Vinous Tables – Japan Series

This week, Vinous highlighted some of Neal Martin’s favorite places to eat in Japan in their Vinous Table series. Up first, Neal wrote a primer article that acts as a general overview of Japan’s food scene. From Tokyo to Kyoto to Kanazawa, Neal’s five articles cover various restaurants one should check out while in Japan and information on the wine offerings. We’ve compiled a quick preview of each restaurant with Neal’s tasting notes from these meals below! Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ JAPAN GASTRONOMY: A PRIMER “I love Tokyo. If I had to eat only in one city for the rest of my life, Tokyo would be it. Most chefs I know would agree with me…” – Anthony Bourdain. Japan is inseparable from its gastronomy. It is a society, in the truest expression of that word, that lives to eat. Apologies to Spain, Italy and, of course, my Gallic friends, but there is no culinary equal. Forget the fact it is one of only two countries whose entire culinary heritage is recognized by UNESCO. Japan may lie behind France in the number of Michelin stars, but hey, home advantage. Underlying Japanese cuisine is a single word…care. In an era when restaurants seem more concerned about their looks and social media presence than the quality of food, to wit, style over substance, in Japan, care underlies everything from mom ‘n pop noodle bars to deluxe destination restaurants, an ethos that extends to sourcing, preparation, artistry, plating and service. To an outsider, this can be interpreted as obsession, and that’s not far from the truth. Japan’s fixation with cuisine is ingrained from childhood. Students learn about cooking, maintaining balanced diets, nutrition and the importance of seasonality from an early age. School canteens are renowned for their kyushoku (給食), lunches that serve a wide array of top-notch Japanese dishes or meticulously prepared bento boxes instead of the soggy Dickensian gruel served in the UK. There is only one way to really appreciate Japan’s gastronomic landscape. No, not to queue up outside Wagamama, but board that plane and experience it first-hand. Once you’ve made it to Japan, look around and count the number of places to eat. You’ll find yourself surrounded by tempting places, eateries occupying multiple floors of single buildings and alleys that reward those who venture off the beaten path. Let me throw a number at you… 137,000. That’s the estimated number of restaurants in Tokyo alone. That compares to between 23,000 and 24,000 in New York and London (pre-COVID). However, locals advised that there has been a reduction of izakaya (居酒屋), ostensibly the Japanese bistro, after the pandemic. According to one source, the number of places to eat in Japan has decreased from 1,424,000 to 935,000 in 2023. That remains a dizzying figure to comprehend. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table: Japan Gastronomy: A Primer , April 2024 -- NUMBER ONE: KOUMOTO, TOKYO The Food: Kyoto unpressed tofu with wasabi leaf, homemade tuna with Indian spinach and pickled plum, boiled and seasoned Okinawan spinach, eel and cucumber salad and whelks Ginjo karasumi soba Seasonal sashimi Charcoal grilled sweet fish Grilled fillet of Hida beef Seasonal vegetable with prawn tempura Handmade soba noodles Cold peach shiruko soup The Wines: NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé 2008 Viña Errázuriz Don Maximiano 90 2008 d’Armailhac 91 1989 Calera Pinot Noir Jensen Vineyard 93 1975 Batailley 90 1976 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Estate 96 “Everyone’s career begins somewhere, a sliding door moment when an opportunity presents itself. Grab it, or else life will switch to another track. The door slid open for this writer in June 1996 when interviewed for an administrative position at Japan Airlines. I would be responsible for wine and paper cups, so who knows, I might have become king of the paper cup industry in an alternate universe. It doesn’t quite have the same ring as “wine writer”. Anyway, having feigned expertise in fermented grape juice at the interview, I stumbled into a wine career as its most unqualified entrant. That didn’t prevent me from being bitten by the wine bug. You know the rest of the story. I have never forgotten the opportunity that my first job presented, not least, my Japanese colleagues. Robert Parker quite correctly insisted I quit the role to avoid conflicts of interest, though I could stay in touch. A lot of water has passed under the bridge during the 18 years since. All but one in the wine department has retired or gone on to new pastures. Nevertheless, on my second night in Tokyo last summer, I arranged to meet my former JAL colleague, Hiro. I predictably found myself aimlessly wandering Minamiazabu in the vain hope of locating our rendezvous. Koumoto is so hidden away that even Google Maps admits defeat and begins suggesting findable alternatives. Pre-empting this situation, I spot Hiro, who guessed I would be lost and guides me down a secluded passage. If Koumoto was staring me directly in the face, I still would have no chance of finding it. Its façade is anonymous, just showing small signage in Japanese script. Only upon entering do you realize that you are entering an epicurean wonderland, something that happens constantly in Japan. The interior is divided into different-sized private rooms, catering for two to about twenty persons, each spartanly furnished in a traditional style. Thankfully guests sit on chairs rather than cross-legged on the floor. Dishes are brought in one by one. As a reintroduction to the unmatchable heights of Japanese cuisine after a five-year absence, Koumoto is perfect. The restaurant is famed for its soba, although every dish exudes subtle seasonal flavors, impeccable sourcing of ingredients and serves as a guided tour through traditional Japanese cuisine. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table: Koumoto, Tokyo, Japan , April 2024 -- NUMBER TWO: TEMPURA MATSU (天ぷら松), KYOTO The Food: Boiling black squid with dashi Sea bream in aubergine and rice vinegar sauce Squid and sea bream sashimi Black Throat Sea Perch sushi Horsehair crab Fatty tuna with sesame dressing on rice Grilled eel Assorted tempura: scallop, lotus root, king prawn, okra, silverfish and finally, onion Cold soba with egg yolk served in a block of ice Roast tea ice cream The Wine: 2018 Domaine Servin Chablis Les Pargues 87 Tempura Matsu is located on the western fringe of Kyoto towards Arashiyama and overlooks the Katsura River, beyond which lies Japan’s deeply forested, mountainous interior. This part of Kyoto is less touristic, although it attracts gourmands visiting nearby Kitcho, one of the country’s triple-starred restaurants. Shunichi Matsuno established Tempura Matsu in 1973 as a tempura bar, and it remains a family concern. The reins have now passed to his son, Toshio, who completed stints with Alain Ducasse and Grant Achatz before working alongside his father. The restaurant gained renown after being featured in travel writer Matt Goulding’s book Rice, Noodle, Fish. The restaurant is easy to find using a Smartphone. It occupies a two-story black and white building that is not dissimilar to a residential house. Its purpose is given away by the chefs visible, prepping away through the front window. Like many places in Japan, it is bijou in size, with seven counter seats (where I like to be seated), a couple of booths and a private room. The décor is cozy, homely and simple, with large oak beams and traditional lanterns dangling from the ceiling. It is a place that feels lived-in, timeless in some ways. Taking my seat, I notice rudimentary equipment in the kitchen. A tempura frier is located by the window. Toshio Matsuno is readying himself for lunch that day, deftly slicing squid into tiny ribbons with a knife that may have been forged by Hattaro Hanzõ himself (Tarantino fans will get the reference). Some of the equipment looks as if it might be decades old. The maître d’, who I find very hospitable and speaks a few words of English, is actually Shunichi’s mother. I am dining alone without the aid of my Japanese wife-cum-translator. My basic understanding of the language helps, and the dishes recounted in this Vinous Table were translated by myself and scribbled down in my notebook as lunch unfolded, so apologies if anything is lost in translation! I believe you should get along fine if your Japanese goes no further than “Arigato”. One notable aspect of Tempura Matsu is their use of antique ceramics or oribe ware, renowned for its vivid colors. Some of Matsu’s chinaware dates back 300 years. Before describing the dishes, I must point out that its name is misleading because, despite the restaurant’s name, tempura is just one part of a multi-course kaiseki menu, of which there are three options between 15,000 to 25,000 Yen per person. That is definitely on the expensive side, though no more than elsewhere you would find at this level. The cooking here is deceptively straightforward, quintessentially Japanese. The only frill is the carved block of ice used to cradle the noodles, but otherwise, the menu abides by the idea of fresh, meticulously sourced ingredients expertly prepared in front of customers and presented with minimum fuss. There is nothing conspicuously flamboyant at Tempura Matsu, no fireworks or pretension. This is all about subtle flavors that gently build throughout the dozen or so courses that somehow match the vista of the countryside visible through the window. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table; Tempura Matsu (天ぷら松), Kyoto, Japan , April 2024 -- NUMBER THREE: TAKASEGAWA, KYOTO The Food: Seasonal appetizer box: ayu (spring fish), Kyoto aubergine, salmon with miso, octopus, abalone, nori Clear soup with chicken and namafu (wheat gluten) Tuna sashimi with wasabi and shiso leaf Yakitori skewers: Omi chicken thigh, breast and skin with soy sauce Wagyu beef cutlet with tomato, soy and Daitokuji natto sauce Sea bream soup chazuke with dashi Mascarpone cheese and honey meringue The Wine: Miyao Brewing Company (Niigata) Shimeharitsuru Jun Junmai Gingo Sake 93 As mentioned in my primer, you can spend endless hours planning the ultimate gastronomic tour. Lo and behold, the gustatory high point is an unplanned visit to an unknown restaurant that whispered into your ear as you nonchalantly walked past its door: “Discover me. Or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!” It’s happened countless times. This sojourn was no different. Allow me to set the scene. It is a sultry Sunday, and I’d spent a thoroughly enjoyable, if fruitless, day flitting between Kyoto’s vinyl emporiums and Buddhist shrines. Feeling peckish, I walk down the famous Kiyamachi-dori, a narrow pathway that follows the Kano River. Illuminated by suspended lanterns and flanked by higgledy-piggledy wooden buildings, it evokes a scene from a Miyazaki animation. I feel spirited away. The choice of places to eat is endless. Every building accommodates a restaurant catering to every facet of Japanese cuisine, from Michelin-starred temples to touristic noodle bars. However, on the eve of the Goin festival, the passageway heaves with tourists. So, I venture further south past Kawaramachi Station and along the Takase River until I reach Shimoguyamachi. My nose starts twitching, and I am pulled towards the opposite side of the stream to a simple doorway where I read the wooden inscription… Takasegawa. “Discover me!” it whispers. “Come inside!” Heeding the call, I peer behind the hanging noren curtains and look upon a small counter with two empty stools. A young, aproned girl appears, and I enquire if they are taken. “Dõzo. Please, take a seat,” she gestures against expectations and pulls out a stool. One of the culinary highlights of my trip to Japan is about to unfold. Type “Takasegawa” into a search engine, and you’ll see it classed as a “yakitori” restaurant. This is a bit of a misnomer. It’s more of an upmarket counter-bar restaurant offering a seasonal omakase menu selected on the day by Chef Moto. It’s a two-person operation, just Moto and the young lady charged with greeting customers, pouring drinks, washing up and prepping whenever necessary. I adore the interior. The setting is everything you want. Overlooking the Takase, it comprises a six-seat counter that looks directly over the bijou kitchen so diners can observe every turn of the skewer and every slice of sashimi. Part of the joy is watching the interplay between the chef and his right-hand-woman – there is barely a divide between them and their customers. Another part of the pleasure of being seated at the counter is conversing with strangers, though, of course, it depends on the quality of the stranger. Tonight, my diners-in-arms are an amiable Montreal-based Korean family… “Whenever I come to Kyoto, this is the first place that I book,” the mother enthuses, barely concealing her excitement to be here, handing her son an iPad to keep him occupied. Lucky lad. I was eating fish fingers and chips at his age. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table: Takasegawa, Kyoto, Japan , April 2024 -- NUMBER FOUR: KANAZAWA SETSURI, KANAZAWA The Food: Grilled squid with dashi, Japanese basil Baby spring fish [ayu] with Tosazu vinegar sauce Red sea bream, rice and caviar Savory egg custard with matsutake, lily bulb and Bottarga sherbet Pike conger [hamo], shirakami awabitake mushroom, lemon, asparagus, pickled plum paste served in Wajima lacquerware Light smoked wild caught tuna, Botan shrimp from Shinminato with submerged Shijo flower Long-tooth grouper, Neon flying squid, bottarga Sudachi citrus fruit with Hokkaido shima shrimp Abalone with steamed Kombu in a dashi broth Stewed and shallow-fried Kamon aubergine with horseradish Noto beef, pike conger and leek Nukazuke: mizunasu, kiwi and yellow courgette Somen with sea urchin in Kaga cucumber, shredded okra Beef curry Yamanashi watermelon, local peach, Shine moscato with Earl Grey jelly and gold leaf The Wine: 2017 Vincent Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet Village 89 Kanazawa lies on Japan’s northern coastline, a little more than a couple of hours on the bullet train from Tokyo. Kanazawa is well worth the trip for two main reasons. Firstly, you can tour the famous Kenroku-en, considered one of Japan’s three most beautiful national gardens, draped over 11.4 idyllic hectares in the center of the city, featuring tranquil ponds, tea houses and obligatory pagodas or two. Secondly, Kanazawa boasts a smorgasbord of fabulous places to dine. The gustatory highlight during my entire stay in Japan was not in Tokyo or Kyoto but in this city. The first night, I booked two seats at the Michelin-starred Kanazawa Setsuri, which, by chance, was located just a five-minute walk from my hotel. One advantage of moving out of the Tokyo metropolis is that it’s far easier to get around and reach destinations. Like many places, the restaurant is located in a plain two-story building, so discrete that I spent several minutes searching on Google Maps before realizing I was standing outside its front door. The interior is your typical Japanese kappo restaurant, a broad term that means the chef is in close proximity to their customers. It is spartanly furnished: a small counter for seven people plus a private room. A wide-screen television hangs behind the counter depicting rotating images of clichéd Japanese landscape, which seemed a bit superfluous. Setsuri is popular with locals. On this particular evening, our fellow diners are three retired female doctors on their annual pilgrimage to Setsuri, plus a group of suited salarymen in the private room who keep disappearing outside for cigarettes, to the chagrin of the chef. There is one compulsory multi-course menu determined by what is in season and what can be found at the market that day. Yasuo Kawada came to prominence after competing in Japan’s version of Iron Chef and later TV program Jonetsu Tairiku. His previous restaurant, Kaiseki Tsuruko, was awarded two Michelin stars before closing its doors in 2018, reopening in late 2019 and duly renamed. With the famous Omicho market barely a few minutes' walk away, Kawada sources all his ingredients from the most trustworthy brokers with whom he has established long-term relationships, buying according to how he feels on the day. Kawada refreshingly shuns the solemnity of some of Japan’s chef-cum-gods, chatty and amiable, cracking jokes along the way to create a relaxed atmosphere. He’s here to entertain, not just cook. Readers should note that neither Kawada nor his assistant speak English. That does not seem to prevent you from reserving a seat, though just bear that in mind and maybe see if you can go with a Japanese speaker. It's worth it. The food is wonderful. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table: Kanazawa Setsuri, Kanazawa , Japan, April 2024 -- NUMBER FIVE: GYO-KAIJIN, KANAZAWA The Food: Assorted sashimi platter: sea urchin, squid, sea bream, tuna and king prawn Blackthroat sea perch (nodoguro) with bonito flakes Rice bran-pickled blowfish ovaries Avocado with akegarashi mustard miso Sauteed maitake and fried dried young sardines salad Diced Noto pork cooked in Kagabocha tea Figs with cream cheese The Wines: Azuma Sake Brewery SEVEN Shinsen Junmai Ginjo Nama 91 Kiyoto Sake Brewery Kachikoma Junmai 95 Fumigiku Sake Brewery Haneya Shine Limited Namagenshu 94 By the time you read this Vinous Table, my end-of-year review will be in the rearview mirror. This restaurant was the one I chose as my favorite meal of 2023, and it won simply because of the unsurpassed elation that the food and the place elicited. This is the place that I want to return to more than any other in Japan. What caused my euphoria? Cuisine aside, maybe it is partly because I enter with modest expectations. After all, it is a last-minute booking, having consulted the hotel receptionist in Kanazawa. I was not seeking the city’s best restaurant, but rather, if she could recommend anywhere half-decent within walking distance. It is also partly due to the restaurant’s lack of pretension, a virtue that appeals more and more, perhaps reflecting a more general move away from fussy gastronomy. Gyo-kaijin is down-to-earth without a trace of pomposity. Décor is no different to Japan’s countless local bars and izakayas: a wooden interior with bare varnished tables, a counter with a dozen or so seats overlooking a typically small but functional kitchen. I am instantly struck by the lively atmosphere, clusters of office workers loosening their ties, enjoying frothing beer and grub. As they become louder and crimson-cheeked, I wonder if they appreciate the quality of the food or whether they are inured to its excellence. Greatest hits from Billy Joel and Cindy Lauper play in the background as I take a ringside seat to watch the team of young, casually attired chefs in black t-shirts work together as a well-oiled machine under the discrete direction of the laconic but friendly head chef. Ornately-decorated, brightly-colored lacquerware from the Kutani-yaki pottery is neatly piled in columns along the counter. The menu is presented and, without asking, is offered in both English and Japanese, each with useful illustrations of every dish. Perhaps it gives the false impression that Gyo-kaijin is a step down in terms of culinary excellence, a mistake that many make coming to the country. “This is a restaurant where cool adults gather to have a ‘gorgeous feast’ in Kanazawa,” reads the menu’s introduction. I’m not sure about “cool adults”. But “gorgeous feast” is spot on. --Neal Martin, Vinous Table: Gyo-kaijin, Kanazawa , Japan, April 2024 To read more about Neal's dining experiences, check out all the Vinous Tables on Vinous now.