HOTEL LiVEMAX Korakuen

Experimentation with new flavours blows winds of innovation into Japanese cuisine. The chef’s purview extends to Western ingredients such as truffle and caviar. Reverence for dashi, however, keeps his dishes within the bounds of Japanese cuisine. The chef treads a unique path, weaving creativity and Western flamboyance into Japanese fare. The counter seats are always fully booked but, with luck, a cancellation might make the private dining room available.

Amid the refinement of a dignified tea arbour, the chef cooks with sincere devotion. His attentiveness derives from his early work at a ryotei, where he was a doorman in charge of footwear. Tanimoto’s forte is charcoal grilling, preparing each ingredient with the strictest attention. The meal ends with a generous lineup of various rice dishes including, white rice, takikomi-gohan and chazuke, followed by tea poured by the chef himself. The spirit of graceful service brings satisfaction to the depths of the soul.

‘Fushikino’ is a mashup of two words, one referring to a Zen phrase, and the other meaning ‘mysterious’. Together, they suggest things that never before existed. The restaurant’s aim is to create something unprecedented, an unexpected culinary experience made possible through the trinity of food, sake and utensils. The menu lists familiar items of Japanese cuisine, but one-of-a-kind touches manifest in subtle details, such as onion soy sauce and aged ponzu sauce. Drink pairings of one cup per dish, served in sake cups lovingly produced by modern artists, are an entertaining grace note.

Rooted in the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine, the chef brings individuality to simple presentations. Ingredients arrive from his native Nagano. Sarashina soba from Matsumoto is paired with seasonal produce, while Koshihikari rice from northern Nagano is prepared as takikomi-gohan. The meal concludes with a tomewan, a closing soup, enriched with Shinshu miso. The restaurant’s name is the credo his mentor left him, to cook with ‘simple honesty’, an approach that shines through in every dish.

Having been born and raised overseas, the chef chose the path of the sushi artisan out of a desire to work in a field that involves Japan’s traditions and culture. Among the appetisers, standard items include simmered monkfish liver and steamed abalone. Sushi toppings start with the subtler flavours and proceed to bolder ones, paired with white-vinegar or red-vinegar sushi rice according to topping. Pioneering directions in modern sushi include squid glazed with salt water mixed with white birch sap and conger eel paired with an herbal liquor reduction.

The name ‘L’ÉTERRE’ is a mashup of two French words: ‘l’éterne’ meaning ‘eternity’, and ‘la terre’ meaning ‘the earth’. It encapsulates the restaurant’s determination never to stop gathering the bounty of the earth and crafting delicious cuisine from it. Japan is a country surrounded by sea, and L’ÉTERRE makes full use of this, focusing on seafood dishes. Vegetables and meat highlight the abundance of their terroirs, grilled sometimes over charcoal or firewood, sometimes over straw. Time-honoured cooking methods are eternal as well.

Watabe was founded as a fishmonger but morphed into a restaurant when it became known for the delicious eel the owner grilled at his shop. ‘Enma-ju’, which features both shirayaki, eel grilled without seasoning, and kabayaki, eel dipped and broiled in sweet sauce, served over rice in a box, is a tribute to Konnyaku-Enma, a deity enshrined in nearby Genkaku-ji Temple. In the evening, the menu takes on a distinctly French cast, with items such as terrine of kabayaki and foie gras and smoked eel with Brie de Meaux cheese. Eel cuisine Watabe style, with foundations in French cuisine, is the aim he