If you’re in Arashiyama for a day (or more), there are three great dining options for lunch – Shigetsu, Unagiya Hirokawa and Hirano-ya. They are very different from each other and I really enjoyed all three. So, depending on your food preferences and available time, at least one of these should tick the boxes.

Shigetsu – Zen Vegetarian (Shojin Ryori)

Shigetsu is a zen buddhist vegetarian dining hall in Tenryu-ji temple. The story goes that it started with the monks cooking meals for visitors. Now it functions almost like a simple restaurant except that you eat like the monks do – on tatami mats in a long dining hall. There are no chairs so you’ll have to be comfortable sitting cross legged on the floor. There are three menu choices, defined by how much food you want. The food is brought to you on a lacquer tray, with the various goodies on individual plates and bowls. This would include at the least a cold dish, hot dish, vegetables, rice, soup, a dessert and green tea.

It’s a great experience – as you get an idea of what a zen vegetarian meal involves as well as a feel of how the monks dine (albeit, they probably have less food). The other benefit of eating at Shigetsu is that it’s convenient if you’re visiting Tenryu-ji and the meal is relatively quick and you should be out the door within forty-five minutes (we took our time with our meal to relax tired feet).

It’s best to make reservations during peak times unless you are coming in at the tail end of the serving time (e.g. 1:30pm – Shigetsu closes at 2pm), when the place has emptied out.

Shigetsu tel. no.: 075-882-9725. Opens daily 11am – 2pm.

Unagiya Hirokawa – Unagi (Grilled/Barbequed Eel)

Hirokawa is a Michelin one-star restaurant, and they do serve very good unagi. The eel is actually fluffy – not like the unagi that we get in Singapore (or in most other countries outside Japan). We ordered unagi donburi (barbequed eel with rice) for each of us, and shared a plate of sirayaki (grilled plain eel – no sauce), hoso umaki (eel rolled in an omelet), and grilled eel fins, which was wonderfully crispy. You can choose the size of the unagi donburi (small, medium, large) and they also have a kid’s portion available. This was all off the a la carte menu. If you’re really hungry, they do have four different course menus available where you can get a tasting of all that they offer.

Hirokawa is also conveniently located just a six minute walk across the road (toward the left) from Tenryu-ji. The restaurant is in a recently built double-story house with tables on the ground floor and private rooms and a counter upstairs. They gave us one of the private rooms – I guess we had booked early (but they did ask for a booking deposit). I’m glad we made the reservation because there was a queue to get into the restaurant when we entered. Just note that service is quick and efficient unless you decide to add an extra item mid-way through. So if you’re in a hurry, try to make sure you order what you want all at once at the beginning.

Hirokawa website: http://www.unagi-hirokawa.jp/english/index.html. The restaurant is closed on Mondays but is otherwise open for lunch (11:30am – 2:30pm) and dinner (5pm – 8pm last order).

Hirano-ya – Traditional Tea House Kaiseki (course meal)

Of the three restaurants, Hirano-ya is probably the most special in feel because this 400+ years old tea house is set among the woods and bamboo up the hill in Arashiyama (further up from the Adashino Nembutsu temple). As you eat, you may hear the cicadas or the tinkle of running water. It’s also a welcome retreat on a hot day.

The tea house comprises of individual private dining rooms. They serve a traditional kaiseki course meal (no a la carte) – meaning you dine on what is being prepared that day. In summer, local specialty Ayu fish is served and in winter, it will probably be yudofu (tofu) along with whatever is seasonal for the day. Alternatively, you could also come here just for tea and its famous shinko dango dessert – sweet rice flour balls served with thick green tea (matcha).

We were here in late June, which means that the Ayu fish (sweetfish) was in season. This was superb. HIrano-ya stores the fish supplied live by fisherman from the nearby Hozu river in a sub-ground tank. So whenever the fish is to be served, the chef reaches down to catch one. The fish was served sashimi style as well as grilled (see main photo for this article).

Also really special is the room we were in, which overlooks a pond as well as the aforementioned fish tank. I presume that if the restaurant is not busy, you will be given this back room. I had made our reservation in advance – having said that the restaurant doesn’t really rely on walk-ins for lunch given its remote location so it was pretty empty. It probably gets more traffic from those looking for a tea break.

For me, the location of Hirano-ya was ideal as it meant I could enjoy a stroll down the hill after lunch to visit the Adashino Nembutsu temple, Okochi Sanso villa, the bamboo groves and other sights on the way back to Arashiyama’s main street. You could take a cab here, unless you’ve decided to walk up but there is also the Arashiyama-Sagano shuttle bus and Kyoto City bus that stops nearby (best to check on details and times with tourist information or your hotel concierge).

Since it’s a kaiseki meal using fine ingredients, the cost of lunch at Hirano-ya is much higher than both Shigetsu and Hirokawa. Our Ayu kaiseki meal cost over JPY15,000 each – it may vary slightly depending on what is seasonal. Having the shinko dango and matcha is a cheaper alternative to experience its surroundings.

Hirano-ya tel.no.: 075-861-0359. Opens 11:30am – 9pm daily.