Mami Yanagawa has followed the path of Italian cuisine. She enjoyed her cooking classes so much that she became a chef herself. To study Italian gastronomy in its home, Yanagawa travelled to Italy, where she learned the depth and richness of regional variation. Her choice of name for her restaurant, ‘cucina regionale’ (‘hometown cooking’) proclaims the importance she attaches to the network of local and regional producers she has cultivated. Yanagawa links Italy and Nara to showcase the appeal of hometown traditions.