The menu is written in the chef’s own flowing brush hand. Each item features some touch of ingenuity, with flavours that keep the sake flowing. Sake is selected according to season. Shochu is also served maewari style — blended with water and rested before serving. Dining and drinking vessels crafted by artisans heighten the enjoyment of food and drink, as does the closely coordinated service of the owner couple. As the name Yugetsu, or ‘glaze and moon’ suggests, the joyous mixture of the inevitability of the moon’s phases and the unpredictability of glazes is what makes an izakaya the perfect place for communication.