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July 16, 2024
 

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Robbie Swinnerton
Robbie Swinnerton has been living, eating and writing about food in Tokyo for over 30 years. His column, Tokyo Food File, has run in The Japan Times since 1998.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Okinawa Paradise: A laid-back taste of Ryukyu culture
The earthly delights are numerous and varied in Kabukicho, Shinjuku's notorious, though now mostly scrubbed-up, red-light district. The pleasures offered at Okinawa Paradise, though, are strictly wholesome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Mimosa Ginza: New offshoot from a Shanghainese favorite
Farewell to Ginza's iconic (albeit dated) Sony Building. Once extolled by gourmets for housing the Tokyo outpost of Maxim's de Paris — at a time when few French restaurants or chefs had any interest in Japan — now all that's left is a hip and well-curated hole in the ground. Welcome to Ginza Sony...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 11, 2018
Shocked to silence: Yasuhiro Fujio reflects on S. Pellegrino Young Chef title
The lights flashed, the music swelled and glittering confetti streamed down onto a stage filled with culinary luminaries. It was the moment of truth, the denouement of an intense, year-long and worldwide competition. And there in the spotlight, receiving the winner's trophy as S. Pellegrino Young Chef...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Toritama: Beak-to-tail yakitori washed down with top sake
There are only two fail-safe ways to get through a Tokyo heatwave summer. One is to head for the hills, or anywhere else the nights are cool. The other is to self-medicate. Sake does the trick perfectly, especially when matched with good yakitori. That calls for an evening at Toritama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Mensho San Francisco: Ramen given the West Coast treatment
It's no secret: Ramen is big in America, and getting bigger fast. It also seems to be undergoing some unusual mutations in its new, no-holds-barred environment. No one understands this better than the self-styled "hyper ramen creator," Tomoharu Shono.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Gold'n Bub: Quality pub grub to match the beer
When Tokyo craves beach time, as often as not it is Shonan that's the destination of choice. This stretch of coastline facing out onto Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture offers sand, surf and no shortage of sun in midsummer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Monk: Diminutive ristorante punches well above its weight
It's a long hike to Tsujido Station from the Shonan shoreline. Thankfully, there are some excellent places to revive yourself among the bars and eateries that cluster on the beach side of the railway tracks. Monk is one of the newest and best.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Jul 26, 2018
Dining out in Tokyo in the age of gastro-tourism
Tokyo: It's the world's greatest dining city. Twenty years ago this assertion — one I delighted in dropping into conversations whenever possible — would have been met with bemusement if not ridicule, especially among the gourmets of Paris or New York. These days, few seriously dispute it. In terms...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 14, 2018
Inua: Japan on the plate, Noma on the palate
To call Inua the most hotly awaited restaurant this year would be inaccurate. But that's only because its opening, at the very end of June, came a mere matter of weeks after it was first announced. There was little time for the excitement to build.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Sel Sal Sale: Ristorante quality with trattoria values
Sel Sal Sale is not one of those modest restaurants that keeps itself safely hidden out of sight behind an anonymous frontage. Quite the opposite: The wood-framed window onto the street invites you to slow down, pause and peer inside.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Ayu Ramen: Hole in the wall noodles topped with sweetfish
The noren half-curtain across the entrance, the compact seven-seat counter, the steam wafting up from the simmering vats — this is the DNA for thousands of hole-in-the-wall noodle joints across Japan. But Ayu Ramen stands out in one crucial respect. Every bowl here comes topped with a portion of its...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 16, 2018
A new wave of chefs redefining Tokyo
In 'Tokyo New Wave,' Andrea Fazzari has picked out 31 chefs she feels are defining Japan's contemporary restaurant scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Bricolage Bread & Co.: Sourdough bread and tartines on the terrace
It’s the smell that greets you first as you walk through the door at Bricolage Bread & Co.; the warm aroma of baking intermingled with the heady whiff of good coffee. It could hardly feel more alluring — that is, until you see the array of baked goods.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Nori-Temaki: A bold attempt to steal the onigiri crown
Think of the nori-temaki (nori roll) as a cousin of the humble onigiri rice "ball" — but served in a cylindrical shape, rather than the flattened pyramids of soft white grain found at every convenience store. Expect to hear much more about this elongated take on the genre if the folks at Global-Dining...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
Juban Ukyo: Alfresco dining to match the environs
It's that short but magical time of year when restaurants throw open their doors, tables proliferate along sidewalks and diners take advantage of the balmy evenings. Quick, now, before the muggy midsummer conditions set in for real: This is prime alfresco season and it's time to book yourself in at Juban...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
BBQPit: All the party without the worry
So you're in the mood for a nice little barbecue evening with a few pals.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2018
La Maison du Isshovin: Energetic, eclectic fare
La Maison du Isshovin is unlike any other restaurant in the Asakusa area. It's not just the name, improbable as it sounds. Nor is it the eclectic — some might say eccentric — menu, or even the contemporary architecture that can't help but catch the eye in this old-school part of town.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2018
Bees Bar by Narisawa: Restaurant’s side project is a more casual affair
After 15 years, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa's eponymous high-end restaurant in Aoyama needs no introduction or further plaudits, and nor does his innovative, superlative cuisine. But there was always one area that needed addressing: the lack of a bar inside his compact premises.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Sobagami: Soba noodles served with quiet formality
Sobagami is a soba noodle specialist — this you can guess from the name — but it is also an offshoot of the very genteel Ginza Kamiya, a high-end kappu014d that takes pride in doing things the right way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Test Kitchen H: Reliving the glory days of glam Italian cucina
There's nothing self-effacing about Test Kitchen H. Occupying a considerable swath of real estate just off Kotto-dori, this low-slung, newly built, free-standing Italian restaurant exudes the kind of suave swagger most of us thought had faded along with stone-washed denim, Dragon Ball manga and memories...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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