Sure beats Benihana

[Note for those who don't get the reference in the title: Benihana is a cheesy Japanese restaurant where they playfully cook the food at your table in a manner that, according to my Japanese colleagues, is not even remotely Japanese. Naturally, it's many Americans' first exposure to Japanese food, and I include myself in that category.]

Continuing my string of recent good food, today for lunch me and my man-purse went to a Japanese restaurant (shocking, I know) in Ginza because they at least had pictures on the menu (probably at least 90% of the restaurants here only have menus in Japanese, so pictures are a huge help). It ended up being one of those multi-course meals (they call it kaiseki) with tons of tiny, beautifully presented courses. Most of the courses I truly had no idea what I was eating, although if I could narrow it down to fish or vegetable I figured I was doing OK. It started with a broth that had noodles and fish, along with tofu with a dollop of wasabi soaking in a sweet sauce (top left). Then they brought three stacked boxes that included all manner of interesting vegetables, grilled fish and sushi (top right). Then a soup with barley and seaweed, an assortment of vinegared vegetables, and tea (bottom left). Finally, ice cream and more tea (bottom right) (it was Japanese green tea, which unlike most green teas is supposed to have outrageous amounts of caffeine...I'll find out whether or not that's true tonight when I try to get to sleep). Now I have to hope I get my appetite back in time to meet my friend Jun at a tempura restaurant tonight...