ned and Mrs. ned will be taking our first trip to Japan in May. One of the things we would like some help with is restaurants. While there are many good restaurants in each place we are going we like to have one or two planned in advance. I have of course looked at the usual sites that review restaurants but have previously found that the treasures have been suggested here on FT. These have included Roscioli in Rome, the Codfather in Cape Town, and others. We are looking for “local food” such as fish in Kanazawa and beef in Takayama at moderate prices ($$-$$$). We would prefer restaurants easily reached from our hotel. Our itinerary is: Tokyo (Conrad Tokyo), Takayama ( Best Western), Kanazawa (ANA Crown Plaza), Kyoto (Westin), and Yokohama (Sheraton). As you can see our lodging is influenced by our points balances. Any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. ned
If you are staying in that class of hotel, you will have a concierge who can make recommendations and reservations. There are so many restaurants in Tokyo of every class (does anyone ever eat at home?) from "hole-in-the-wall-run-by-a-grumpy-old-man" to "bring-your-ultra-high-limit-credit-card-and-dress-impeccably," that it's hard to make one recommendation or even several.
The picnic idea is a good one, too. if you have never been to the food basement of a Japanese department store, you will not believe the variety of Eastern and Western ready-to-eat food, from appetizers to dessert, that you can use to assemble your own multi-course meal.