Snow was falling on a chilly Saturday evening when we decided to escape the inhospitable elements to dine at Daikonya in Sangenjaya. When we walked in, we immediately noticed the subdued lighting and smart art deco furniture that radiated a sophisticated vibe. We were ushered through the bar and scant dining space on the first floor to the basement which, also has seating for about 20. To warm up, we ordered some atsukan (hot sake), Manzai Ranken from Ishikawa. It was just the thing to take the bite out of the cold. This restaurant offers over 20 different styles and varieties of sake from all over Japan. Jizakei no nihonshu (home-brewed sake) is also available. 

My dinner companion and I wanted to sample a wide variety of dishes, so we opted for the smaller of the two set courses to leave us room for some of the more interesting offerings from the regular menu. We took the JY3800 set course, which includes an appetizer, sashimi, nabe, oden, a meat dish, a rice dish and dessert. The JY5000 course is the same formula with different varieties, and the addition of a fish dish. The waitress brought out the appetizers, six dishes with various vegetables, pork, eggs and, of course, daikon. The waitress even set down miniature daikon as chopstick rests. 

After sampling the appetizers, the regular menu items came our way. First up was a subtle but delicious Kyoto salad (JY700), with all ingredients from the old Imperial capital - the menu states that they use only the best and freshest ingredients in Japan. This was followed by a tangy Korean soup (JY750), the kimchi adding just the right tartness without dominating the taste of the soup. The oden arrived before we finished our soup and we wondered whether we were a little overambitious in ordering. The set course included Kansai-style oden cooked in a white broth, and we wanted to compare it to the Kanto-style oden (JY650, JY250 or JY200 depending on your choice of ingredients) cooked in a shoyu (soy) based stock. They were both good, but we preferred the Kanto-style. 

As we progressed through the set menu, the dishes thankfully began to come more slowly. The intricately arranged sashimi plate showcased shrimp, scallops, sole, and a large piece of maguro (tuna). Appropriately, according to the weather, the winter favorite nabe (hot pot) arrived steaming and filled with the usual selection of vegetables and cod. The last item off the a la carte menu followed - fried tofu with a hint of shrimp (JY700). 

The set course was rounded out by chicken, our rice dish, and dessert. The savory chicken was spiced up with salt, pepper, and just the right amount of garlic. We hardly had any room for the rice, which turned out to be chazuke - rice and salmon in o-cha (green tea). At the end of it all we could only manage a few nibbles of the pumpkin mousse in sweet bean paste. As we left, to our dismay, we found it was still snowing. But after all the delicious hearty fare and nihonshu served up at Daikonya, we were better able to navigate the elements.