. . . BUT IF YOU’RE STILL GAME

There is not another city in America that offers such a wide variety of Japanese restaurants as Los Angeles. Japanese food is more than simply sushi, and if raw fish doesn’t seem very appealing at the moment, you might want to try the great court cuisine, kaiseki; the country food, robatayaki, or the pub food, kapporyori. HORIKAWA, 111 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, (213) 680-9355. Among the largest, and most elegant Japanese restaurants in town, Horikawa offers diners a number of different dining rooms and a large choice of meal options. You can eat in the main dining room and have tempura, sukiyaki and teriyaki, or you can reserve a tatami room and have an extraordinary and authentic kaiseki experience. You can also opt for the teppan room, where chefs briskly slash and grill the food in front of their customers. There is a large and excellent sushi bar. Lunch offerings are offbeat: While the non-adventurous may stay with steak, broiled fish or chicken, the exploratory can try the Horikawa bento (lunch box) or higawari ozen , a traditional Japanese lunch whose composition changes daily. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Thur. 5:30-10:30 p.m., Fri. 5:30-11 p.m., Sat. 5-11 p.m., Sun. 5-10 p.m. Reservations. Full bar. Valet parking. Major credit cards. $30-$50. KATSU, 1972 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 665-1891. This truly is food as art. Nothing about Katsu is ordinary: The decor is unusually quiet and simple, the artwork modern and striking. Food is served with the careful artistry usually reserved for the most elegant restaurants of Japan--chef Katsu Michite chooses, slices and arranges his ingredients with unerring sensitivity, creating food to savor. Yellowtail, a sweet, rich-tasting fish, is one specialty, served with ruffly light seaweed and fresh wasabi on exquisite handmade ceramic platters. Diced Spanish mackerel are served upon lettuce leaves and sweet, tiny scallops. In addition to the sushi (easily ordered at the table, where diners are given a little list from which to check their choices), there is a separate cooked dinner offered each evening. Lunch Mon.-Fri. noon-2 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Sun. 6-10:30 p.m. Reservations. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Major credit cards. Dinner, $25-$60. KUWA SEI, 410 East 2nd St., Honda Plaza, Los Angeles, (213) 617-1008. A traditional Kyoto-style restaurant that’s a favorite of Japanese Angelenos. Its calling card is kapporyori , a cuisine of appetizers to be nibbled on while drinking sake or beer. A unique and delightful lunch is hyotan bento , a gourd-shaped grouping that offers steamed rice, an assortment of sashimi , broiled rock cod, cold spinach, sizzling fried shrimp, an oval-shaped egg cake kamaboko and other delicacies. The assortment of dinner offerings soothe the eye and tease the palate: While many Japanese restaurants serve chawan mushi , steamed egg custard, Kuwa Sei’s is truly exceptional. For heartier appetites there is oden , their seasonal stew of yams, fish cakes, potatoes and tofu. By 7 p.m. the restaurant is usually full, so come early. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Sat. 5:30-10:30 p.m. Reservations. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Major credit cards. Dinner, $25-$50. MITSUKI, 201 N. Western Ave., Hollywood, (213) 462-9227. Well-hidden between unassuming Thai and Korean neighborhoods, Mitsuki retains the rustic old-world spirit of a true Japanese pub. It also offers a dazzling array of more than 100 dishes. Appetizers range in quantity edameme (Japanese green beans) to tsukune , cocktail-sized meatballs of finely minced chicken. For more exotic fare, try ankimo , a creamy, slightly bitter pate of fish liver, buri no shioyaki , a buttery, salt-baked white fish, or nasu miso yakime , cubed, grilled eggplant served with richly flavored red miso paste on top. For the serious eater there’s kushikatsu , breaded pork tenderloin on skewers to be diped in a tangy sauce. Niokomi is a hearty stew of beef, tripe, liver, kidney and green onion. Finish with yaki onigiri , grilled rice cakes filled with seafood that are exactly like those sold in the streets of Japan’s Shizuoka. Open Tue.-Sat. 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sun. 5 p.m.-midnight. Dinner, $15-$30.

SUSHI-TRON, 719 West 7th St., Los Angeles, (213) 623-5452. Sushi-tron is California’s first computerized sushi bar: You sit at a light-sensitive board on which are displayed pictures of the various available sushi. Key in a series of commands with a light pen, and await your confirmation light. Check your bill at any time to see how much you’ve spent. It’s so simple only a child can do it. The good news: The sushi is still made by a sushi chef. The tuna is nicely trimmed, the salmon roe fresh and tasty. Some of the dishes lack an ethnic punch, and prices are slightly on the high side, but there’s no denying Sushi-tron is a techno-pop marvel, and a fun one at that. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Reservations. Beer and wine. Valet parking. Major credit cards. Dinner, $15-$30.