Ajiro — Restaurant in Hagi

Good: some dishes are superbly seasoned and delicious, including the deep fried Okoze fish and the stewed eggplant; some dishes served on historical pottery which really enhances the experience (server was very knowledgeable about Hagi pottery). Nice private rooms with tasteful decorations.

Not great: uneven flavoring. In particular, the house ponzu is not good, lacking the citrus kick it should have (half the dishes are served with ponzu and suffer for it). Almost no alcohol selection. If alcohol pairing is important to you, stop reading right now and find a different place. The warm sake (one of only two sake selections on the menu) was probably a heated ozeki one-cup (not joking). Strange oversight for a place serving $100...

Beautiful food in a beautiful setting, sitting with. NEw friends it was ice to have our own room and each course came just as we finished the last one, the service...

In Hagi a jewel. Excellent seasonal local cuisine. Expensive for Hagi but half the price of Tokyo. English service challenging. Japanese...