Our focus is quality, comfort and unpretentious enjoyment.
Beautifully designed spaces to enjoy simple Japanese rice balls, home style comfort food and refreshing beverages.
Refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are carefully selected to compliment our menu.
Our Sake, Wine, Beer and Tea are imported directly from boutique Japanese growers. These are personal relationships and there is a story behind every sip.
Our story
Our aim is to serve delicious, healthy Japanese comfort food in a relaxed and comfortable setting.
We only use the highest quality meat, poultry and seafood,. Most of the vegetables, herbs, fruit, eggs and honey come from our certified organic farm in Sassafras.
Everything is made fresh daily.
The ceramic tableware is from our own pottery studio, so please help us look after it.
Our exclusive Sake, Wine and Beer are sourced directly from small boutique Japanese growers.
Ferndale Farm
At the heart of everything we serve is Ferndale-our 35-acre farm nestled in the lush Dandenong Ranges. Whenever possible, we source our ingredients fresh from the soil of this beautiful land.
Our thriving organic garden produces fruit, vegetables, and herbs with no shortcuts and no chemicals-just patience and respect for the earth. Our bees produce a light, floral wild honey, and our genuine free-range eggs come from chickens who roam freely across open pasture.
Alongside classic Western produce, our garden also celebrates a wide variety of Japanese plants: daikon, shiso, wasabi, yuzu, mustard greens, and more. These ingredients bring a unique seasonal complexity to our dishes, bridging cultures through flavor.
Everything we make begins with this intention: to nourish simply, beautifully, and with reverence for where it all began.
The hidden Tea of Umegashima
In the mountains of Shizuoka, nestled in the misty folds of Umegashima - the highest tea-growing region in Japan - lies a near-forgotten village. Time moves slowly here. Elderly farmers rise with the sun and tend to the tea bushes by hand, as they have for generations. No machines. No shortcuts. Just devotion.
The air is crisp, cool, and clean - infusing the tea leaves with a depth and clarity of flavor found nowhere else. Clouds often roll across the steep slopes, cloaking the tiny plantations in a veil of fog. Locals call it kakurecha - the hidden tea. Every cup of our Umegashima tea carries the spirit of that mountain. A whisper of clouds. The breath of ancient soil. The patience of those who still believe in growing things the hard way.
We are honored to share it with you.
Ceramic tableware: crafted with earth, fire, and story
Every piece of tableware in our venue is crafted by hand at our own pottery studio, located at Ferndale, our farm in the town of Sassafras. From shaping the clay to the final glaze, the process is slow, deliberate, and rooted in tradition.
We fire our work in both electric and gas kilns, allowing us to explore subtle textures and tonal variations. Our materials—clays and glazes—are sourced exclusively from family-owned companies in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. These suppliers have passed down their craft for over 70 years, continuing the legacy of Shigaraki-yaki pottery, one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns.
When you dine with us, you’re not just tasting what we grow and prepare—you’re holding it in your hands.
Our Sake
We import our sake directly from boutique Japanese producers with whom we have personal relationships. Every bottle has a story, and each producer brings generations of craftsmanship to their work.
One such producer is Aumont Brewery, which has been crafting sake since the 1790s. Located in Niigata Prefecture, Aumont uses locally grown rice, pure water from the Kaji River, and time-honored brewing techniques. A dedicated team of experienced brewers oversees the process, resulting in sake that is both refined and of the highest quality.
Our beer: crafted in a Tokyo garage with heart
Our exclusive Japanese beer is brewed not in a large factory, but in a humble garage just outside Tokyo by a single, remarkable woman. Together with her husband, she runs a tiny, vibrant venue where he makes curry, and she makes beer. It’s a partnership of spice and hops, of warmth and precision.
She is meticulous-carefully sourcing quality ingredients and constantly experimenting with unusual, inspired flavors. Think kiwi, yuzu, herbs from her garden. Her beers are small-batch, deeply personal, and full of character.
These are beers made with care, curiosity, and a quiet defiance of convention-just like everything we serve here.
Our Wine
Our wine comes from a small, family-run vineyard in Yamanashi Prefecture, lovingly tended by a husband and wife team. For them, the vines are not just crops-they are like children, requiring daily care, attention, and patience.
In the height of summer, they even shade the grapes with umbrellas to protect them from harsh sunlight. It’s a level of devotion that few would attempt, but for them, it’s simply part of doing things right.
They bottle in very small batches, using traditional corks and a hands-on process that honors both the land and the grape. The result is a range of beautifully light, delicate wines-balanced and refined, with none of the heaviness often found in modern wines.
Every glass we pour is a tribute to their work-and a reminder that care and humility create the most enduring beauty.
Employment
We’re always on the lookout for great people who love great service.
If you’re friendly, hardworking, and passionate about creating a positive experience for our customers, we’d love to hear from you.
Send your resume and any relevant details to [email protected].
Contact
Visit us at one of our Melbourne locations
Onigiri To Go
5 Little Collins Street
Melbourne Australia
Mon - Fri : 8:00am - 3:00pm
9882 1148
Onigiri On Degraves
1 Degraves Street
Melbourne Australia
Mon - Sun : 11:00am - 8:00pm
9816 4801
