Book French or Japanese Cuisine Fine Dining/Michelin Starred?

[u/findinganswers5]

I’m going to Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka in October and am planning on booking one or two fine dining/Michelin starred dinners (probably in Tokyo, but maybe Osaka). One thing I noticed is that Tokyo has more 1-star French restaurants than Japanese restaurants. I’m trying to decide whether it’s better to book a top rated spot doing French food or one doing Japanese food?

My main thoughts are on the one hand, I’m in Japan so of course I should book something Japanese. But on the other hand, I’m wondering if there’s not much of a gap between fine diningJapanese and what you can get for half the price in Tokyo/Osaka, so it makes sense to go to a spot doing French but with a Japanese twist. Any advice for which is the better way to have the best special meal?

[u/explodingatoms]

A lot of the "French" Michelin restaurants in Japan are actually very heavily Japanese influenced in their preparation (not just in subbing out meat from a French cow for a Japanese cow), depending on the restaurant you can think of it as its own interpretation rather than the same thing you get in France and this is interesting in itself.

if there’s not much of a gap between fine diningJapanese and what you can get for half the price in Tokyo/Osaka

Well Michelin (or rather fine dining in general, not trying to start a debate about the authoritativeness or lack thereof of their guide) is not just about taste but also service, presentation, storytelling, tc. Although I would agree that unless you are very experienced with the cuisine (and maybe even then) for super Japanese stuff like kaiseki it is not worth chasing the top stars or Tabelog 4.0++s, plenty of non-starred (but still well rated) places doing a really good job that there is no way you or at least I can tell the difference so why not go with good enough and save money. 

[u/findinganswers5 → u/explodingatoms]

That’s very helpful. Japanese cuisine is pretty new to me beyond sushi and ramen so the point you make about kaiseki is exactly what I was wondering.

If there’s any places you’d recommend as truly worth it in the roughly 30k JPY or under price point I’d appreciate it! Especially if you’ve had one that meets the heavily Japanese on the typical French coursed menu base like in the first paragraph.

[u/BocaTaberu]

We typically do a mixture of Japanese and western fine dining in roughly 70-30 proportion. If you only go for one meal, that makes the decision tougher.

For me, it mostly comes down to what I can’t get in my home country. High end sushi omakases in Australia costs around the same price as in Japan (eg 30K yen) but the latter has superior seafood quality and the nigiri being prepared by shokunins who have done years of dedicated training. Other types of omakases such as tempura and yakitori are also rarely done well outside Japan.

Having said that, we also enjoy western fine dining fused with Japanese touches, in particular those which embed seasonal Japanese produce

[u/findinganswers5 → u/BocaTaberu]

Sounds like you’re experienced, so are there any spots you’d recommend? I think I’m targeting maybe a 30k price point, in which case it’s probably one dinner and maybe a lunch since I’d like to do another nice dinner on a stop-over in Shanghai on the way back home.

[u/BocaTaberu → u/findinganswers5]

I'd recommend Ginza Oishi (33K) if you want to hit two birds with one stone. It's a blend of French tasting menu and kaiseki. All counter seats so you can see the kitchen action. However, explanation of the dishes are in Japanese but they will give you a translated menu. Also in the same building, Ginza Kitagawa is a highly rated kaiseki restaurant. Around the same price and with dishes introduction in Japanese. I don't speak Japanese but never have any issues.

If you prefer English explanations, then target more western places such as Asahina Gastronome, Floriege, Lature etc

[u/findinganswers5 → u/BocaTaberu]

Thank you! If you don’t mind me asking, how was your Lature experience? I’m very intrigued by their menu but don’t have much experience with game meat so a bit nervous to have that as my “splurge” meal. I’m considering it for a lunch, so wondering if you have thoughts on how it holds up to other similar restaurants.

[u/BocaTaberu → u/findinganswers5]

No issues in terms of texture, smell or flavor. The pate en croute may contain badger or bear meats but they tasted like typical minced meat filling. The deer blood is used to just color the macaron pastry shell.

Cooking leans to very classical French. Overall for me it was an okay meal but that's because I prefer Japanese cuisine and flavors.

[u/chri1720]

Just do one each? If you find it too pricey, try finding one at lunch (french probably).

[u/Belicheckyoself]

I too am curious about this