Originally Posted by
jib71
Since you see value in steak and lobster but not in cheap ingredients then I suggest you go for a far cheaper tempura restaurant that will still offer awesome tempura, the like of which you will not easily experience outside Japan - and certainly not at the same price. (Seriously, tempura is one style of Japanese food that almost always gets botched to a greater or lesser degree outside Japan).
If you spend $250 pp on food that you're not predisposed to value very highly, I think you're more likely to come out of the experience feeling fleeced. And when that happens, it's hard to separate your disappointment at the lightness of your wallet from your joy at the lightness of the tempura batter.
For that reason, I would suggest kicking off with a "reasonable" tempura lunch at Tempura Osaka in Toranomon. By reasonable I mean 2000 to 4000 yen. Not bargain basement, but you're getting great tempura:
http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130802/13007533/
Lunch rather than dinner is the time to get best value. If you come away with less than sheer delight at the tempura, then you definitely shouldn't blow $250 on that cuisine.
I second this. Unless you are well aware of what's good in kaiseki and what's not, you may just find it unusual/weird and not appreciate it, OR you may "force" yourself to appreciate it specifically because it is societally "required", in a sense.
I'd recommend going somewhere more palatable, for lack of a better pun - there are a number of spots in Tokyo which will absolutely not disappoint, yet not require a leap of faith.
Might I suggest Kaikaya (開花屋) in Shibuya? Awesome, absolutely awesome uniquely fusion Japanese seafood. And not cheap, so you wouldn't feel like you're cheaping out.
