15 East is offering a plus one menu during the restaurant week. In addition to their regular lunch menu, you will get one of the following dishes.

• Oxtail Soup
• Beef Tongue Grilled Over Binchotan-Charcoal
• Chef's Sushi Omakase (2 pieces nigiri and a roll)

For dessert you'll have a choice of Mineoka tofu, flourless chocolate cake or a duo of ice cream and sorbet.

Iroha's head chef, Taro Shimizu from Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture is offering his area's local specialty, Yoshida Udon, for a limited time during the Japanese restaurant week.

Just about every region of Japan has its own style of Udon. In the southern part of Yamanashi prefecture, it's Yoshida Udon. Their traditionally hand-crafted Udon has a very unique texture. Their noodle is thick and al-dente, retaining a firm center, while outside it is very soft and chewy. It's served with a simmered beef based broth and topped with cabbage, kinpira (sautéed thinly sliced burdock roots and carrots), and Suridane (crashed spicy red Chili and sesame).

Taro Shimizu
Head Chef of Iroha

In my hometown of Yamanashi prefecture Yoshida Udon is a regional specialty that is eaten in every home. People have their own family recipe – some eat it as a noodle soup, while others like to dip the noodles in sauce. In my family, my grandmother used to prepare the noodles with a tasty sesame dipping sauce. I took her recipe and turned it into my own dish for this year's Dine Out for Japan event. Please come to Iroha to enjoy this Yamanashi specialty. I'm looking forward to seeing you!

Hakubai restaurant located in the famed Kitano Hotel New York is offering a traditional Japanese bento box special for a limited time between March 5th and 23rd. The Yayoi bento features fresh, seasonal ingredients, such as bamboo shoots and Spanish mackerel. Make sure to place your order before 2pm!

Also at the Kitano Hotel lobby, you can take part in the annual "Hanami" Ikebana ceremony. Hanami, or "flower viewing," is a traditional celebration of spring. This event will be held in memory of last year's 3/11 tsunami victims. The Kitano wishes to morn the tragic loss of life, but also celebrate the quick recovery and indominatable spirit of the Japanese people.

Miyazaki prefecture is well known for their delicious Jidori chicken that has chewy texture and rich flavor. Izakaya Hagi carefully selects organic, cage-free chickens that have a similar texture to Miyazaki Jidori. Then they deep-fry the chicken without any breading, so it stays very soft and juicy. Finally the chicken is marinated in sweet, vinegar and soy flavored broth and topped with a dollop of savory tartar sauce.

Try their tender, juicy, and very flavorful chicken, which will take your heart straight to Miyazaki.

Jin Wakisaka
Head Chef of Izakaya Hagi

What is special about our Nanban chicken is that we don't use any breading. Coated only with an egg mixture, the chicken retains a succulent, delicate texture when deep-fried.

We have an all new updated and improved menu based on feedback from our customers and innovative ideas from our staff. Please come try our new dishes.

Kibo restaurant offers a special prix fixe course during the restaurant week for $35. You can choose from three appetizers (Shiso Soba Noodle, Kibo roll, and Agedashi Tofu) and two entrées (Chicken Soboro, Spicy Pork Ramen, and Crispy Amadai), and desserts (Sake Tart ,and Yuzu Steam Citrus Pudding). Also a tasting flight of wines is available for $20 to complete a perfect dinner. Don't miss it!

Kyotofu is offering a special drink during the Diene Out for Japan restaurant week. The "Kyoto" cocktail is a perfect marriage of Shochu and Choya Umeshu, with a hint of orange peal.

A pairing of Kyoto cocktail and their signature Chocolate Cake with Miso Caramel is $22, and a single order of the cocktail is $12.

The owner of Misoya restaurant grew up in the Tohoku region, and has created a special Dine Out menu, to lend his support the region's earthquake relief efforts.

Sendai was the closest major city to the epicenter, and it suffered from the earthquake as well as from the subsequent tsunami and flooding. People in Sendai are in a long, slow process of recovery, and are still in a great need of support.

Sendai is also famous for a delicately flavored and distinctive type of Miso that is a perfect blend of flavorful soybeans, sweet rice malt, and a slight spiciness.

Misoya's Dine Out menu features dishes with Sendai Miso. You can enjoy Sendai Miso, and support a great cause by supporting the recovery of Sendai. Misoya's Dipping Ramen is a limited time special menu item offered solely for the Dine Out for Japan Restaurant Week. Don't miss it!

Tuna offers tremendous health benefits, as it contains high-quality protein and essential amino acids. Ronin offers its own very special tuna dish, using the cheek of a fatty tuna, or Toro. Toro is considered the most expensive and succulent type of tuna, and the use of its cheekbone is very rare and unique. Ronin's master chefs take the cheek, bread it in a curry flavored flour mixture, and then deep fry it, turning it into a unctuous delicacy. This unique dish is then enjoyed with a tasty Japanese curry dipping sauce.

Sansai, edible wild Japanese mountain vegetables, have pure and distinguished flavor that add to Sapporo's signature Ramen. The harmonious flavor of their thin egg noodles with a clear soy-based broth, topped with delicately cooked bamboo shoots, Shiitake mushrooms, dried seaweeds and scallions, is a perfect blend.

Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is very famous for its ramen. The head chef of Sapporo restaurant, Takezo Kikuchi, has created his own spin on the Hokkaido classic. Topped with Sansai and thick savory Ankake sauce, their special Sansai Vegetable Ramen is a perfect dish to warm you up in cold weather.

Shimizu restaurant is offering a $35 prix fixe course for a limited time only during restaurant week. The course menu includes:

• Miso Soup
• Green Salad
• Shrimp Tempura
• Sushi Platter (Seasonal chef's choice 7pcs sushi and 1roll)
• Ice Cream

Additionally, Shimizu is proud of its wide selection of traditional Japanese Shochu. Please ask your waiter for an appropriate drink suggestion to pair your meal.

Sushiann's highly experienced Sushi chefs display the traditional cooking skills honed to perfection in Japan. Using the freshest seafood directly imported from the Tsukiji fish market of Tokyo, they serve the finest Edomae style sushi to their customers. They also have a wide selection of Jizake (locally-produced Sake). Enjoy the pairing of the finest spirits with delectable Japanese food.

Sushiann will donate 3% of their profits to the Japan relief fund when you order Omakase in any of their course menus during dinnertime.

Oshizushi, or pressed sushi, was developed in the Kansai region of western Japan. While the more common oval-shaped sushi is hand-pressed, oshizushi is made using square wooden boxes that press pieces of fish onto seasoned rice. A variety of fish, such as mackerel from Osaka or conger eel from Hyogo prefecture are used in the dish. Wasan offers their own take on oshizushi with fresh American salmon.

Enjoy the traditional flavor of Kansai here in New York!