Some of us are quite happy with the dollar menu from any fast food offering, while others enjoy splurging on fine dining for special occasions. If you’re a foodie you may choose to indulge in a fine dining experience on a regular basis instead of just special occasions. Taken a step further, there is an elite group of people in this world that are able to partake in the world’s most luxurious and expensive restaurants that make our once a year splurges look like fast food. We are going to take a look at five of the most expensive restaurants in Japan that are sure to get your senses going.
Misoguigawa
This majestic dining experience features food with a Japanese twist; their food “harmonizes the French spirit and local culture.” Uniquely, it is located in a former ceremony house that served tea in Kyoto, and has been preparing French food since 1981. Misoguigawa serves an eight-course menu that will cost you at least $160. A showier version of this multi-course experience costs $270, and must be ordered at least five days in advance. Some of the more expensive dishes are the filet, soufflés made with potatoes, buttered beans, and roasted pumpkin. For dessert, there is a chocolate dream with seasonal berries in cream sauce. Misoguigawa features a number of private rooms for events or you can simply enjoy an amazing dining experience.
Beige
Beige sits on the very top of the Chanel building in Tokyo’s Ginza neighborhood. It houses famed chef Alain Ducasse, who was given a lifetime achievement award in 2013. Ducasse’s restaurants, cooking schools, cookbooks and consulting activities had revenues of around $15 million in 2002, and have increased greatly since. Beige also offers French food with Japanese ingredients. You can enjoy a three course menu for $147 or a four course menu for $190. Afterwards, you’ll receive a Chanel button-shaped chocolate costing $25 each.
Aragawa
Forbes rated Aragawa the “World’s Most Expensive Restaurant” in 2006. It still remains in the top five these days and is still well-worth its honor. You’ll find it at the end of a long hallway in the basement of an office building. It uniquely can only seat 22 people. This restaurant’s location and limited seating is testament to its exclusivity. It’s known its Kobe beef, and they also serve smoked salmon and Sanda Beefsteak which is a particular specialty since the animal must meet certain criteria of “prize cattle” only. Just to boil, it takes ten different steps. Not including beverages, a prix fixe menu cost around $341 per person and worth it if you can afford it.
Kitcho
Famed for its Kaiseki, which is considered to be one of the country’s best, Kitcho is the most expensive 3 star Michelin dining in the world (a spot it shares with Masa restaurant, which also specializes in the same cuisine). Award-winning executive chef Kunio Tokuoka, whose grandfather Teiichi Yuki founded Kitcho in 1930, is a master of a traditional tea ceremony and Kaiseki. He has maintained Kitcho’s tradition, while finding ways to create innovative food that harmonize with modern times. A meal for two will set you back about $1,200. They have a large private room, faultless service, and of course food prepared with quality ingredients.
Michel Bras Toya
With views of Lake Toya, 228km from Sapporo on Hokkaido’s coast, Toya’s dining room offers French dining with the flare of Japan. Diners can choose from two menus, costing around $285 and $200 per person, complimented by a wine list of over 500 selections. Creative cooking techniques are applied to Hokkaido’s local food to create meals that match originals served in southern France. But Toya’s equivalent still maintains its differences with unique food that illustrates the coming together of two flavors flavors, such as snails from Bourgogne, carrot jus and kohlrabi, combined with young sorrel.
These restaurants have award-winning chefs who create the most coveted dishes in Japan, and bring a whole new meaning to food for the soul. There is a culture unlike anything you’ve ever seen; making you want to go there and try everything. These experiences are grand, yet intimate. They are bold, yet innocent. It will all cost you the prettiest of pennies, but somehow we would go at the drop of a hat if we could. And if you ever get an opportunity to indulge in such opulence – enjoy it thoroughly and savor every bite!
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