We have seen the future. It's a bright, cheerful place, where farmers are heroes and everyone munches on raw food. There are posters and didactic messages everywhere, and the enthusiasm seems almost otaku. Welcome to Noka no Daidokoro (Farmhouse Kitchen), the taste of things to come.
Set up by a brash, media-savvy company called Kunitachi Farm — it does actually have its own land, though mostly it works with a network of independent farmers — there are now three Noka no Daidokoro restaurants. The first opened in 2007, in one of Tokyo's western suburbs. But it was the launching of the second branch in Ebisu the following year that really announced the company and its distinctive style to the mainstream.
Two giant glowing plastic daikon flank heavy doors that lead you into a temperature-controlled room filled with shelves of fresh vegetables. You may be asked to wait in this chilly antechamber while your table is prepared. It's a momentary discomfort — think of it as a produce purgatory before being admitted into the inner sanctum.