Fine dining, Michelin and kaiseki

Tokyo has more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other city. Kaiseki is Japan's multi-course seasonal cuisine — a sequence of small dishes that follows the calendar.

• Lunch sets at starred restaurants often cost a third of dinner
• Kyoto is the home of kaiseki — try it at a ryokan or a restaurant in Gion
• Department-store food halls (depachika) sell kaiseki-quality bento
• Expect a service charge (10–15%) at high-end places, but no tipping