Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Global Traditions
198
Hyotei
The Zen Art of Kaiseki
Kyoto
Of course there are restaurants in Tokyo
that are happy to oblige you with a formal
kaiseki meal. But if you seek the ultimate
kaiseki experience, head for Kyoto, Japan's
beautiful and gracious former capital. It's
where you'll find the most traditional kai-
seki restaurants, the ones that raised tea-
ceremony dining to an art form. Of all the
kaiseki spots in Kyoto, none is more vener-
able than Hyotei. Founded over 300 years
ago as a teahouse for pilgrims visiting Nan-
zenji Temple, it has become a veritable
shrine itself, serving a meal that's well
worth the thousands of yen it will cost you.
Originally, kaiseki meals were supposed
to be simple vegetarian repasts, served
before the austere rituals of the tea cere-
mony. But over the centuries, Kyoto's
aristocratic classes began to elaborate on
this meal, adding more and more ele-
ments of court ritual, until kaiseki became
an intricate procession of dishes, each
with its own special vessel, to be pre-
sented in a certain manner. While the
forms of kaiseki are tightly prescribed by
custom, within those boundaries kaiseki
cooks are challenged to be creative, using
only the most seasonal ingredients and
coming up with ever more artful ways to
garnish, sculpt, and arrange each portion.
When you arrive for your kaiseki meal,
you'll be led to one of several separate tiny
houses set around a beautiful formal gar-
den with a pond, maple trees, and bushes.
(The oldest of these houses is more than
3 centuries old.) You'll dine seated on a
tatami floor in a private room, where
kimono-clad women will bring the food to
you. You may be surprised to see how
small each portion is, for kaiseki isn't about
gorging yourself. It's about the beauty of
how each dish is presented, and about
subtle preparations that make you experi-
ence food with all your senses—fragrant
soups, silky sashimi, grilled or sizzled mor-
sels of meat and fish, crisply steamed nug-
gets of vegetable or tofu, tangy pickled
vegetables, a perfectly ripe mouthful of
fruit. You'll find yourself drawn into the
ritual, watching eagerly as each lidded
bowl or lacquered box is presented to you
like a precious gift.
Reservations are required; the kaiseki
lunches are slightly less expensive than
the dinners, though both have price tags
over $200. Hyotei also has an annex, or
bekkan,
serving seasonal obento lunches,
served in traditional lacquered boxes in a
communal tatami room with views of a
garden. Those are a wonderful experience
too, but they're nowhere as extraordinary
as the kaiseki.
35 Kusakawa-cho, Nanzenji (
&
81/
75/771-4116;
www.igougo.com/dining-
reviews-b109337-Kyoto-Hyotei.html).
0
Kyoto, 2
1
/
2
hr. from Tokyo, 75 min.
from Kansai International Airport.
L
$$$
ANA Hotel Kyoto,
Nijojo-mae,
Horikawa Dori, Nakagyo-ku (
&
800/ANA-
HOTELS
in the U.S. and Canada, or
81/75/231-1155; www.anahotels.com). $
Matsubaya Ryokan,
Higashinotouin
Nishi, Kamijuzuyamachi Dori, Shimogyo-ku
(
&
61/75/351-3727
or 61/75/351-4268;
www.matsubayainn.com).
