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November 22, 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
Dec 17, 2010
Casa Vinitalia: High-end Italian for the spontaneous gourmet
Snaring a reservation at a top-end Tokyo restaurant is hard enough at the best of times. Now, with the yearend celebrations in full flow, it's nigh on impossible. But even if you haven't booked that special dinner yet, there could still be a glimmer of hope. You can always try your luck at Casa Vinitalia...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 17, 2010
Aroma Fresca: Smells like great Italian — but book ahead
Even in its earliest incarnation on the edge of Hiroo, Aroma Fresca was one of the hottest tables in town — and among the hardest to reserve. It was the same story during its stay in Azabu-Juban (in the premises now occupied solely by Casa Vinitalia), and nothing has changed since its rebirth in August...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 3, 2010
Junkadelic makes its (exclamation) mark
One of our favorite funky eateries has just sprouted a new offshoot, and it's every bit as laid-back delicious. Junkadelic, the self-styled "comfortable Mexican" hangout in Naka-Meguro, already has a branch in Akasaka. This new one, which opened in nether Shibuya in late October, is smaller, more intimate...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 3, 2010
Junkadelic Jalopy! makes its (exclamation) mark
One of our favorite funky eateries has just sprouted a new offshoot, and it's every bit as laid-back delicious. Junkadelic, the self-styled "comfortable Mexican" hangout in Naka-Meguro, already has a branch in Akasaka. This new one, which opened in nether Shibuya in late October, is smaller, more intimate...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 3, 2010
La Gargote: Buzzing new bistro moves in for the grill
The great guide Michelin has again spoken, and lo! Tokyo has yet more stars in its firmament, and with even greater numbers anointed to the most exalted echelons. Further confirmation, should it be needed, that this is the foodiest city on the planet.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 19, 2010
Kankyo Shuten: Crab with wine in Ningbo style
This is the golden season, the time for feasting and thanksgiving. Here in Japan, we celebrate the rice harvest, persimmons and pumpkins, mikan mandarins and matsutake mushrooms. Over in Shanghai, though, the autumn delicacy par excellence is freshwater crab.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 5, 2010
To your health: Vinegar is the toast at Osuya
Following the refurbishment of the Ginza Mitsukoshi department store, much media attention has focused on the ninth-floor rooftop lawn terrace. But it's the bottommost floors that grab our interest. They have been totally revamped to create Tokyo's newest, classiest depachika basement food hall.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 5, 2010
Kamo-shabu Chikutei: Putting the duck into shabu-shabu
There's no mystery as to what's on the menu at Kamo-shabu Chikutei. Even if you didn't know that "kamo" means "duck," the lamps at the entrance with their stylized image of a mallard in flight give the game away.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 15, 2010
Rue de Shuri: Small is beautiful out in Nakame
Everyone likes Naka-Meguro. With its languid tree-lined creek, quirky bars and design boutiques and easygoing low-rise ambience — away from the station, at any rate — it's one of the Tokyo locales we all wish we lived in. Best of all, Nakame (as those in the know call it) has some excellent little...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 1, 2010
Zezankyo: A showcase for tempura artistry
It would be absolutely inaccurate to call Tetsuya Saotome a maverick. But within the traditional, buttoned-down world of tempura chefs, he certainly stands out as an individualist.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 17, 2010
Maison Bretonne: All for the love of Breton galettes
Isn't it about time that galettes — those skinny, savory, nut-brown buckwheat pancakes born in Brittany but now ubiquitous in French cuisine — took this country by storm?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 17, 2010
Koz Cafe: Colorful dishes, Scandinavian style
One of our best — and best-looking — discoveries this summer has been Koz Cafe. Occupying a converted house on a narrow pedestrian street on the Tomigaya side of Yoyogi Park, it has a distinctive Scandinavian feel both inside and out (you can't miss its patterned slate-blue exterior) and on the menu...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 3, 2010
Bissori: A secret garden of enchantment
Even among the architectural mishmash of Tokyo's jumbled backstreets, Bissori stands out. The two-story facade is sheer, rough-plastered, almost windowless. Creepers and bamboo obscure the few small square portholes. It's intriguing, enigmatic. Inside, though, is even more remarkable.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 3, 2010
The Market SE1: Artisan ice cream on the Shonan coast
We surely haven't been the only ones thirsting for ice cream throughout this long, sultry summer. Those cravings have been assuaged by regular doses of the superb gelati made by Grom. As of last month, there are now three outlets in Tokyo for these outstanding (and pricey) Italian ices, which many people...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 20, 2010
Kanagawa taverns with brews of note
When we find ourselves thirsty in Yokohama, we know exactly where to head. Our latest favorite watering hole in the city is Pivoya, a small pub that specializes exclusively in beer from the Czech Republic. It's in a quiet, out-of-the-way locale but definitely worth tracking down.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 20, 2010
August Beer Club: Beers that taste great in August
In this punishing heat, a lot of people complain they have lost all appetite for food. We say: Change your definition of the word "food." At this time of year, we gain a significant proportion of our nourishment from that most essential of food groups: beer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 6, 2010
Escape the heat island to the great outdoors
Al fresco tables are at a premium at this time of year, especially if the view you want is one of leafy nature rather than city traffic or nearby buildings. Add quality food into that equation and the choices narrow even further. However, one place that fits the bill perfectly is Park Side Cafe, down...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 6, 2010
Peace Tokyo: Pasta, pizza and riverside peace
Peace is hard to find, they say. Equally elusive in this mighty megalopolis are tranquil riverside dining spots with al fresco tables, sunset views and nary a building in sight or traffic noise to drown out the birdsong.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 2, 2010
Myojinshita Kandagawa Honten: Beating the heat with classic unagi
The Great Heat has returned, blanketing the city, sapping our energy and, worse yet, stifling all appetite for food. There's only one solution for lifting that summer lethargy — at least if you hold with local lore: It's time to feast on that supreme summer specialty, unagi eel.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 2, 2010
Matsuyoshi: Old-style eel with a neighborhood feel
Throughout Tokyo and the rest of the country, eel restaurants are gearing up for the annual "Unagi Day" feeding frenzy. The exact dates are determined according to the old almanac on the midsummer Day (or Days) of the Ox, which this year falls on July 26. And the longest lines will be outside some of...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.

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