Casper Alrik Sorensen is an unusual sight at Kinobu, a traditional restaurant in Kyoto.
Wearing a chef's uniform, the 23-year-old Dane is learning the skills needed to serve up washoku (traditional cuisine), such as how to use Japanese kitchen knives. And yet his coaches speak only a smattering of English.
Sorensen arrived at Kinobu, in the city's Shimogyo Ward, in January. He is on a two-year Japanese government program that brings foreign nationals to work and learn in Japanese restaurants in Kyoto.