Fodor's and Frommer's guidebooks to Japan have good choices in each section of the city. Plastic replicas of dishes with prices are usually displayed outside restaurants. Select and point. Okutan is an excellent restaurant in the Nanzen-ji Temple grounds serving a set menu. Noodle shops abound in the Sanenzaki area and the streets leading to the temples.
Summers can be hot, humid, and crowded.
For those who don't mind temperatures in the 30s and 40s, winters are much less congested. Offices include one at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 1250, New York, NY 10020, telephone 212 757-5641. Japan Travel Phone Is a toll-free telephone service for English language assistance and travel information. In Kyoto, call 371-5649. So when Yuki Tsubakitani greeted me with a charmingly accented but otherwise perfect English, I was more than a little impressed.