Keiko Kubota selected and prepared the cheeses served at the 2008 G8 summit in Hokkaido. A cheese sommelier and the manager of Restaurant Gentil in Shizuoka City, Kubota has written two books on how to become a cheese sommelier and is on the board of the Cheese Professional Association of Japan. Here she shares her recommendations of great Japanese cheeses:

When money is no object

* Caseificio's Mozzarella di buffala is a fresh mozzarella made from the milk of water buffaloes raised in Miyazaki Prefecture. www.caseificio.jp; (0983) 21-2617; ¥2,000/200 grams