Rokujo Kawarain San

Rokujo Kawarain San, sometimes known simply as Washoku San, exemplifies kaiseki dining at its best. Limited menu items and special events characterize the chef’s approach to the kaiseki culinary form. The operators’ fondness for traditional Japanese aesthetic is clearly evident in the restaurant’s tea-room style decor and collection of antique servingware, all of which pay faint homage to the literary work the Tale of Genji. Like its menu, which creates a dialogue between contemporary fine dining and classical washoku, the bowls and dishes used at San come from both the Edo period and contemporary artisans. Echoing the historic flow of produce, meat and seafood from all corners of Japan into the old capital, Rokujo Kawarain San’s chef sources his ingredients from all over the country as well. Visitors to the restaurant can expect to find rare and expensive delicacies like hagakure-suppon soft-shelled turtle from Saga Prefecture, or the signature Tajima beef from Hyogo. In the winter, the chef treats guests to the highly-prized Taiza snow crab, so rare it has earned the moniker “phantom crab”.