Amid Arashiyama's lush, green bamboo forests, this quiet retreat serves one of the finest meals of yudofu (cubes of bean curd simmered in broth) in Kyoto. The meal, which is the same for lunch and dinner, includes such local delicacies as tempura and aburage (deep-fried tofu) with black sesame seeds and seasonally changing dishes. At the sunken counter, waitresses in kimonos prepare the meal in front of you -- with a backdrop of antique wood-block prints on folding screens -- or you can walk through the garden to private, Japanese-style rooms in the back. If weather permits, you can dine on low tables in the courtyard garden beneath towering bamboo. Reservations are a good idea year-round, and particularly during fall foliage season, when the maple trees of Arashiyama are stunning. Arrive before 5:30 for dinner in the tatami rooms, before 6:30 for counter service.
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