I'm not sure that being a "foodie" - especially a western "foodie" - has anything to do with understanding or liking Japanese cuisine - or cuisines in other Asian cultures. I'm also not sure I agree with 5khours about dining on mats as being an essential part of the experience (especially if one can't physically "get down" on one of those mats).

But - for example - texture plays a much more important role in Japanese and Chinese food than it does in most western foods. I don't know how long it would take me to appreciate "texture" in the cuisine of a particular culture. All I know is it's probably more time than I will ever spend consuming the cuisine of that culture. Still - when I get a chance to explore texture oriented dishes - I will. At least a little. And say to myself - maybe next time I'll "get it". Robyn

We'll only be in Tokyo this trip.

Did we in fact dine at Kikunoi Roan in Kyoto? The images aren't familiar to me - but it wouldn't surprise me if a restaurant has been remodeled after 7 years. And I was too dumb to save a menu or business card <smacking head>.

And could you do me a favor (in public if the TOS allow it - or privately if they don't). My home page is ighome now (successor to my iGoogle home page - which will be out of business later this year). I've done the RSS feeds for Food Sake Tokyo on my home page (very easy) - and Tokyo Food File (Japan Times) too (somewhat harder to link). But I still haven't been been able to link your RSS feed. Having the RSS feed would make it easier to follow .

FWIW - to English speaking people planning to dine in Tokyo - these are active and informative feeds IMO. Robyn

Yes. One of my most enjoyable meals ever. The food was OK....not outstanding, but I was dining with my wife, a sister, a daughter and a charming geiko so it was a wonderful evening.

Is there a restaurant of this type in Tokyo where you thought the food was better (my husband will only have one woman to dine with and amuse him - me - not four - so the food is more important ? Robyn

We ate at Akasaka Kikunoi last night. We had counter seats, but the table seating is horikotatsu. The presentation was gorgeous, but I found the actual taste of many dishes too subtle for my palate. There were some sticky and slimy textures without much taste and found the red sea bream sashimi a bit tough. Other dishes were very tasty but nothing mind blowing. Service was good, but not what I'm accustomed to eating at Western style high end restaurants, with all the staff loudly welcoming and thanking the guests. Maybe I was expecting something more intimate like some small high end sushi places.

Price was 50k JPY for two with a bottle of water and 2 drinks. Fine for a special occasion, but don't have the resources or desire to spend this much every day of my vacation. There is so much tasty food at lower end restaurants to try as well.

Any opinions of this restaurant? I'm staying at the Peninsula in early July, and am wondering if it would be worth checking out this restaurant or if I could get something better elsewhere for the same (or lower) price.

How might it compare to Wadakura at the Palace Hotel?

Would either of these be good choices for a 'special occasion' birthday dinner for a first-time visitor to Tokyo and non-Japanese speaker? Ukai Toriyama was recommended previously, but I'm not sure I want to go that far out of town, especially since I'm only there two full days.

Thanks for your advice.

Go for Wadakura. Tsuruya at the Peninsula is forgettable, and for the money there are far better options.

Thanks!

Sorry for so many questions, but with such an array of restaurants in Tokyo, I really appreciate getting insights from those who are more familiar with them, and am wondering if anyone might be willing to share their impressions of the restaurants above.

Seems like Tofuya-Ukai might be an interesting place for both food and atmosphere - perhaps a good in-town compromise instead of Ukai Toriyama (I know the food styles are different) that's still good for an 'occasion' meal?

What about the other two for Tempura? Would Mikawa be a better bet than either? I've read that the Zezankyo may not be very accommodating for non-Japanese speakers - true?

Thanks, all

English apparently isn't spoken at Zezankyo (http://mikawa-zezankyo.jimdo.com/english-information/). But there doesn't seem to be any hostility towards English speaking people:

http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/2012...o-tempura.html

It's also open on Sunday (Kondo isn't). Don't know if that makes a difference. Robyn

Concierge at the Conrad sent this reply when I inquired about English menus:

"We double-checked about English menu to both Mikawa Roppongi and Zezankyo.
Then both of the restaurants have English menu..."

So while it may not be spoken, you should be able to order. Kondo had an English menu and one person spoke limited English.

I took a look - and you are apparently arriving late afternoon directly from JFK. Unless you are totally amazing when it comes to jet lag - you will be totally zonked your first night - and have a tough time making it up past 7 or 8 pm. So I wouldn't make a dinner reservation first night. Room service - local casual - assuming you don't simply crash and go to sleep upon arrival.

Next day you will wake up *very* early. Sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market is a tradition among jet-lagged tourists (of which I was and will be one). Because they're awake and starving and there's not much else to do in Tokyo at 5 am. But there are other options as well. I googled "best breakfast Tokyo" and this was one of many hits:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/68007...#axzz2VZ3cPRTI

And here's a list of breakfast places I found on bento.com:

http://www.bento.com/r-breakfast.html

The Peninsula seems to serve breakfast in the hotel lobby. Perhaps I'm missing something - but it sounds like a yawn. Hit the streets for a good breakfast of your choice. I would go to Tsukiji (it's a tourist "rite of passage" IMO ).

Make lunch your big meal of the day (you are again unlikely to stay up late your first full day - or your second for that matter).

What kind of food would you like on your birthday (or the other day?). And where will you probably be? Tokyo is huge - and - although the subway is very efficient considering the size of the metro area - you should plan your dining and sightseeing so you don't have to spend half your day on the subway.

I'll be celebrating my birthday in Tokyo in September. And I want to dine at Joel Robuchon (French) on that date. Because I'm a bread and dessert person - and most Japanese fare isn't big in those categories. Tokyo has lots of great almost everything - and I think a person celebrating his/her birthday should eat whatever makes him/her the happiest. E.g., if you like steak - go to a steakhouse (not my cup of tea - but it might be yours).

Make a trip to a Japanese department store food basement to pick up a special treat if you like that kind of thing (I will be doing a chocolate excursion - Tokyo is superb for chocolates).

For (early light) dinner - there are apparently a lot of pretty good but far from luxury places at Tokyo Station (pretty close to the Peninsula IIRC). I've started to make a list of some. Especially ramen and noodle places. No reservations accepted. Which is ok in case you find your eyes closing at 7 pm.

On the other day - not the birthday - well my favorite kind of specialty Japanese food is tempura (I'm from the southeast United States - we love fried food ). What do you think you would like? And - again - what part of town do you think you'll be in?

Note that when I wrote my first message - I didn't realize your stay was only 2 days. Although Zezankyo is on my "short list" - it is considered kind of "out of the way". Not much to do/see in that part of town best I've figured out. So that might be a reason to dine elsewhere on a short trip (e.g., Kondo is in Ginza).

Please feel free to ask questions. I have only been to Tokyo once for a week (second visit will be this year). So I obviously can't say restaurant X is better than restaurant Y. But I think I have a decent handle on the practicalities of traveling from the east coast of the US to Tokyo (in terms of things like jet lag) - and travel within the city (in terms of time/distances). Robyn

P.S. I'm not kidding about the jet lag. On our first trip - we had plans to have dinner with a young couple from FT/east coast USA. Our 6th night there - their first. They called at about 6 pm and begged off because they were total zombies night of arrival.

robyng, thanks for your thoughtful and detailed response. On reflection, we've decided not to try and push for reservations that first night, although that's my actual birthday. We'll do dinners the next two nights we're there and make one of them the "official" birthday dinner I'm leaning toward a kaiseki-style meal for that dinner, as I really want the experience as well as the food. Perhaps Kikunoi or Mutsukari or Tofuya Ukai - I'm really drawn to the setting there, and think it would be very nice at night. Maybe tempura for the second night out.

We have breakfast at the Pen included in our rate, so I think we'll stick with that in the mornings.

Thanks for the reminder about the department store food halls. May hit them up for 'portable' lunches and/or snacks.

I'm hopeful that past experience (HKG this year and last) will hold and we'll not be too affected by jet lag. Both trips to HKG we hit the ground running. Helps that I sleep really well on planes for some reason.

Thanks again for your insights.

Makes sense. There are so many options in the area. The concierge will be able to make a recommendation that fits with your energy levels. If you find that - contrary to your expectations - you actually have bags of energy and a desire for a gourmet experience, the concierge will still be able to find you a table at a lovely restaurant. Guaranteed.

I will be traveling to Japan for the first time (kind of a mileage run). Will be staying in Tokyo for 3 nights, planning on a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji fish market on my first morning as I'm staying nearby.

I will have one night open for a splurge at a nice restaurant, looking for a diverse tasting menu including various fish and beef dishes. I am a bit picky and not a fan of crustaceans (mussels, clams, oysters, prawns etc). Oh and one important thing, I am traveling alone and looking for a place that would accommodate just myself. I looked up Narisawa and noticed they do not accommodate singles. Something like Keyakizaka at the Grand Hyatt looks promising.