Kakusho

This ryotei in Takayama is literally the oldest restaurant in Gifu Prefecture, with 250 years up their sleeve. For 200 years of its existence, it has been maintained by the same family over the course of 12 generations — that’s something to take pride in. Kakusho is designated as a Cultural Property with a copy of its oldest menu preserved at the Takayama Local Museum. The space of this restaurant is approximately 400 square meters with the main building in the center with a pond, surrounded by luscious green gardens. On the property, there are also traditionally designed reception rooms as well as tea rooms, complete with tatami mats and all. While the architectural beauty is stunning, so is the traditional Japanese cuisine that they serve. It’s no ordinary kaiseki — it’s a vegetarian kaiseki based on the shojin ryori (Buddhist cuisine). Every dish from the five to twenty-meal courses consist of more than just the average vegetarian ingredients like tofu and bean paste. And Kakusho’s vegetarian kaiseki puts just as much effort into presentation than they do in taste, which is nothing but the finest. Look out for the dish, called “ikemorinamasu,” that will stimulate your taste buds with its matcha bean jelly, rock tripe, and daikon.