Your guests will at first be hushed as you guide them along the subtly-lighted couloir, bid them doff their shoes and enter the gorgeous modern stone/wood/tatami/glass dining rooms, designed by interiors-wizard Yanagiya Manabu.

It's a giddy effect: the unusual floorplan wraps around a corner of the triangular Sumitomo Bldg. in Shinjuku's skycraper patch, and is encircled by floor-to-ceiling sheet glass windows, which seem to draw you towards the sheer 52-story dropoff just centimeters away.

From your windowside table (reservations are a must), you will behold a world-class view. Enjoy it as your courses are brought to you: daikon sashimi salad with garlicky dressing, cheese-asparagus norimaki, peppered beef, and deep-fried tender young chicken among the better items in the Y3000 prix fixe. However, true adventurers can supplement their meal with items from the creative a la carte menu; in order to reserve one of tables with stunning views, you must order a prix-fixe dinner to start with. Bonito (katsuo) sashimi and kimchee/sesame dressing, "Seafood with Tosa-style aspic, served over pickled wax gourd", and the sakura ice cream stand out as particularly original and tasty.

Main dishes were reasonably priced, and there is a very good sake list which includes Bijoufu, Shikizakura, and others for Y600-800 per flask. Wines run from Y2800 to Y7800 per bottle.

The sophisticated atmosphere, gorgeous interior, and fabulous view complement the very good food, and make up for the somewhat slow service. But this is an excellent place to entertain and impress jaded out-of-towners who deride Tokyo as a backwater.