You are learning seasonal ingredients: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (expressing seasonal variation), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Experiencing kaiseki at Ryugin (龍吟), Roppongi — a restaurant that treats every ingredient as a message from the season. Chef Seiji Yamamoto transforms the Japanese calendar into cuisine.
At Ryugin, Chef Yamamoto begins the meal with a question the diner never hears: what is the sea saying today? What is the mountain offering this week? 「メニューは季節によって変わります。」
It is October. The stranger sits at the counter. The first course arrives: a single matsutake mushroom, grilled over binchōtan charcoal, served on a ceramic leaf. The aroma fills the room before the plate touches the counter.
「秋は松茸が旬です。」 The chef speaks quietly. The mushroom tastes of forest floor and rain. The next course: sanma, its silver skin blistered, served with grated daikon and sudachi citrus. 「さんまは秋が一番おいしいと言われています。」
Eight courses follow. Each one a calendar page. The plating changes with every dish — autumn leaves on the ceramic, red and gold. 「月ごとに食材も器も変わります。」 At Ryugin, you do not eat dinner. You eat the season.