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Sea bream salt-fermented; whiting tossed with masago; small sea bream sushi with egg-yolk vinegar; Kakinomoto chrysanthemum; smoked salmon kinuta-maki; yam bulbils salt-steamed

These are the appetizers. For the sea bream shiokara: live shrimp are quickly rinsed just enough to remove any scum, arranged alternately with udo…

Bamboo shoot rolled with duck loin, double-battered roll with a stream-like pattern, fresh yuba with sea urchin sauce, ball-shaped fugu sushi, pine-needle skewer

In the Nikko area, New Year's osechi always includes three things — a soft sweet red-bean jelly, fresh yuba, and a simmered dish of grated daikon…

Seaweed fish cake, Murakami beef Echigo-style grilled, pressed-sugar confection, miso-glazed sponge gourd, Sado-style steamed jidori chicken

Seared autumn sea bream pressed sushi, sweet-vinegar red turnip pickle, lily bulb autumn-foliage mound, "dead-wood" burdock, sudachi-shell cup with salted fish and jelly, lotus root with sea cucumber entrails, oyster fish-paste dumpling, ginkgo nuts on pine-needle skewers

Summer Duck Yawata-Maki, and More

For the appetizer's summer duck Yawata-maki — a burdock roll named for Yawata in Kyoto — to cut the summer duck into string-like strips it works well…

Karasumi Mochi, Stuffed Lotus Root, Conger Eel Yawata-Age, Young Ayu Deep-Fried with Kinome, Tara-no-Me Wrapped and Deep-Fried

This is the second of the seasonal vegetable courses. For the karasumi mochi, house-made karasumi is sandwiched between mochi, coated in batter, and…

Kasugo Sea Bream with Okara, Issun Fava Beans Simmered in Syrup, Maki-Grade Prawn Umani, and More

As for the appetizer, kasugo sea bream with okara: the kasugo is filleted into three pieces, lightly salted, and marinated in a yuan-ji marinade…

Grilled Matsutake Steeped in Chrysanthemum Petals, Uruka-Dressed Dish, Autumn Fruits Set in Amber Jelly, and More

For the dish dressed with uruka (fermented sweetfish innards), the coating is made by desalting ayu uruka and pressing it through a sieve, then…

Mountain yam and black sesame terrine

Steamed abalone, white taro stem, and trefoil stem tossed with peanuts

Steamed abalone with white taro stem and stem mitsuba tossed with peanuts is designed to be mixed together by the guest's own hand. The abalone liver…

Leaf-cut whiting, apple gratin, aigamo duck brocade-style grilled

For the crab apple gratin, deep-frying the apple whole first makes the skin easy to peel off by hand afterward, and it holds its shape well when…

Nanban-Grilled Aigamo Duck

For the nanban-grilled duck — a crossbred domestic duck — the boned duck meat is sliced, lightly marinated in a seasoned dashi blend for 5-6 minutes…

Young sweetfish with okara, conger eel sleeve-shaped sushi, stuffed grilled bamboo shoot, fava bean and sea urchin fritter, lily-bulb petals

Sakura-chaya was founded in Showa 8 — 1933 — and is the third-oldest established ryotei, a traditional Japanese restaurant, in Mukojima, a district…

Persimmon with Yuzu Miso

Whiting and Kombu Layers, Ball-Shaped Kuruma Prawn with Lantern-Style Dressing, Two-Tone Asparagus Jelly, Baby Turban Shell in a Kneaded Fermented Bonito Dressing, Cherry Salmon and Hosta Shoot Roll

For the appetizer's whiting and kombu layers: fillet the whiting into three pieces, salt it, and rinse it in seasoned vinegar. Then layer it with a…

Salt-Steamed Abalone, Tosa-Marinated Herring-Roe Kelp Wrapped in White-Silk Yam, Kamaboko Molded with Salmon Milt, Black Rice and Squid Rice, Deep-Fried Megisu with Red Yukari, Simply Grilled Amagi Shiitake with Salmon Roe, Mukago and Tonburi Terrine, Spaghetti Squash and Pine Nuts in a Momiji-Style Dressing

For the Tosa-marinated herring-roe kelp wrapped in white-silk yam, I cut the mountain yam with a knife, soak it in a light alum-salt solution for…

Rolled Nishiki Vegetables

The sesame jelly: season sesame ponzu with olive oil and yuzu-kosho, set with gelatin, then pound firm enough for chopsticks.

Beef Tongue Miso Pickle

For the beef tongue miso pickle, we simmer the beef tongue in a pot for about one to two hours, adding inexpensive beer to make it tender, and then…

Small abalone dressed with its own liver, fragrant grilled eel, miso-marinated tomatoes, Daikoku shimeji mushroom crisps, sugar-glazed apple

This is an appetizer course. For the small abalone dressed with its own liver, the abalone is simmered, its innards pressed through a fine sieve, and…

Tilefish Kombu-Cured Red-and-White Namasu, 'Treasure of Children' Shrimp Shinjo, Gourd-Shaped Castella, and More

For tilefish kombu-cured namasu, we kelp-cure the tilefish and serve it namasu-style with white tosazu and grated apple. For 'treasure of children'…

Sakura okra jelly terrine, checkerboard Agu pork, twisted-rein sushi with ruby snapper and bitter melon, and more

For the sakura okra jelly terrine, gelatin is bloomed for about 15 minutes and seasoned with sake, light soy sauce, and mirin; about 400cc is warmed…

Freshly scooped yuba, mini tomato cured in saikyo miso, whiting sushi wrapped in bamboo leaf, deep-fried Manganji pepper steeped in dashi, conger eel rolled around burdock

First are the appetizers. The kumiage yuba — tofu skin freshly scooped from the vat — is loosened and served with a light sauce poured over it. On…

Ginkgo Nut Tofu

Herring and roe pickled together, Naruto-style conger eel nanban-zuke, small sea bream double-fillet grilled, matcha deep-fried lotus root, herb-steamed free-range chicken

The herring oyako-zuke among the appetizers: the herring is first thoroughly bled and rinsed in water to wash off excess fat, then a strong salt cure…