The Hyakumi* pronounced (yah COO me) meaning 100 tastes, is a Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar at Caesars Palace that offers exquisite, exotic cuisine in the serene atmosphere of a Japanese garden.

Hyakumi spotlights the talents of Executive Chef Hiroji Obayashi, one of the premiere ambassadors of Japanese cuisine in the world today. Famed for his award-winning Hirozen Gourmet Restaurant in Los Angeles, Obayashi is widely acclaimed for creating both traditional and innovative contemporary Japanese cuisine. He remains based in Southern California, a visiting celebrity chef overseeing every aspect of Hyakumi's operation.

Hyakumi (constructed in the space formerly occupied by the Ah'So Japanese Steak House) features expanded, all-new menus in the restaurant, which opened Dec. 2, 1997, and sushi bar, which debuted Oct. 14, 1997.

Dinner service is a choice of three prix-fixe, Teppan Yaki, four-course feasts - appetizers, miso soup, salad and entree, priced from $54 to $64 - or a la carte dining. Separate seating areas are available for either choice.

A la carte dinner selections include combination plates featuring such favorites as Beef, Chicken or Fish Teriyaki, Yakitori, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura. The dinner menu also spotlights a variety of soups, salads, vegetables, entrees and noodles, such as Tempura and Salmon Shioyaki, Soba, Tempura Noodles, Somen, and Soba Pasta Salad.

At the sushi bar, guests may choose from 40 items, including Fresh Yellow Tail, Imported Spanish Mackerel, Vegetable Rolls, Salmon Egg, Squid and Abalone. Complementing the exotic fare is an extensive beverage selection, with specialty drinks, a variety of Japanese and domestic beer and varied selection of fine sake. Some sakes, sought by Caesars Palace Master Sonunelier Barbara Werley, made their Nevada debut in Hyakumi.

The Hyakumi interior design, created by Wilson & Associates (London, Johannesburg, Dallas, Los Angeles), was inspired by traditional upscale Japanese residences, incorporating both traditional and contemporary elements. The exterior resembles the stone facade of a Japanese home and is capped with imported Japanese fire-glazed charcoal roof tiles that are seen atop traditional Shinto shrines. The sushi bar counter and the dining tables are topped in "uba-tuba" (imported Italian polished dark green granite accented with gold flakes).

The maitre d' stand is a late 1800's Japanese "tansu" (cabinet), crafted with traditional Japanese tongue and groove joinery and made of "hinoki" (Japanese cypress). Above the maitre d' stand and the teahouse is a traditional bamboo trellis covered with flowering wisteria.

Other plants in the restaurant include a Japanese pine, azaleas, pitisporran and clumping bamboo. The garden has a weathered look to stylize/contemporize the area.

A pathway of multi-colored Indian slate, inspired by paths in Japanese gardens, leads guests to their tables. Absolute Black granite, imported from India, is used in the inner courtyard, where Teppan Yaki dining is located.

The floor is a non-traditional honey oak, reflecting the contemporary Japanese trend toward a lighter look. The dining chairs are the Lowenstein, Murano chair, with ladder backs in honey oak and mahogany leather seats. Honey oak-framed shoji screens are featured in the teahouse, on the terrace and in the sushi bar. Wall treatments are crafted from bamboo, creating a 10-foot fence at the teahouse entrance and a seven-foot fence aligning the garden.

At the entrance, the light fixture - a cast bronze, fused glass, inverted pyramid -- was handmade by Hilliard. At the left are two Japanese moon windows - circular windows with screens. Lighting accents include three stone lanterns - a traditional Zen (simple style) "oribe" lantern in black and white granite, a "yukimi" lantern in blue and gray granite and a "kasuga" lantern, which is very ornate and includes some Chinese elements. There are three oval paper lanterns (in the pine tree) and one square paper lantern (in the teahouse) designed by the late famed Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi.

The interior design is fashioned to create a mood inspired by Zen contemplation.

Elements like the azalea-rimmed dry riverbed are included to encourage meditation to ease the soul. Waitresses in authentic kimonos and obis appear like characters from Japanese theatre against the backdrop of the restaurant's exotic interior to pour a "most humble offering of sake (rice wine)." They, along with the entire professional staff, creme an atmosphere of graceful hospitality, which is the ancient heritage of Japanese fine dining.

The Hyakumi Japanese Restaurant serves dinner nightly from 6 to 11 (last seating 10 p.m. ) closed Monday. The sushi bar is open nightly, except Monday, 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. other evenings. For reservations phone 702/731-7731.