First VisitSince I was in Kyoto, I wanted to find a nice place to eat, so I made a reservation for lunch at this restaurant 10 days before my visit, after being disappointed by its temporary closure in spring.Lunch is priced at JPY 12,000, including tax and service, which feels like a charitable contribution...I arrived at 11:50. While taking pictures of the exterior, the owner warmly welcomed me. I was surprised by how compact the building was.Inside, there are 10 seats at an L-shaped counter, and it seems there are also private counter rooms, but of course, it was fully booked. The chef and his wife, along with four apprentices, made a total of six staff members.The dishes served were:1. **Shinogi** Steamed rice with lotus seeds and new lotus root topped with plum paste and Yoshino honkatsu sauce.2. **Sakizuke** Hamo (pike eel) with black vinegar sauce and shredded cucumber.3. **Wan** Broth: Kawachi duck, sweetfish, kombu. Main: Grilled Kawachi duck breast with salt. Accompaniment: White eggplant. Seasoning: Homemade yuzu pepper.4. **Sashimi** Oki-produced kuroe (black fish) with plum extract, homemade karasumi (dried mullet roe), and green onion.5. **Shinsai** Mud squid and rice vermicelli dressed with lemon juice and tahini, served in a lemon shell, topped with five-color sesame and chili leaves.6. **Oshi** Setouchi-produced true bonito marinated in vinegar, served with abalone liver sauce and two types of fried vegetables (white asparagus and zucchini).7. **Tsukuri: Chilled Bowl** Chilled simmered dish with kabocha (small pumpkin), eggplant, octopus, edamame, and bohu (a type of wild celery), infused with yuzu aroma.8. **Rice** Grilled eel and stone-grilled bibimbap with Manjūji peppers.9. **Dessert** Vanilla ice cream melon frappuccino.I stayed for about two hours. After having three glasses of sake, the total bill came to JPY 14,700, which is an incredible value.Here are my impressions of the meal:- Throughout the meal, the chef's kabuki-like mannerisms and speech made me feel the essence of Kyoto.- The combination of ingredients and seasonings in the dishes was quite eccentric overall: - 2: The pairing of hamo and black vinegar. - 3: No bonito broth used, with meat as the main ingredient. - 4: Sashimi eaten with plum extract. - 5: A dish using rice vermicelli. - 6: True bonito simply marinated in vinegar.Only dishes 1 and 7 could be considered traditional Japanese cuisine. I felt it was somewhat innovative, but once I tasted it, I completely understood the reasoning behind it.
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