connected or have ideas of participating in the next one, please drop us a note anytime.

Stories and Highlights


Karma Kitchen in Kobe! (April 2017)

Kaori Tsuji shares about how it all started: "A few years ago I learned about "Karma Kitchen" when I visited Berkeley for the first time. It spontaneously shook something at the bottom of my heart and I held a wish to open it one day in my community. After sharing the idea with my friends, visiting Karma Kitchen Tokyo, and discussing more for more than one year, we finally settled on an opening date." On Sunday, April 9th, the restaurant opened with this menu:



It was a bit rainy and cloudy in the morning, but right as we opened the doors at 11AM, the sunlight came in.



With expert chefs as volunteers, every item was a labor of love. We tried to use raw ingredient that otherwise would've been thrown away. Vegetable stores gave us some greens and onions when they closed the day, farmers gave us produce they couldn't sell, some shops donated spices and seasonings, and we picked edible wil grasses that were just blooming.





We served about 32 guests, and for most of them, this was a very new experience -- but they quickly felt the spirit of our offering. Strangers immediately felt like friends in such a short period of time. More people were happy to pay something forward than we expected.



Moreover, the volunteer crew of 8 felt deeply transformed after the event. We all felt that giving is more like an experience of receiving, through the whole experience of meeting, preparation, cooking, serving and cleaning.



We are very grateful for the opportunity to be of service.



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