Kazuya Matsuo focuses on à la carte dishes because he wants his guests to enjoy Japanese cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere. The approach is orthodox yet accented with ingenious touches: tilefish is salted and dried and the scales are scored to make it look like a pinecone before it’s grilled, while the karasumi-mochi usually prepared with dried mullet roe is substituted with marinated walleye pollack roe. Tender-simmered octopus and sea bream takikomi-gohan (seasoned mixed rice) are renowned.

‘A diner you’ll want to visit every day’ is the concept here. Atop Chef Shibata’s  pizza crusts, a culinary exchange goes on every day between the gastronomies of Japan and Italy. The Mayo Corn is an old Japanese standby—a corn and mayonnaise pizza , typical Japanese. Cinque Formaggio uses generous amounts of five different Italian cheeses, while another speciality is an original pizza smothered in toppings stewed the way Shibata learned in Italy. Mix and match for a medley of delightful tastes.

Thin soba and an impressive selection of shuko are offered here. The buckwheat comes from Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture, and is ground on a stone mortar. In homage to his birthplace, owner-chef Kenji Hasegawa buys directly from farmers. The popular Nishoku Soba offers a comparison of two styles, zaru soba (cold soba) and inaka soba. The Kozuyu appetiser is a soup prepared with love for his hometown. Served on Aizu lacquerware, the flavours are simple, honest tastes of vegetables and dashi.

Owner-chef Hanzawa puts great store by the phrase ‘a balanced diet for a healthy body’. Insisting on fresh vegetables, he goes easy on fats and oils. Stir-fried shrimp with daylily buds and black-vinegar pork with root veggies are typical examples. The shop’s signature dish is li mian noodles, with a colour scheme that positively radiates good health. Chlorella, a health food, is kneaded into the noodles, which are combined with green onions and pickled mustard-plant stem for a healthy meal.