The Tokyo branch of a classic Kyoto restaurant (which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year), this enchanting place brings a taste of the ancient capital to the modern metropolis. With stone paths, bamboo groves and glowing lanterns, it is gracious and relaxed. The cuisine comes from the classic tradition of kaiseki, small courses arranged on exquisite serving pieces consonant with the look of the food and the season. The menu is wholly dependent on the availability of ingredients, so changes often. To dine here is a complete gastronomic and aesthetic experience. Seating at tables is available.
Overview
From Andrew Harper
Familiar Japanese brand names may pervade our daily lives, but on arrival in the country itself, you are instantly confronted by the utter foreignness of its language, customs and aesthetics. In a world that is becoming more homogenized by the minute, this culture shock can be wonderfully exhilarating.
Although the area of the Japanese archipelago is roughly equivalent to that of California, most of the terrain is mountainous. There is very little useable land, which results in a crush of competing needs. The close proximity in which people are obliged to live has famously resulted in an elaborate code of conduct designed to promote social harmony. Allied to this is a highly evolved concept of hospitality: Hotel employees are exquisitely polite; and shopkeepers greet you with gracious formality.
For all the crowding and overdevelopment along the Pacific coast, there is another Japan: a place of immense natural beauty with spectacular peaks, forests, lakes and waterfalls. Offshore islands cradle exquisite beaches. And even in the teeming cities, you can turn a corner on a busy street and find a tiny shrine set in a little garden oasis.
During centuries of isolation and iron rule by the shoguns, the ordinary people were highly regulated and travel was kept to a minimum. Regional lords, however, were required to journey to the capital Edo (now Tokyo) to pay homage. Many of the hostelries that grew up to accommodate their retinues are today ryokans, the superb traditional inns that should be a mandatory element of any itinerary. Staying at a ryokan may present some challenges (like having to sit cross-legged on tatami mats), but such minor inconveniences scarcely detract from the intensity of the experience and the wealth of memories it provides.
To the outsider, much of Japan is likely to remain enigmatic. You may admire a Zen garden, but struggle to fathom its meaning. Perhaps no other country is so resolutely and insistently itself. But for the inquisitive traveler, the encounter can be profoundly rewarding.
CLIMATE: Because of the length of the archipelago, Japan has a variety of climates, similar to those of the east coast of North America from Nova Scotia to Georgia. The north is cool and temperate, while the far south is subtropical. Summer/early autumn brings the typhoon season.
TIME: 14 hours ahead of New York (EST).
CURRENCY: Yen (JPY). Fluctuating rate valued at JPY78 = US$1.00 as of January 2012.
U.S. EMBASSY: Tokyo, Tel. 3-3224-5000. Consulates: Naha, Tel. 98-876-4211; Osaka, Tel. 6-6315-5900; Fukuoka, Tel. 92-751-9331; Sapporo, Tel. 11-641-1115.
DIRECT DIAL CODES: To phone hotels and restaurants in Japan, dial 011 (international access) + 81 (Japan code) + city code and local numbers in listings.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Passport. Visit travel.state.gov, and for travelers’ health information, cdc.gov
GENERAL INFORMATION: Visit jnto.go.jp before your trip.
Hotels
All recommended hotels in Japan
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Four Seasons Marunouchi Tokyo Sleek 57-room executive hotel occupying the lower floors of landmark glass-clad Pacific Century Place, in the dynamic Marunouchi business district near the Imperial Palace. |
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Honjin Hiranoya Kacho-An Ideally situated close to the San-machi Suji district, Honjin Hiranoya Kacho-An is a delightful ryokan that combines traditional country charm with modern city amenities. |
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Gora Kadan An easy one-hour drive west of Tokyo, Hakone is a magical region of volcanic hills covered with dense forests and dotted with hot-spring resorts. |
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Westin Miyako Lavish Western-style 501-room hotel set amid six acres of tranquil gardens on the eastern outskirts of the city, close to many of Kyoto’s most notable temples and museums. |
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Imperial Hotel Imperial Hotel is situated on the banks of the Okawa River, where footpaths and jogging trails meander beneath the cherry trees. |
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Hiiragiya Ryokan Classic traditional inn dating from 1818, located on a charming side street at the heart of the city. |
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Tawaraya Tawaraya is the most famous ryokan in Japan, and for nearly 300 years it has been owned by the same family. Stepping inside feels like a form of time travel. |
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Hotel Seiyo Ginza Exclusive and luxuriously intimate 77-room European-style hotel exuding the intimate ambience of an elegant private home in the heart of Ginza District. |
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Park Hyatt Tokyo Elegant and dramatically designed 177-room contemporary hotel occupying panoramic top floors of Shinjuku Park Tower, in West Shinjuku business/shopping district adjacent to new Tokyo Metropolitan Government Buildings. |
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The Peninsula Tokyo Stylish 314-room hotel opposite the Imperial Palace, a three-minute walk from the shopping capital of Ginza. |
Dining
All recommended restaurants in Japan
AKASAKA KIKUNOI
6-13-8 Akasaka
Tokyo
Japan
US$275
KYUBEY
In a city that abounds with sushi restaurants, this is arguably the best. (There are several branches of Kyubey in Tokyo, but this, the original, is the place to go.) Diners sit at a magnificent counter hewn from a single piece of hinoki (Japanese cypress) and order the world’s most pristine seafood. Even fish such as squid and abalone that can be annoyingly chewy are here amazingly tender. Don’t miss the house specialty, chirashi, which is vinegar-seasoned rice topped with two layers of fish. Also try the excellent chawanmushi, a savory egg custard dotted with slivers of fish and ginkgo nuts.
8-7-6 Ginza
Tokyo
Japan
US$300
NIHONRYORI RYUGIN
A rash of Tokyo chefs has taken on the challenge of molecular cooking — a food science that investigates and tries to make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients — not always with happy results. Here is one who has succeeded. Seiji Yamamoto trained in classical Japanese cuisine and only then branched out into more modern techniques. The result is exquisite food offered in the traditional kaiseki style.
7-17-24 Roppongi
Tokyo
Japan
US$300
ROBATAYA
The name of this restaurant comes from robatayaki, an uncomplicated style of cooking generally associated with the countryside, in which everything is prepared on a grill. Transposed into the lively Tokyo neighborhood of Roppongi, it becomes a wonderfully entertaining experience, with delicious food served with great theatricalit y. As you enter, the entire staff will cr y a robust welcome. At the center of a U-shaped counter, chefs pull ingredients from an array of rustic baskets or, in the case of seafood, net them from a bubbling tank. There are often as many foreigners as Japanese, and it might seem a bit touristy, but the experience is memorable, nonetheless.
4-4-3 Roppongi
Tokyo
Japan
US$125
TENMATSU
Tempura is a Japanese dish that requires real finesse if it is to be successful. It is deceptively simple — batter-dipped bits of meat, fish and vegetable are deep-fried — but the batter must be made so that it branches out and creates a delicate filigree of lacy strands when it hits the oil. And the oil must be the right temperature so that the batter and the individual ingredients are perfectly cooked. Tenmatsu has proved over many decades that it has mastered the formula to perfection. Be sure to sit at the counter so you can see the artistry involved.
1-6-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku
Tokyo
Japan
US$120
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