As ingredients change with the seasons, so does Ginza Okuda’s menu. In the spring, the courses feature cherry blossoms along with a feast of fresh tairagai (penshell). Charred wild unagi and salt-grilled young sweetfish are signature dishes in the summer. In the fall, barracuda and matsutake mushrooms are wrapped together to look like autumn leaves. Crabs and fugu (pufferfish) become key ingredients in the winter.

The opening hassun plate uses a variety of seasonal ingredients to celebrate the festival of the month. In April, the grated surinagashi soup is made of spring cabbage and fresh onion and garnished with horsetail. Ise-ebi or spiny lobster, wakame seaweed and urui hostas are marinated in dashi. Firefly squid is tossed in mustard vinegar miso. Sakura sushi of young seabream is infused with the aroma of cherry blossoms. Halfbeak and watercress are tossed in a salad.

Grated green beans soup is flavored using a flavorful dashi, made with a specific method that Iizuka has refined over the years. Kinki rockfish is steamed in sake and served with egg tofu, warabi (bracken) and udo (spikenard). The broth is made using Rishiri kombu that is soaked in water and heated at different temperatures to gradually bring out its umami. Freshly-shaved bonito flakes are added to create a clean and elegant flavor.

The assortment of sashimi is served on a beautiful plate with painted cherry blossoms. The chef prepares bite-size pieces of tuna, red sea bream, sea urchin and squid. The fish is served with cherry blossom jelly.

Charcoal-grilled dishes are a specialty here. Spiny lobster and rape blossoms are charred with Saikyo miso for a rich and sweet flavor. The oshinogi is a beautiful rice dish with grilled conger eel and mountain vegetables. The dish is served inside a yuzu citrus where the fruit is hollowed out and used as a little bowl.

The shiizakana, or simmered course, is wagyu shabu-shabu served with flavorful bonito soup. The thin slices of Saga beef sirloin unleash its sweet umami as you bath them gently in the simmering broth.

INGREDIENTS
Fresh seafood and vegetables are sourced from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market, where high quality produce is sent in from all over Japan. In early summer, young sweetfish come from the upper reaches of the Tenryu River in Nagano Prefecture. The sweet Koshihikari rice is grown by Okuda’s friend in Uonuma. For broths and soups, they use TERAQUA, a brand of soft alkaline ionized water from Kagoshima Prefecture.