• 5
• Fantastic Intimate Lunch Experience in Nara

With the help of Googlemaps, my girlfriend and I made it to Kinatei from Nara Park - a good half hour walk under a hot sun, with lots of twists and turns. Our effort was rewarded with a delectable lunch set cooked up by Yoshiko, the resident chef. The multi-course meal included miso soup and rice, a spread of 4 small dishes, tea and fruit for dessert, for 1500 Yen each. The meal was artfully prepared, the ingredients organic and carefully selected. Yoshiko speaks excellent English, and as were had the place to ourselves, she provided great conversation as well. The icing on the proverbial red bean cake was her offer to drop us back at Nara Park to visit the big attraction, Todai-ji, which we were saving until after lunch. What would have been a very long trek back instead became a pleasant stroll in her car, stopping en route to feed some deer the compost scraps from our meal. A truly top-notch experience all around. While it might be the only veggie spot in town, I'd highly recommend it on it's own merits for being one of the best meals we've had in Japan!