Kobikicho Ono

During the day, Ono operates a humble, rustic tea room that serves exquisite wagashi tea sweets and delicious teas. Gracious hosts guide visitors through sado, or tea ceremony, instructing each guest on the proper rituals of stirring, teaware admiring, and so on. When the streetlights blink to life however, practiced hands get to work assembling a historical form of kaiseki that is rare even among Japan’s most premium venues. To call Ono a hidden gourmet paradise is to understate its nature: from the outside, the building itself is almost indistinguishable from a regular home, with its cobbled path and thick foliage. Only the humble noren draped over the entry gives any indication as to its true purpose. Inside, diners are greeted with refinement practiced over decades. Successive small but elegant course dishes are served to guests sitting seiza (for as long as they can stand) on keenly kept tatami. The kimono-clad hosts only seat one group a night, offering a chance for lucky visitors to taste a side of Japan that is nearly lost to time.