Those outside Japan usually believe that Japanese eat only sushi 24/7.

It’s approximately as true as the fact that bears in ushankas are walking around the Red Square together with Russians, who are skating there with vodka and pelmeni.

It can take really long to list all kinds of food that Japanese eat most. Perhaps, it’s ramen. Actually, there’s a great variety of Japanese food starting from gyoza up to shabu-shabu. Yet there’s a particular sort of event, which is very different from all the rest: Japanese haute cuisine – kaiseki.

Frankly, with all my maniacal love for Tokyo – this isn’t my thing.

This “parade-allé” consists of 20-30 micro courses, but the rule “everything on the plate is edible” isn’t fucking applicable in this case.  So, first you have to find out what is “food” and what is “aesthetics” on your plate, but then, even if you have done that, you aren’t insured against a bowl with alive baby fishes or some “fish feet compote” ™. Really, just not my thing.

It’s curious though!

Therefore, there’re light versions for “gaijins” ™. One of them is located on the third floor of ANA Intercontinental, where Japanese for the sake of beauty (you can’t enter there, just look through the glass, beautiful eh?) threw a garden, a pond with carps, sakura, maples, bridges and a waterfall – from outside you would never expect to find anything like that there.

It’s better to come for lunch. It’s safer that way.

And you’d better choose the set. There’re different kinds: sushi/sashimi/tempura/wagyu/etc. Everything’s strictly seasonal. What if, heaven forbid, they served you green soup in autumn or an orange one in spring – how vulgar (c).

All the sets, even those for lunch, look more like some kind of art installations than food. They don’t bring everything at once, there’re certain stages and zero extreme, so you kill two birds with one stone: it’ll be delicious, safe, beautiful and you’ll get to try the true Japanese food.

The quality of the produce is undeniable. Anyhow, the taxes and drinks are included in the price that is around 10K Yen per person. This isn’t expensive for such an experimental approach.

Do enjoy!