A dinner with Kurosawa

Apparently, Japanese film-maker Akira Kurosawa was not only a world-renowned cinema director, but also an expert in the culinary arts.
I have learnt this during my last visit to Tokyo (so many nice things happened during that trip, did you notice it?), when two friends were kind enough to bring me out for dinner in one the four (!) Kurosawa restaurants in town.
There are, as a matter of fact, four different places where you can eat Kurosawa’s favourite food: Nagatacho Kurosawa (named after its pristine location, specialized in shabu-shabu), Teppanyaki Kurosawa (where they serve grilled fare on hot plates), Keyaki Kurosawa (specialized in buckwheat noodles) and Udon Kurosawa (specialized in wheat noodles). To cut a long story short, it is clear that Kurosawa was a real "Buongustaio", as we say in Italian. Since I am always looking for cinematic experiences that go beyond cinema and since I am a huge fan of Japanese food, I was particularly happy to try the Nagatacho Kurosawa restaurant in a lovely autumn evening:

The incredible thing about this place is that you really have the feeling of going back to the Edo Period: the restaurant has been designed “to evoke the image of samurai living and eating among the patrons”, as their brochure explain, and they’re quite right about it.
At the entrance, a picture of Kurosawa is welcoming the guests: 

And everywhere in the restaurant, both in the Soba Noodle Corner:

 

as well as in the Japanese Rooms:

posters of his movies give you the feeling of being on a film set or that Kurosawa himself could arrive at any moment to point out his favourite plates...

 

 

Since my friends had shabu-shabu at home the previous night (but unfortunately I wasn’t with them!), we decided to avoid the "special" of the place and to try other kind of dishes. 
In the end I was so happy we opted for this other option, because I had so many delicious, unforgettable things during that dinner. I can’t name them, so don’t ask, but have a look, readers, and let me know if you don’t feel like taking a plane to Tokyo right now just to try them as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was in love even with the little ikebana I found in the restrooms (I'm hopeless, I know):

All this to let you know that being a cinema freak does not only mean spending hours in dark places or visiting cemeteries, but sometimes also means having great dinners in amazing places. 
Kurosawa docet!