Kikunoi

The Art You Can Eat
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124242719429025155.html

After spending three days in Kyoto, where visitors can eat variations of kaiseki for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I began to see why this centuries-old cuisine holds so much fascination for the most inventive chefs of Europe and America. Kaiseki is a tonic to the senses from every direction, and something no Western restaurant I've ever dined can approach. It demands perfection from the freshness and preparation of the ingredients to the dishes they are served on. The noise in some New York restaurants makes it impossible to concentrate on your meal; kaiseki diners sit in a tranquil, private room and gaze onto a Japanese garden while polite, efficient waitresses in kimonos cater to every need. The cost, at Kikunoi, is $150 a person -- a bargain compared with, say, the $275 tasting menu at Thomas Keller's Per Se in New York.
- Stan Sesser

Useful link:
www.kikunoi.jp

A kaiseki dinner at Kikunoi is an experience visitors won't quickly forget. The simplicity of a kaiseki dinner masks its complexity. A must visit, really.