Taste of Japan

I went to a traditional Japanese restaurant with a Japanese friend who was a foreign exchange student in San Mateo in the early 70s. We sat on chairs like stadium seats: backs by no legs. The floor was sunken and you can dangle your legs down while you sit at a low table. I asked whether this style was just for me and she said, no, she also finds sitting flat on a tatami mat VERY uncomfortable. Whew! It's just not me! Most restaurants are Western style with regular tables.

The lunch was a multi-course affair, served by a kimono-clad waitress. We were in a private room with a sliding rice-paper door. We started with sashimi which was followed by wonderful small dishes of:

cooked spinach with mushrooms
tempura of asparagus/mushrooms/radish
fried balls of sweet potato
small slices of roast beef with potato salad and crab
slices of fish
crunchy berries like small crab apples
salty-sour clams
miso soup
taro squares
green tea soup served with a special prayer by the waitress
dessert: sweet squares of gelatin with a sweet sauce

All the dishes were just a few bites, each served with special sauces/salts. Everything is so perfect, each dish with a little leaf, a berry, a sauce served with the tiniest of spoons...such grace and beauty everywhere. A treat for the senses. I forgot my camera, but my friend took pictures and said she'd send them...soon. I'll post them next time.