DINING OUT TAKETA with LEXUS
Tickets goes on sale today! Only 80 places available!

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc. is pleased to announce the next destination of Dining Out, a celebration of local Japanese food and culture. The fifth Dining Out will take place for two days only — Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1, 2014 — in Taketa on the island of Kyushu.

The Dining Out project is designed to give communities an economic boost by revealing their natural beauty, traditional culture, history, and local products in a new light through the power of creativity and fine food.

Dining Out is a premium outdoor restaurant that materializes for only a few days somewhere in Japan. Hosted by world-renowned chefs and leading artists, it serves locally harvested ingredients prepared in imaginative new ways, amid surroundings orchestrated to show the area’s natural and cultural heritage in a fresh light. It’s a whole new way to savor the pleasures of Japan by enjoying the bounty of the land with all five senses.

Dining  Out Taketa with LEXUS will be hosted by magazine and newspaper columnist and TV commentator Takanori Nakamura, an expert on luxury living — fashion, culture, dining, travel, hotels. An epicure with an excellent knowledge of both Japanese and international cuisine, Takanori has since 2013 been the Japan regional chairperson of the World’s Best 50 Restaurants Academy, which compiles a list of the finest restaurants on the planet. He is also a globetrotter who has done much to bring the magic of Japan in all its variety to a world audience.

The cuisine will be prepared by Frenchman Lionel Beccat, chef exécutif of the restaurant Esquisse in Tokyo’s swanky Ginza district. Born on Corsica and brought up in Marseilles, Lionel started his culinary career in France, then came to Japan to assume the post of chef at Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros in Tokyo. Based in Japan ever since, he has devised his own unique contemporary French cuisine. He has been chef exécutif of Esquisse since the restaurant’s opening in 2012. Inspired by the varied natural ingredients found in different parts of Japan, he has opened up new culinary horizons, and his airy, refined creations have caught the attention of gastronomes in Japan, France, and around the world. One can hardly wait to see what creations Lionel will concoct when his keenly honed instincts encounter all Taketa has to offer.

The event will also feature Drum Tao, a group of artists based in Taketa that performs around the world, in a unique performance arranged specially for this occasion. It will be fascinating to see how they capture the spirit of the land in their music amid Taketa’s majestic natural surroundings.

Tickets for Dining  Out Taketa with LEXUS go on sale to the general public today at JTB Kyushu’s Oita branch, JTB Royal Road Ginza. They can also be purchased on the Internet. Further details are released on the official Dining Out website.