The two masters here at Moromiya are working on their collection of sake labels. It doesn’t really need more work, does it? Actually, nothing about this place needs more work. It’s just about right, across the board. You’ll love it even as you leave lighter in the purse (or not, if you can get your […]
expensive
Aeschbach, Shiroganedai
Really, Shirogane has a nice feel. Very genteel. There are copper-covered spaceships everywhere, and up the streets on the northeast side of the main street, big, fancy buildings abound. And cat-themed delivery trucks. Aeschbach’s Japan store seems to be a franchise operation – and if I remember correctly, the woman working there was the same […]
- French
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Ozawa, Shiroganedai
Like me, you may have an impression of Shirogane as stylish and packed with stylish shopping and dining. It’s not. I think the apartments are the most stylish thing; there are certainly plenty of cool-looking ones. The restaurants are sparse, but one that stands out on the main street is Ozawa, which lives in a […]
Uemura, Arakicho (四谷 うえ村)
This became a really long post, so I’ll spare lazy readers and say up front “Excellent. Good value if you’re an enthusiast for this style. Book 3-7 days ahead.” Arakicho is a neat place, tucked in between Shinjuku and Yotsuya, full of back streets and dark stairs and clubs and Japanese and French and everything else. […]
Toutouan, Higashi Akiru (燈々庵,東秋留)
Big day, eh? If you read the preceding posts, you’ll realize that Woodrow and I got up early, took the train way out west, did a solid hike, went to an onsen, browsed around, and then took several other trains to end up at this wonderful restaurant of his acquaintance. It’s really nowhere, and they […]
Matsuno Onsen, (松の温泉 水香園)
As I said below, today was hiking day. The mountains that ring Tokyo are nowhere near as high as the ones that you get a little farther out (they don’t call those ‘Alps’ for nothing), but there’s still some good autumn color and soothing vistas (as long as you don’t look toward Tokyo, where the […]
- Kyoto
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Sakurada, Kyoto (桜田)
Before we get to the mind-blowing kaiseki finale to this 2-day Kyoto jaunt, can we just see some random shots from the street? ‘Vehicle of God’ is, I suppose, an OK translation, but more a funny one (as you can see from the picture, it’s an omikoshi; koshi seems a little archaic to me, so […]
- Kyoto
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Kinmata, Kyoto (近又)
One kaiseki course in a day just isn’t enough. I came down to Kyoto with a simple restaurant strategy: Open Tabelog Kyoto. Call restaurant #1. Call restaurant #2. Et cetera. Of course I got rejected from some very lovely-looking places. But I booked the ones that were #8 and #9 on the day (it changes […]
- Kyoto
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Nishiki, Kyoto (嵐山 錦)
This is a nice bridge, isn’t it? Someone should write a poem about it. Or paint a picture of it. Eh, I bet someone had that idea already. Never mind. Kyoto’s northwestern temple district, Arashiyama, is also famous for the bamboo groves. Not without reason; it’s a really big species of bamboo, and the forests […]
Chinju, Marunouchi (大志満 椿壽)
Just got back from another business lunch at an area hotspot. I say that to be clever and ironic, because one doesn’t have business lunches in hotspots. And Japan’s definition of hotspot is maybe a little different. A little cooler. And less spotty. Spotless even. Compared to last week’s business lunch, this was cheaper, fresher, […]