Japan, as has been said far too often, is a country of four seasons. But that tired old mantra is by no means the whole truth. The ancient lunisolar calendar recognizes 24 distinct divisions in the year, while haiku poets and others attuned to the constant flux of the natural world identify three times that number.

That same sensibility underpins the world of traditional Japanese cuisine. Every week of the year, the seafood and produce will be different, and cooking techniques must be subtly adjusted to reflect those changes. What better motif, then, for a restaurant serving cha-kaiseki ryōri, the cuisine that evolved from the rarefied world of the tea ceremony, than the 72 seasons, Shichi Jyu Ni Kou?

This new (but very traditional) restaurant lies in a tranquil residential side street just minutes away from Roppongi's bright, brash main drag. But once you've made your way down the short flight of stairs, slid open the wooden doors and been ushered inside by kimono-clad attendants, the grim and gritty cares of the outside world soon seem very far away.