Ryotei Kawabun Nagoya

Founded in the Edo period when Nagoya Castle was built and the city's merchants relocated to the new checkerboard-plan town, Kawabun began as the fish business of Kawachiya Bunzaemon, who became a caterer to the Owari Tokugawa clan and built what survives as Nagoya's oldest restaurant. The main building, from its outer gate to the great hall, is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property, and the courtyard pond Mizukagami and garden Nagare Toko no Niwa were designed by noted architect Yoshiro Taniguchi. Guests dine in one of several private rooms, a teahouse, or at a counter where they can watch the chefs at work, choosing between kaiseki courses for lunch and dinner built around seasonal seafood and mountain vegetables.