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food&drinkThe trick’s the ultimate treat at Trick or Treat HorrorDining. Decked out in gothic paraphernalia,this red-lit bar/eatery presents everything fromcoffins and cobwebbed chandeliers to Jack Skellingtoncushions and a Linda Blair bust right atyour table. The ghoulish atmosphere has evensummoned up the real Tim Burton. Monolingualmarauders be warned, however: nihongo is theonly language of the dead in this haunt. Come fordrinks. The food’s horrific—but it kind of has tobe. 2A Toda Bldg, 7-16-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku.Roppongi. http://meturl.com/trickdiningIn the spirit of the spooky season, Lindt has releaseda selection of limited-edition Halloweenchocolates, including the Halloween Lindt GiftBox, a monster pack of 25 delectable chocolateballs (¥2,700). Definitely a treat for fans of thescrumptious Swiss chocolate Lindt is famousfor, festive aficionados will have to move fast—these little terors are only around until October31. Can’t wait to get them home? Then why notindulge at one of the Lindt Chocolat cafés aroundtown? Lindt Chocolat Cafe Omotesando. 3-5-22Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku. http://www.lindt.jpFans of Ghostbusters will be delighted tohear that J.S. Burgers Cafe will honor thesupernatural ’80s classic by celebrating the30th anniversary of its release with ghostinspiredhamburgers, a marshmallow (man)sundae and “monster” cream sodas servedin measuring cups. Perfectly aligned with thespooky month of October, if you want a surefireway of bringing on the Halloween spirit,you know who to call.Branches in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajukuand Ikebukuro. http://journal-cafe.jp/¥¥ EN/JPRESTAURANTServing up Japan,one plate at atimeBY JOAN BAILEYSet on the eighth floor of Shibuya Hikarie, d47Shokudo is the foodly arm of award-winningdesigner Kenmei Nagaoka’s “d&design” project,curating the best of Japan’s 47 prefectures.As the lights came up around Shibuyastation and the famous crossing below, wetoasted our adventure at the shokudo (cafeteria)with the four-sake sampler (¥1,400)of signature brews from Tochigi, Toyama andYamaguchi, ranging from sweet to bitter. Theset is enough for two, but tumblers of a singlevariety (¥550 and up) are also available.We considered the five-dish option(¥1,000) but decided more exploring wasneeded. Sake firmly in hand, we set out forChiba to savor washed cheese rind pickledin sake kide izumi (¥520). With a sharp tastesurprisingly similar to blue cheese, it meltedgloriously on the tongue and proved a finecompanion for rice wine.From there, we ventured north to sampleFukushima’s pickled Pacific herring toppedwith Japanese pepper (¥520). The four piecesof fish that arrived were firm and well-flavored:sour and sweet with a hint of herring’sbitterness.Heading inland to Nagano, we surveyednatto mixed with umeboshi and Japanesemild ginger, or myoga (¥620). Served on asingle perilla leaf, it looked like alonely lump, but the tart and saltyplums with the soft ginger flavor ofmyoga dressed the big, firm beansup beautifully.We dashed south to Kagawa fora quiet culinary stop sampling theregion’s tofu (¥200). Served chilledwith a simple topping of negi (longonion) and myoga, the firm yet silkytofu needed just a pinch of salt orsoy sauce to pull all the flavors together.We carried on south to Okinawafor tofuyo (fermented tofu, ¥520).Dubbed the “challenge menu” itemof the evening, it came as a singlesmall chunk on a bamboo leaf. Thetiniest bit on a chopstick delivereda pungent sake kasu-like flavor ina creamy texture.We then jetted up to Osaka forminararu irikon (¥500) and seasonalohitashi, or blanched greens(¥420). Crunchy dried irikon(Osakan for dried baby sardines),konbu, sesame seeds and peanutsbathed in soy sauce and mirin effectivelyrepresented Japan’s famousport city. The small bowl of ohitashiarrived as a verdant spinach seasoned withlight dashi.We hopped west for a Toyama omelet(¥460)—thick and dense with a subtly sweetedge—with a second stopover in Naganofor more natto, which really is that good. Aquick turn south to Nagasaki brought a plateof warm and crunchy aji-fry (¥1,000) with cooljulienned cabbage.We finished in the far north of Hokkaidowith rice ball sets (¥360) of one umeboshiand one konbu each. Served warm and fresh,they were the perfect ending to a perfect trip.8F Hikarie, 2-21-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku.Shibuya. www.hikarie8.com/d47shokudoPhotos by Joan Bailey12