It is not hard to track down the very best of Tokyo¡¯s high-end Japanese restaurants. After all, there are plenty of guides and websites to point you on your way. At street level, too, it¡¯s easy to locate good noodle joints, yakitori counters or mom and pop diners. Navigating the middle ground, though, is far less straightforward.

So there¡¯s an extra level of pleasure when you find yourself at a restaurant of the caliber of Yuu, in Yoyogi-Uehara. It¡¯s a small neighborhood place, well away from the busy, bustling heart of the city, and far from a household name even in its immediate area. And yet here you dine so well on light, creative Japanese cuisine that you¡¯d go right across town for it in most other countries.

Inside and out, Yuu has a modest, modern look. In classic °ì²¹±è±è¨­ style, you sit at a counter looking in at the kitchen where owner-chef Yusuke Imoto presides. He dresses in black, rather than the usual white uniforms preferred by most Japanese chefs. It¡¯s his way of hinting from the start that his cooking is a little bit different.