Itosho

Unclaimed

Wonderful experience. Our own booth and a million different tastes and textures. The owner who I believe I got his name right "Hiro Itosho" (sorry if that is incorrect) explained the restaurant was 39 years old in tradition. Very friendly, was great, especially as being Vegan it was a lot of different dishes we have never seen, smelt or dared eaten before. Lovely time and recommended. However, I must point out that it is expensive. The experience is well worth it and we don't regret it but it's fair warning to anyone planning to go we paid roughly 10k yen per person.

Wonderful place to experience once. The chef was so gentle he served us with warmth. He served us each dish with good amount of interval. We selected 10000¥ course at the end we were so full, but my kids enjoyed the entire course.

Classic to the region (Hida Takayama) but pleasantly different from the normal Kyoto style Shojin cuisine. There were quite a few sweet meal dishes. Gourmet take on rural cooking?

Itosho was an unparalleled experience for us as vegetarians. As soon as we walked in, the presence of the place felt powerful. The food was really delicious and simple with pure flavours. Simole things like a spinach dish tasted exquisite with the right balance of flavours, and we could experience each of the flavours breaking down in our mouths. The food was clearly made with so much attention as it brought about the full taste of the ingredients. The service was attentive and generous and the atmosphere was zen given it accommodates only a few people. All of this allowed us to experience and appreciate the food with our full minds and hearts.

I have been to many shojin-ryori in Japan, and Itosho has always been the first place I bring my visitors to when they want to try vegetarian food. The food is not as elaborate as some other shojin-ryori venues, which tend to be more kaiseki (haute cuisine). Itosho retains the essence of Buddhist temple cooking, which emphasises simplicity and harmony. Check out my article @zenflaneur