Damn! that was good.

A few nights ago we stayed at a nice western/Japanese hotel near the bathhouse where emperors of Japan have bathed when they’re in town for over 2,000 years.

Had a lovely meal. Here’s what we had:

Appetizer was the most incredible tofu Jess and I have ever eaten (except perhaps for the tofu we ate in Takayama two weeks ago - more on that later). It’s on the left. Made from sesame seeds rather than soybean. Silky smooth and nutty sweetish.

Soup with pickled spring ferns and pickled cherry blossom. Very very light broth.

Sashimi with prawn. The tuna and yellowtail were delicious but standard. One item had a more chewy squid or abalone texture but was sweet. The prawn, though disconcerting bc raw, was super fresh and remarkably sweet. It’s tail was the color of a rainbow.

Local cherry blossom sake on ice.

...

Clay pot of spring vegetables including ‘butter root’, fiddle ferns, mugwort and a mushroom with a star carved in its cap - for David eating vegan. For Jess and Willa Marie: Wagu beef. Tender and cooked to our own specifications by us. [sorry no pics only video and too ‘heavy’ to send right now]

Perhaps the best eggplant we’ve ever had. Char grilled in a miso broth with pine nuts. Super smooth with lightly crisped edges.

Vegetable tempura with spiced dipping salt.

‘Fuko’ - blowfish tempura. Poisonous if raw, delectable if cooked. Flakey whitefish reminiscent of catfish served with a spicy tempura’d pepper.

Finish with a sweet orange. Amazing start to finish!

Sakurajaya

And while we're on the topic of food we MUST mention Sakurajaya in Takayama

This is a small restaurant in the little town of Takayama we stayed in for a almost two weeks. Jess-I shoulda-been-a-travel-booking-agent-Thebus found it. We loved it. We went twice and would've gone again if we didn't feel we needed to give the other restaurants in town a chance.

It's run by a guy in his thirties from Takayama but who was trained to cook in Bavaria. He and his 80 year old mother staff it.

In a town of preserved wood homes and temples hundreds of years old and full of gawking Japanese visitors it can be found in the new, empty warehouse district where I also found a rock climbing gym.

Four beautiful big wood tables and a long ancient wood counter where you can watch the chef cook.

The bathroom and behind the bar house his collection of 1980s Japanese Transformer and Ultraman toys.

In a country of exquisite plating and food arranging skills this guy stands out as a master and was a pleasure to watch work.

Now THIS was the best tofu we've ever had. Local, fresh and like eating a cloud of silk. Prepared so simply - just fried so that the impossibly soft inside is covered in light, crisp shell with a perfectly burnt after taste. Literally incredible. Topped with seaweed and served with a side of pickled spring vegetables.

Duck with a light but sharp dipping sauce reminiscent of tempura sauce, boiled yam, onion relish, green beans and lemon (?!). Yes lemon - everything at the place had a kind of dynamic tension between rich/deep flavors and bright/light ones.

Also an amazing simple salad of shredded vegetables, great mushroom tempura, and cold soba noodles with cooked veggies which you constructed yourself at the table.

We wish we could go every week.

- David