NEW FASHIONED Kyoto

Temples. Tea ceremonies. Geisha. These are all reasons why Kyoto, is celebrated as Japan’s wellspring of tradition. A new generation, a however, wants to change the story

- MAX VEENHUYZEN

Last time I checked, pizza wasn't part of a traditional kaiseki meal. And yet, as dinner at Monk crescendos with elegant wood-fired pies freighting fresh nori, the herbal mountain plant fukinoto and other seasonal Japanese ingredients, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

News that Italy's most famous flatbread has infiltrated Japan's most traditional meal is shocking enough. That this is happening in the country's cultural ground zero is another level of scandalous again. But while the purists rage, others are excited about this new direction.

"Kyoto is the best place to open up a restaurant," says Yoshihiro Imai, Monk's chef-patron. A former pizza chef in Nagano, Imai relocated to Kyoto and opened Monk in 2015 where he serves highly seasonal, highly delicious modern kaiseki menus. "It has culture, it's close to nature and locals are interested in new things. I could see that there was a new wave being driven by people that came here from other parts of Japan and wanted to be part of it."

Although Kyoto is rich in culture, history and enlightenment - for more than a millennium, it was the Japanese capital - the city has always harboured a progressive bent. Kyoto bamboo helped Thomas Edison create the world's first light bulb. The Kyoto Electric Railway company operated Japan's first streetcar. Nintendo was born here. Tourists might flock to Kyoto for temples, tea ceremonies and cherry blossoms, but beyond the surface is a city that values the future as much as it does the past.

"Kyoto is dynamic, it's moving" says Zenbu Tours' Jane Lawson, a former cookbook publisher that moved to Kyoto in 2009 and now runs small group tours around Japan. "It's a city of contrasts but it's more obvious because there's this amazing ancient culture and traditional buildings and gardens. We're seeing a real effort to level up the experience and give visitors a deeper experience and understanding of Kyoto."