We more or less ate our way through Tokyo and Kyoto.
The high point in Tokyo was a traditional kaiseki meal in Kichijoji (west of Shinjuku) organized by and shared with our friends Naoto and Hiromi Katsube. Here are a sampling of the dishes served:
(use left- and right-arrow keys to navigate through the images)
Dana's friend Noreen Fukumori, an American who previously lived 10 years in Tokyo strongly recommended a tempura restaurant to us in the Omotesando neighborhood of Tokyo. We discovered that the chef has been operating this restaurant for 48 years. He invited us to sit right in front of him for the best show.
In Kyoto, we took in a 1/2-day cooking class featuring Kobe beef taught by a fascinating young man, Taro-san, possessed of passion and deep knowledge of food and food history. It was an amazingly enlightening, tasty hands-on experience held in his home.
We really ate a lot. And this is pretty trite, but some of the other highlights:
Interestingly, on this 50-something-eth visit to Japan, I finally noticed that Tokyo and Kyoto are anagrams of each other. Who knew? Better late than never, I suppose.