Food
Ingredients
Kaiseki is a multi-course set meal prepared by the experienced chefs. There is a lot that goes into making kaiseki, but the general idea is that places (mostly ryokans) that offer them, use seasonal ingredients. Kaiseki usually consists of 9 courses, but the mileage can vary! Some places less some more (way more..). Same goes for quantity, some places have a ton of food, some less (but never left hungry).
Kaiseki booking options
- Kaiseki needs to be preordered or included with the booking plan. During the ceck-in it is usually not possible to include it on the same day.
- For buffet style dinner (not kaiseki) this is usually much more flexible (large scale hotel-ryokans tend to offer buffet style more often than not)
- Most ryokans have the option to choose the plan with kaiseki or not (menu not known beforehand, but can try and call/send message before booking to confirm the ingredients.
Buffet style
For many foreigners this is a nice option as it allows to choose which foods to try out. Most of the food is still usually from Japanese cuisine, though depending on the place can also have a varying selection of Western and other types of foods.
Image to the right shows (my) pick for a buffet food at “Kutsurogijuku Shintaki” in Higashiyama Onsen (Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima).
Drinks
- During kaiseki (or any dinner format for that matter), you can get water and tea (green or “mugicha” usually). For other soft drinks and alcohol can order from the drink menu which is usually given (if not can just ask). The beer prices are around 700 +/- 200 yen.
- Can also go for the Japanese sake (nihonshu). The taste is not for everyone, but can be a nice experience to try out (they usually have cold and hot versions of this). In the winter I usually go for the hot one.
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