Dinner at Tofuya Ukai, a kaiseki, or traditional Japanese style multi-course meal with freshly made tofu as the star attraction. Although my 15-year old vegetarian-phobic self would be shocked to hear it, we were a bit disappointed at the limited number of courses which featured the soy-bean goodness. Still, a meal that has salted roasted chestnuts, walnut cream sauce, chrysanthemum petals, chicken, fish, beef AND tofu ain’t bad at all, especially when it takes place in a beautiful converted former sake brewery with gorgeous gardens right in the heart of Tokyo.
Another wonderful self-grilled beef-fest, this time of assorted (and officially certified) Wagyu cuts. These included diaphragm and hip meat, both of which were outstanding. But the star of the show was the block of “neck” meat, so good we just had to order another…
We discovered there was a Michelin-starred restaurant in a back alley about 300m from our hotel in Osaka. The basic setup: after a few starters, they brought us different deep fried bites of deliciousness until we finally (reluctantly) told them we could eat no more. Then they brought us cold udon noodles for dessert.
Hiroshima is famous for its oysters, but here’s a pro tip: If you have ¥15000, and you spend ¥3800 on ferry rides and another ¥3800 on cable car fares, you shouldn’t *also* splurge on an ¥8000 oysters-and-champagne lunch at a cash-only restaurant. This is especially true if you have taken the ferry to a small island without ATMs. (But the oysters were totally worth it, and we managed to scare up enough loose coins to not be completely embarrassed.)
For dinner, we went for grill-your-own Hida-gyū. You select your cut of beef from the refrigerator case and they bring it out for you in slices, along with some red-hot charcoal for the grill. After that, you’re on your own. There is so much marbling in the beef that it just melts in your mouth. Still recovering from the ensuing meat coma.
Somewhat unexpectedly, Takayama turns out to be a foodie haven. We spent most of the day snacking and drinking, with highlights including raw beef sushi (bottom left) and a (rather extensive) sake tasting.
A sashimi dinner in Ginza with Barbara, our fabulous Tokyo hostess
CAD 285 per pound/GBP 380 per kilo of Kobe beef CAD 265/GBP 160 for two melons CAD 55/GBP 33 for two bunches of grapes We’re not sure which of the above is the most ridiculous.
Do-it-yourself okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes) in Asakusa.
Breakfast tray.. Thanks Barbara!