Remove your shoes (but keep your socks on) and slip on some flip-flops – the journey is about to begin! Since meeting on a military base, Ivan Verhelle and his second-in-command Akihisa Kawakami have been specializing in excursions to the Land of the Rising Sun for the past 30 years. In this Bruges ryotei (a dark wood counter, noren with ideograms, a pretty fresco), they honor the empire of the senses. At noon, it’s all about bento boxes: beef fillet teppanyaki, as garlicky as you like, or very fresh fish of the day (salmon, tuna, swordfish, etc.), grilled with swirly bean sprouts, and served as always with rice and miso soup. Other options: fish and vegetable tempura, chirashi (raw fish atop a bowl of rice), sashimi, green tea ice cream… And in the evening, the Tsuru menu digs a little deeper into Japanese traditions – teppanyaki meats, sushi, yakitori… // Mireille Flocon

FEELING THIRSTY? Cross-border bottles (France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands…) but above all, sake (Caro Rosé from Rihaku at €12 a glass), or three shochu tasters at €13.

PRICE: Bento €34 (lunch), mains €34-42 (lunch), menu €89, mains €19-38, desserts €8-14.