I love food but I am not one of these people who sets their travels by the Michelin guide. I wish I was that person, but I suppose other interests take precedence.

All that said….WOW….have we had some fantastic food here. I set out to try every variety possible but I suspect only touched the surface of what is possible in cooking styles, areas and different dishes. In many restaurants we have been given ( rare for us to order) a kaiseki menu. No less than a banquet of food : a mixture of small heavenly starters, then sashimi (raw fish), grilled or steamed meat and vegetables ( that you cook yourself), more fish, a miso soup, rice, pickled vegetables and just maybe something of a sweetish ilk. What you get is lots and lots of beautifully presented fresh seasonal food, with a boggling array of condiments and sauces to compliment each dish, and all served in separate little colourful porcelain dishes. It’s is an art form.

The quality of everything we have eaten has been outstanding and you clearly see how it is that the Japanese are sylphlike and have such longevity. It is all fish and crunchy vegetables washed down with lots of green tea. Even the rice comes at the end of the meal by which time you are sated. No bread, no fats, no sugar, no alcohol to speak of ( sake yes, but wine very expensive – last nights 1/2 bottle of Napa red was 85 gbp!) and small amounts of meat. A little pork, no lamb and chicken rare ( we only ate deep fried at the Grand Prix).

And you do all that again for breakfast!

The best news is that all restaurants are Japanese. Otherwise we have seen one Chinese restaurant, one Italian and one Mc Donald’s. To those who plan a trip here you will need to download the Tabelog.com app. Firstly, this is the only way to communicate and book ahead ( we needed to do this, it is early eating, restaurants are often small and booked up), but also it is surprising how few restaurants actually face the street, or if they do you may not be sure it is a restaurant. The one Michelin restaurant we did go to in Kyoto was on the 3rd floor of a relatively decrepit building and difficult to find.

I can often be disappointed by the fancy rating of restaurants, but this one in Kyoto was food from heaven. The chef working directly in front of us in a brightly lit room delivering 10 courses of the most exquisite food I have ever eaten!

Although the food is mesmerising I cant deny that the eating experience comes with some stress to the uncouth foreigner. This isn’t about the chopsticks – over time you get deft at this. It is that the experience is quite formal and pressurised. Waiters are attentive and constantly feeding you, but at the same time there is stoney silence. In Japan eating is a very serious business. The order of the courses and how flavours blend together are carefully calculated and the silence is the way that you, the guest at the table, express that you are taking the creative experience seriously. It is hard to stifle your adoration when the food is sooooo good.

So seriously is food taken that in many restaurants you are led to small private rooms running off a main corridor to the kitchen. In Nara we were even fed in our room, sitting on tatami flooring in front of a low mahogany table, which was subsequently moved aside to lay down the futons.

I need to stress that this was only our experience. There is so much variety here that I think each and every visitor will have a different experience. This was ours.

Meanwhile Starbucks, seemingly on every street corner, give me the daily hit of coffee that I craved.

In summary, food in Japan is unique and simply amazing. It truly is the best food.