1 Best Restaurant in The Japan Alps and the North Chubu Coast, Japan

This restaurant is famous for its vegetarian shojin ryori (temple food), which it serves up in a 200-year-old building south of the Higashiyama temple area. Set menus change with the seasons and aren't always fully vegetarian; they can include salt-grilled river fish, crispy tempura, handmade soba noodles, or tofu chilled in ice-cold Takayama water. The 12th-generation owner, the English-speaking Sumitake-san, can explain what all the dishes are. You need to book in advance and might want to dress up a bit.