Like the superb New York Grill 53 floors above it, Yuu-An is one of those rare places that combines food and surroundings in an exhilarating synergy. Quite simply, this restaurant defines the state of the art for Japanese cuisine in the '90s, and its brilliant blending of kaiseki, farmhouse and urban sensibilities offers a convincing foretaste of a Tokyo aesthetic for the next century.

You can treat Yuu-An as either a designer izakaya--a place to drop in and quietly sip on premium nihonshu from around the country while fashioning a meal from the à la carte menu--or you can opt for full-scale immersion in one of the intricate and inventive multi-course dinners (from Y5000 through Y10,000--reserve at least one day in advance).

As with all Japanese restaurants of this caliber, the key concept is shun: the principle that foods should not only be served in their season but that the entire presentation of the meal should reflect this message. Yuu-An's decor is all elemental textures and understated elegance: burnished metal screens, gleaming stone, walls of rural mud and lanterns of paper and bamboo.

Although the menu will change at least four times a year, the top-of-the-line course will encompass a range much like this:

First up, a magnificent platter of appetizers. In true kaiseki style, this is an edible still-life of seasonal accents: in autumn the motifs are the rice harvest, chestnuts and persimmons; in spring, they will be sansai mountain vegetables and bamboo shoots. Next, a delicate, aromatic o-suimono soup, then a mixed sashimi and a huge portion of steamed fish, such as tai kabuto mushi. There will be a grilled dish, prepared at your table; followed by a shabu shabu of domestic beef, moroheiya vegetables and leeks;

Then the piece de resistance: a small earthenware pot of warm soymilk is brought in; your attendant stirs in a spoonful of nigari coagulant; 10 minutes later it has formed into delicate custard-like curds, full of sweetness and subtlety and barely a trace of bean flavor. This is not kaiseki but the taste of the farmhouse kitchen, unlike any store-bought tofu, a memory that lingers with you long after you have settled your check and left.

After all this you will be asked if you are ready for shokuji (your "meal") and a light dessert--perhaps a jelly of ume plum in brandy--bringing to an end a complex yet informal and unhustled meal. As you leave Yuu-An, you may find yourself musing that we should all make it a principle to eat food like this at least four times a year--not so much to remind ourselves of the changing seasons as to celebrate them.

TEN-ICHI DEUX
Nishi Ginza Dept. Store 1, 1F, 4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tel: 3571-4188
Open: 11am-9:30pm (last order), daily
Average check for two: Y7000

Ten-Ichi Deux is a product of the late-'80s, that era of restless cross-pollination and pushing of the culinary envelope which brought us such essential hybrids as natto spaghetti and tiramisu cola. Something of that genre-bending spirit still informs Ten-Ichi Deux as it maps out a new, more flexible territory for one of Japan's most popular but highly stylized cuisines.

As the scion of Tokyo's leading tempura house, Ten-Ichi Deux's brief is to provide simple meals worthy of the Ten-Ichi imprimatur, but in a stylish, café ambiance. Despite the pretentious name, the upmarket locale and the laughable claim to be an "Espace de Tendon et Bière," the concept works. This may not be the only place that serves chilled white wine or draft black beer (a crisp vin de plonk and Asahi Kuro-nama respectively) with tempura, but it has to be the least self-conscious.

The menu is short and to the point (though not in English), and revolves around simple ideas accomplished to perfection. The house specialty tendon--battered and deep-fried meat or seafood over hot rice--elevates that blue-collar staple to wondrous levels of sophistication. And the kushiage--tempura kebabs of seafood and vegetables, such as scallops and celery, sea eel, or squid stuffed with ume--are every bit as delicate and inventive as you'd expect from the woks of the parent restaurant.

During the day, all this can be sampled on an à la carte basis. In the evening, however, Ten-Ichi Deux offers a "Deux Set" on three levels of complexity and price. These comprise some hors d'oeuvres in either a Japanese or Chinese mode, an assortment of the above kushiage tempura and a scaled-down tendon (or an original invention that it calls ten-cha (the same mini tendon, drowned in steaming green tea).

It's a satisfying mix that does not make unreasonable demands on either your time, your stomach or your wallet. Unlike a full-blown course at one of the mainstream tempura houses, this is the kind of light dining that can precede or follow the kind of entertainments offered by the nearby department stores and movie theaters.

TIDBITS

Juice o' the Month

Now that Japan has grown used to the idea of 100% juice, is it ready to pay an extra 20 percent premium to avoid farm chemicals? Takanashi breaks new ground by bringing its two new products, Apple and Carrot & Apple, into the supermarkets. Processed from U.S. certified organic ingredients and available in one-liter and 200ml tetrabriks, the brand name says it all, albeit in Japanese: just ask for Munoyaku-Yukisaibai juice.

Nothing but the noodle

Everything there is to know about the humble buckwheat noodle: The Book of Soba, by James Udesky, Tokyo's resident noodlemeister, has been reissued in convenient pocketbook size, courtesy of Kodansha International and your local bookstore. Perfect reading fodder while you slurp.

Beer o' the month

It's not strong enough to qualify as a British-style "winter warmer" (a strong old ale), but Blizzard Beer--Fubiki Bakushu in the vernacular--will still warm the cockles. It's brewed by Rogue Ales, in Newport, Oregon, the same folks responsible for the White Crane, Red Fox and Brown Bear beers, and available at Kaiseitei in Higashi Kitazawa (3469-0801).