Man-u’s ingenious oden, which borrows from other Japanese cuisines, is a whirlwind of flavour changes. Items are selected from a large pot and paired with condiments and broth to bring different flavours to the fore. Beef sinew is cooked with green onions; octopus is paired with unripe pepper. Clams, wakame seaweed with bamboo shoots, and pike conger with matsutake mushrooms are served as soup dishes. Lettuce, tomato and figs dressed with starchy dashi soup stock sauce provide interesting alternatives. Painstaking preparation results in an oden with a unique finish.