Accommodations & Culinary Experiences Enjoying Japanese Dining
The hearty home-style cooking at cozy downtown eateries vies for your culinary attention with the sophisticated fusion cuisine served at Tokyo’s exclusive restaurants, while the simple joy of eating the most authentic sushi ever tasted perfectly complements the luxurious experience of Kyoto’s elegant haute cuisine Japanese dining.
JapanQuest Journeys will personally introduce you to Japanese dining through illustrious chefs of world-class restaurants and through the friendly owners of local dining establishments thereby allowing you to discover the rich and varied nature of Japan’s quintessential food culture by letting your palate lead you into a world of hitherto unknown tastes and textures.
Wafts of succulent grilled chicken or tender Japanese beef sizzling on skewers at a traditional izakaya pub whets your appetite to delve into the lively world of Tokyo’s downtown restaurants where soba and udon noodles are slurped noisily and half-full sake bottles carrying a name card patiently await the return of their colorful patrons.
Watching the chef of a tiny sushi bar in Kanazawa near the stormy Sea of Japan masterly wielding his knife to slice portions of raw fish ever so thinly introduces you to the culinary pleasures of sashimi. The wafer-thin slices in shades of red and ivory expertly arranged on a bed of daikon salad will tempt you to dip a piece into soy sauce and let it dissolve on your palate before a trace of freshly grated wasabi tickles your nose and awakens your senses to the sublime taste of the purest and freshest fish and seafood taken from the ocean that very morning.
Kaiseki, the epitome of a Japanese dining experience, overwhelms you with timeless elegance. A dozen small dishes, featuring delicate portions of sweet tofu, grilled fish, and seasonal vegetables in ever-varying flavors of miso, soy or yuzu citrus fruit, perfectly accentuated by a single cherry blossom petal or colorful maple leaf, are served one by one in a deliberate fashion giving you ample time to thoroughly savor each morsel and to admire the exquisite tableware that discreetly matches the color and shape of each delicious offering.
There is no better way to deeply experience the noble nature of the sophisticated kaiseki menu than Japanese dining at a peaceful Kyoto mountain inn. The lady-owner of the house, kimono-clad and a paragon of Japanese beauty, welcomes you to her well-reputed inn-family owned for generations-with a cautious politeness but a genuine warmth that makes you feel instantly welcome.
Taking off your shoes and stepping into the inn’s dimly lit halls and wooden corridors, the alluring charm of old Japan soon embraces you with its nostalgic flair enticing your senses to tune into the subtle shades and muffled sounds of the centuries-old building tucked away in a picturesque valley of evergreen forests.
The Zen-like simplicity of the tatami-floored rooms bare of furniture except for a low table and zabuton cushions where seemingly invisible hands serve you green tea and lay out your futon, teaches you to appreciate the intricate lattice and translucent white paper of the fragile sliding screens that serve to hide the majestic view of the surrounding lands’ serene beauty.
A quiet evening spent leisurely wearing a comfortable yukata gown, reminiscing about the Japanese dining you just savored and listening to the mysterious gurgling of a nearby mountain stream evokes beautiful memories of the day, and lets you daydream about tomorrow’s adventures in the futuristic environs of modern Tokyo.
Tokyo’s world-leading list of Michelin-starred restaurants will undoubtedly spoil you for choice with the most ingenious fusion dishes on earth, and a plethora of world-class cuisine options not easily found elsewhere. The amazing contemporary designs of some of the finest Japanese dining restaurants in town set these culinary masterpieces in place with their astonishing interiors that serve to combine Zen-like minimalism with glass-and-steel modernism.
Indulge in exquisite Tuscan or Provence-inspired culinary delights that will outperform their most potent rivals across the globe, or sample the best of the best of Japanese cuisine at the very core of this cosmic center of the finest food on earth.
The Metropolis’ exclusive 5-star hotels including The Ritz-Carlton, Peninsula and Mandarin Oriental are citadels of luxury towering high above some of Tokyo’s most impressive and plush of neighborhoods far below. Breathtaking vistas from every room and their palace-style grandeur capture your heart as much as their impeccable service meticulously attends to your every need with utter discretion and integrity topped off with unfailing friendliness and a large portion of local charm.
It will be a divine experience of indescribable comfort reflecting the very best of Japan’s characteristics. You will gaze dreamily over Tokyo’s night sky, an ocean of twinkling lights stretching to the horizon and beyond into your sweetest of dreams.
JapanQuest Journeys will introduce you to our exclusive selection of the most genuine restaurants and the most distinguished ryokans and hotels personally visited time and again, to let you revel in Japan’s heartfelt hospitality leaving nothing to be desired during your sojourn and all the time ensuring an unforgettable journey perfect in every aspect imaginable.
