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July 17, 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
Mar 2, 2012
Iri: Hidden pan-European eatery is one of a kind
Neighborhood restaurants are different from those where the lights are brighter and overheads (and expectations) higher. Almost by definition they're more casual and down-home, rougher around the edges, simpler and less stylish. Iri doesn't fit that pattern at all.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 2, 2012
Soi 7: Meanwhile, elsewhere in Yoyogi-Uehara ...
Neighborhoods are like microclimates, each with its own ecology of dining opportunities. Some are arid desserts with barely a ramen shop in sight. Others are lush and fertile, with a rich range of cuisines and styles. And then there are the hidden corners, seemingly overlooked, that sprout an improbably...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2012
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele: Naples pizzeria serves up a slice of heaven
Is Tokyo becoming the Naples of Asia? It's starting to feel that way, and not just because there's a volcano lurking on the horizon. There must be as many artisan pizzerias here as in all of Campania, ranging in quality from worthy to excellent.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2012
New Fish House claims east Ebisu as its oyster
First the sad news: One of Ebisu's finest, friendliest little French restaurants has upped and moved to the far side of town. Now the silver lining: Those selfsame pint-sized premises have reincarnated as a branch of Ebisu's finest, friendliest oyster emporium. Just six weeks since saying au revoir to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2012
Kanda is crammed with revered restaurants
...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2012
Botan: Put a little sukiyaki fire in your belly
On one side of the battered shōji screen with its panels of flimsy washi paper, the sleet and biting wind. On the other, a small old-fashioned hibachi brazier, its coals glowing softly. There's no contest: At Botan, the charcoal wins every time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2012
Code kurkku: Kyoto-Italian cuisine in Yoyogi Village
Long before you sit down to dine at code kurkku, before you even glimpse its splendid glass-fronted facade, you know already you're going to love it. How could you not? It has everything going for it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2012
Restaurant full? Head to code kurkku's bar instead
Given the considerable media buzz that accompanied the opening of Yoyogi Village — and the involvement of Il Ghiottone's chef Yasuhiro Sasajima — tables are still at a premium at code kurkku. But even if you can't snare a reservation, don't fancy a full multi-course meal or just turn up on spec,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2012
Nihonbashi Dashi Bar: A dedicated dashi bar you can put stock in
Nothing is more important in Japanese cooking than dashi, the fundamental cooking stock that underpins every aspect of the cuisine. There are many ingredients that can deliver a boost of umami savor, both natural (konbu seaweed or shiitake mushrooms) and artificial (various powders out of jars or sachets)....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2012
Uchiyama: Subtle delights of a brand new year
The holidays are behind us now, but it's still the season for celebrating the New Year. From mochi rice dumplings to mikan mandarins, there are so many festive foods in Japan. Few are more auspicious, or supremely delicious, than madai, known in English variously as sea bream or red snapper.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 23, 2011
New venues made Tokyo tastier in '11
Another year comes to an end, with the usual round of Christmas and bōnenkai "drink the old year to oblivion" parties. Except, of course, it was not just another year. And though we will all be glad to put it behind us, 2011 will not be easily forgotten.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 16, 2011
Sweet memories: Tokyo's dreamiest desserts of 2011
As the Yule season approaches, thoughts turn inevitably to cakes and sweetmeats. Homemade is always best, but sometimes expensive cravings arise for the kind of elegant confections that can only be furnished by bespoke chocolatiers and dessert chefs. Here are five of the desserts that hit the sweet spot...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2011
Bakushu-an: Nighttime nibbles served by the pint
A mound of oysters on the half shell, with a pint of intense hop-driven IPA on the side. It's a combination that could well get to be a habit this coming winter, if we can only get over to Otsuka more often, to the cozy little Japanese-style tavern known as Bakushu-an.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2011
L'Effervescence: Artisan cuisine that looks as beautiful as it tastes
The bubbly season is upon us. The illuminations and Christmas music have been with us for weeks already, but now we're into December, it's high time to think about where to uncork a quiet commemorative bottle or two. Somewhere special and secluded, with plush service and, most crucially, fabulous food...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2011
Ahiru Store: Fresh-baked bread to suit every dish on the menu
Bread and wine: what a great combination. We cannot live on either alone, but put the two together — along with an easygoing attitude and a tasty side menu of home-cooked snacks — and that's the recipe that makes Ahiru Store one of our favorite little wine bars in the city.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2011
Atelier d'I: Plenty of wine — and food to match
For the longest time, one of our most vociferous complaints about Tokyo was that there weren't enough wine bars worthy of the name. These days, thankfully, we are spoiled for choice in every price range. One of the best of the new crop we've discovered recently is Atelier d'I in Shirokane.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 4, 2011
Deli, coffee — and don't forget your monocle
The Monocle Cafe — the first in the world created by the eponymous international lifestyle magazine — looks just the way you'd expect. Sleek but comfortable, with light-wood furniture in a modern Scandinavian vein, it blends in perfectly with the designer boutiques inside Hankyu Men's Tokyo,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 4, 2011
Les Chanterelles: Mushrooms and much more in Moto-Yoyogi
Poets may talk all they like about mist and mellow fruitfulness, but for us, autumn is above all mushroom season. And this year we have a new favorite place in which to indulge our fondness for fungi: Les Chanterelles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 21, 2011
Suzunari: Who says kaiseki ryōri has to be stuffy?
Kaiseki ryōri, Japan's traditional multicourse "haute cuisine," is known for its rarefied elegance, its depth and subtlety of flavor, an exquisite focus on the seasons and, too often, for being as much fun as a funeral. But there is also another kind of kaiseki, one that's simpler, less formalized and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 7, 2011
Hosokawa: Weather the fall with an old Edo classic
Now that summer has been blown away, we finally have the appetite not just to eat but to venture further afield. Time to head across the Sumida River into the shitamachi (old downtown) heartland of Ryogoku, home to the national cult of sumo and its central shrine, the mighty Kokugikan stadium.
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.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
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.
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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Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

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