The Perfect Meal in Kyoto

Ok, this will mainly be of interest to my culinary-minded friends and family... if reading about the subtle nuances of food bores you, feel free to skip this section...
How to Have the Perfect Meal
Start by choosing a restaurant with a great story behind it. A good place to find background stories is a wonderfully written guidebook called Old Kyoto. You'll know which place to go when you read the description and it gives you goosebumps. We chose Takasebune, which is famed for its tempura and is located near the Kamogawa river. Tucked away down a little alley lined with cobblestones, the menu displayed outside had no English on it, but we recognized it by the boat oar that leans against the building. (The cute little man who founded it named it in honor of his father, who used to pull flatboats up the canal next to the river.)
We were the only customers and were offered the traditional tatami room to eat in. As per Japanese custom, we took off our shoes before entering the room. Lilting Japanese music set a serene mood. The menu was simple. We chose the "Yosooi Meal" for 5250 Yen. The menu did not specify exactly what we'd be eating, but listed: appetizer, sashimi, vinegar, cooked fish, tempura, miso soup, rice, pickle, green tea and ice cream. (This type of meal is known as "Kaiseki"- traditional meal of Kyoto.)
The chef was a master- not just of preparation but also of presentation. Each portion of the meal was artistically presented in its separate beautiful dish. The appetizer was edamame, tender calamari in a subtly flavored sauce, and what seemed to be fish-egg cakes in creamy sauce with a hint of wasabi.
The "vinegar" portion consisted of little bite size fish with a delicate vinegar glaze.
"Cooked fish" turned out to be a whole 6 inch fish. This was the only part that unnerved me... I have a hard time eating a face. (Sorry to my vegetarian friends for describing this part, but I did not eat the face...)
Each part of the meal came with its own tiny pickled vegetables. (Pickles are a big part of the diet here. Not only cucumber pickles, also: eggplant, daikon (radish), ginger. I guess during lean economic times people in this region ate a diet of pickled vegetables and rice...)
The miso soup was divine, with a different flavor than I've ever tasted, and the tiniest straw-like mushrooms that you didn't even need to chew.
The green tea had a little flavor of lemon and the ice cream...oh, my gosh...I've never eaten anything better. It was tangerine, but not an overt, hit-your-tastebuds-with-citrus flavor, but so delicate and light that I almost melted into it.
When we emerged from the tatami room, our "server"(which seems such an inadequate term for someone who took such good-natured care of us- all in Japanese - of course) pulled out our shoes for us so that we could step right in them.
This was honestly the best meal of my life. It wasn't just the meal... it was the entire experience. It reaffirms my belief that you should always trust your instincts, even when it comes to dinner!