Sitting down to a kaiseki dinner is rarely a casual decision, least of all in Ginza. Like going to kabuki or shopping for pearls at Mikimoto, you need to budget time and cash for a multi-course meal of traditional cuisine in the glittering heart of Tokyo.

There are exceptions to that rule, but few are more approachable or affordable than Ginza Maru. Just a short block from the department stores, fashion emporiums and milling tourists on the main thoroughfare, this compact second-floor restaurant is a haven of understated calm.

Open exactly a year now, this is the younger, smaller sibling of the excellent Rakushokushu Maru, close to Omotesando. The look is similar: clean, spare decor; timber beams and sliding screen-style partitions to break up the space; counter seats overlooking the open kitchen; and four tables farther back by the windows.