This cuisine will cost you
By Nadira A. Hira

(FORTUNE Magazine) – New York City's epicurean elite flew into a tizzy when Masa, a restaurant at the new Time Warner Center, began charging $400 a head for a meal. But that's a pittance compared with what a Tokyo hotel is charging for the "Hedonist Dinner" this December. The pricetag? $13,000.

The Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo enlisted wine expert Robert M. Parker Jr. and legendary (and previously semi-retired) French chef Joel Robuchon to plan the feast. The wine list will feature eight rare historical wines--including an 1864 Lafite and a 1961 Latour a Pomerol (total bar tab: $200,000, according to Christie's). Just 22 seats are available, and the hotel will confirm only that "several" are filled and that it expects the meal to sell out.

This gastronomic tour de force is one of a growing number of events aimed at establishing Japan as a lifestyle destination for the super-rich. Seiyo Ginza managing director Lloyd S. Nakano (whose staff of butlers is pictured above) says no price would have been too high for this adventure. "Never plan with your wallet," he says. "It gets in the way of creativity!" Easy to say, when it's not your wallet. -- Nadira A. Hira