About 15 minutes on foot from Kobuchizwa station on the JR Chuo main line is Cafe & Dinning "Soju", located in a quiet forest.
The ARSOA KEIOH group engages in cosmetics and health foods among others, with at its spill health, beauty, food, and medicine. But why does a company that develops cosmetics & health food products manage a restaurant? The answer to that simple question was already included in the food you just had in “Soju”.

As soon as I got off the train, the brisk air brushed against my cheeks. This is Kobuchizawa station, the westernmost railway station in Yamanashi prefecture. From there it is about a 15-minutes walk to the conspicuously elegant building hidden in the forest.
"This is Cafe & Dining Soju. It is part of the ARSOA KEIOH group which develops cosmetics and health foods. Some women may be familiar with the thorough black soap "ARSOA".”
This explains Mr. Shuichi Endo of the ARSOA KEIOH group who had showed me the way so far. According to him, "Beautiful water" is indispensable for making cosmetics, this is why the headquarters moved from Shibuya in Tokyo to Kobuchisawa about 20 years ago. "Soju" had its grand opening in 2017 after the ARSOA KEIOH group expressed their desire to want to share the organic food offered in the employee cafeteria with the general public.

The biggest feature of "Soji" is the consistent use of organic vegetables. But it is not just a matter of using organic grown vegetables for cooking, to make this possible we have our own 6-ha vegetable garden called "Rainbow farm." It covers most of the restaurant's use, isn't that a feat.
"I am sure you’ve heard before that vegetables grown without the use of pesticides are desirable for insects, and it is natural insects to eat them. But the truth is different. Really healthy vegetables are not eaten by bugs." Mr. Hiroki Yamano, who welcomed me at the Rainbow farm, told me this while he was energetically looking over the vegetable garden.
"What we value is to bring out the natural power inherent in the plant. Although we do not use pesticides, that is not the end in itself. In the end, it is about bringing out the power of the vegetables." Mr. Yamano says, "Here, try this if you like", while he hands me a leaf of spinach from the field. As soon as I put it in my mouth, I can taste spinach, but a surprising sweetness spreads in my mouth. And the more I chew on it, the stronger its flavor becomes.
"This area contains good water. Because there is good water, there is an abundance of good organisms. Because there is an abundance of good organisms, you can harvest delicious crops. Everything is connected."

After visiting the field, I went back to "Soju". There I got the regular but popular menu "Spicy vegetable curry, cooked for five days, with original spices."
"As the name suggests, the curry is carefully cooked over a moderate heat for 5 days. If only for one day it just doesn't taste as wanted. Naturally, this is true cooking in general, but I'm constantly thinking how to bring out the best flavor of the vegetables."
This says Mr. Katsunori Nakajima, the chef of "Soju". Because organic vegetables are used for the curry, it uses simple seasoning to bring out the taste. The flavor and richness combined with the deep-fried organic vegetables create an exquisite harmony. This comes perfectly together when added to the delicate structure of the brown rice (genmai). It just is delicious. "All dishes on the menu here have low impact on the body. The human body does not lie, therefore, tomorrow your belly will surely feel light."
All vegetables of the salad bar are organic, and the coffee after the meal is too. For milk we use Soya-milk, everything is consequently of botanical origin.
There is a message within the cuisine of "Soju". It is not only the outside but also the inside we want to become beautiful. The human body is formed by what they eat. Such basic things is what Soju's cuisine teaches us.