In Gion, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, I visited the meat kaiseki restaurant "Yassan" for the first time.I had heard that there can be a line before opening, so I wanted to arrive early. I got there at 5:20 PM on a weekday, but there was no one in line yet.There were a couple of benches in front of the restaurant, so I sat there and waited until opening.Although the restaurant opens at 6 PM, they hung the curtain about 10 minutes early, allowing us to enter.At that time, there were only three people waiting behind me, so it felt relatively empty that day.However, shortly after 6 PM, the place was nearly full.The first floor has counter seats that cannot be reserved, arranged around the kitchen, providing quite a number of seats.Since it was my first visit, I sat near the entrance, where the third-generation proprietress stood to explain the restaurant's rules, making it easy for me to navigate.I started with a bottle of beer to toast—Suntory draft, which is not commonly seen. The glass had the restaurant's name on it.In addition to Japanese sake, there were shochu options, but after the beer, I opted for sake.The room temperature and kanzake were from "Kinshi Masamune" in Fushimi, Kyoto, known for its sweetness. The chilled sake was "Kamo Tsuru" from Hiroshima, so I chose that.While enjoying the chilled water, I had three cups of sake.The appetizer was a light pickled cucumber, followed by a yam-infused consomme soup, which I was allowed to photograph.After that, I received tongue, heart, raw beef, and tripe, but photography was not permitted for these dishes.Up to this point, the dishes were served omakase-style, but they were open to requests for smaller portions.Steamed garlic and a lettuce salad were served as palate cleansers, and then I could choose my grilled items.I ordered kaiware rolls, outside skirt, stewed dishes, and tail soup.The first half consisted of sashimi served omakase-style, while the second half was based on my preferences. This approach seemed quite efficient.The items served raw were somewhat "mandatory," while the cooked dishes could be enjoyed later, allowing for better inventory management and customer satisfaction.They provided green onions and mustard as condiments from the start.Although there were part-time staff, the fourth-generation Sakakibara family member, Yoshifumi, was leading the operation, and the service was very pleasant.I heard that the second-generation proprietress occasionally comes to the restaurant, but she wasn’t there that day.Despite it being my first visit to such a historic establishment, I had a wonderful time.We stayed for about an hour and a half, but many guests seemed to finish in about an hour.I felt it would be nice to be able to enjoy such a place in a stylish manner.