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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
Jun 18, 2010
Premium sake tasting is back in Tokyo
Good news for anyone with an interest in Japan's traditional tipple: The Ginjo Bar is up and running again for the summer. This annual event is organized by the Nippon Ginjo Kyokai, a loose affiliation of kura (sake breweries) around the country that specialize in premium sake, most of it prepared in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 18, 2010
Nozaki Sakaten: Fine sake served with enthusiasm
To enter the warren of low-rise, low-rent back streets southwest of Shinbashi Station is to venture well off the gourmet beaten track. These few blocks around Karasumori Shrine are known for carousing, not fine dining. But at least there is plenty of good sake to imbibe — once you have found your way...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 4, 2010
Incanto weaves its enchantment
Anyone with the nose, the nous and the drive to become a certified sommelier has our respect. But to gain that certification in Italy — in Italian, when your native tongue is Japanese . . . That demands the greatest admiration.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 4, 2010
Change is not always for the better
Hidden away just up the side street from Incanto, the bijou wine bar formerly known (and extolled in this column) as Terauchi has gone through two name changes in the past couple of years. First it became Magazzino; now, since April of this year, it is simply known as Itabar.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Frijoles: Tex-Mex classics, fast and flavorful
Is there any finer fast food than a well-constructed taco or, better yet, its bulked-up big brother, the burrito? At their best, they're wholesome and filling, nutritious and versatile, a square meal rolled up in a package that's both portable and tasty.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Cozy spots for more south-of-the-border fare
There's little likelihood of Mexican cuisine hitting the mainstream in Tokyo anytime soon, but there's a fair sprinkling of places around town that can scratch the itch when those cravings for tacos and burritos get too insistent.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Tex-Mex classics, fast and flavorful
Is there any finer fast food than a well-constructed taco or, better yet, its bulked-up big brother, the burrito? At their best, they're wholesome and filling, nutritious and versatile, a square meal rolled up in a package that's both portable and tasty.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 7, 2010
Maruni/Zaku: Here's the beef, in vintage style
Like so many casual eating/drinking spots opening in these cash-strapped times, Maruni keeps things simple and cheap. It's basically a standing bar serving yakiniku barbecue, with a brightly lit interior and retro wooden facade. What sets it apart from just about any other place of its kind is that the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 7, 2010
Jamaica in Japan: One Love festival
This weekend (May 8 and 9), Tokyo celebrates its continuing love affair with all things Jamaican. The annual One Love Festival takes place in Yoyogi Park, and this year it will be bigger than ever. Expect to find rocksteady reggae rhythms on the sound systems, Red Stripe lager in the ice boxes and plenty...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 30, 2010
Kyoto's temples of gastronomy
You need a strategy when you're visiting a city the size of Kyoto. Ours was simple: No tourist spots, no taxis and no traipsing around. We were there to eat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 16, 2010
Yasai Kaiseki Nagamine: Vegetables given pride of place in upmarket kaiseki cuisine
Down in Ginza, we got another glimpse of the future. This version, though, is hushed and sophisticated, with waitresses in kimono. It feels very traditional — in all but one respect. Instead of tuna and eel on your sushi, you get mushrooms and vegetables. Welcome to Nagamine, Tokyo's first vegetable...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 16, 2010
Noka no Daidokoro: A fresh future for healthy dining
We have seen the future. It's a bright, cheerful place, where farmers are heroes and everyone munches on raw food. There are posters and didactic messages everywhere, and the enthusiasm seems almost otaku. Welcome to Noka no Daidokoro (Farmhouse Kitchen), the taste of things to come.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2010
Bills Yokohama: Pancakes, scrambled eggs and more, bills brings a taste of Sydney to Yokohama
One of the Food File's all-time favorite settings for breakfast in Japan — lunch and dinner, too — has to be bills , Aussie chef Bill Granger's stylish beachfront cafe/restaurant on the Kamakura coast. The good news is that there's now a second branch, and it's a lot more convenient if you're living...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2010
Lauderdale, Mariage Freres, Lipton Tea House: Roppongi breakfast, high tea in the Ginza
Breakfast and afternoon tea: Two meals that rarely get discussed in this column. It's not a question of bias. It's just there are very few places in town that get them right.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 19, 2010
Le Dessin: Designs for both palate and palette
It was one of those hot tips that come our way from time to time. This one, though, was delivered with a caveat: "A fantastic little French place, as good as any in town for the price; but the location's so obscure no one knows about it. It's called Le Dessin."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 19, 2010
Happy returns for two French chefs in Tokyo
We're always sad when a top restaurant shuts down, but we were especially disappointed when we heard that the Michelin two-star Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo had closed its bijou doors last year. As one of the world's most brilliant chefs, Gagnaire's exquisite cuisine would seem a perfect match for Tokyo's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 5, 2010
A16: Brick Square is hip
Spring may not be here for real just yet, but it's never too early to celebrate the first al fresco lunch of the year. So when last week's unseasonably warm spell arrived we knew exactly where to go — into the heart of the city, to grab an outside table at A16.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 5, 2010
Echire Maison du Beurre: Butter boutique continues to draw in the crowds at the Marunouchi Brick Square
With two dozen restaurants, bars and cafes over three floors, Marunouchi Brick Square was a hit right from its opening last October. But the biggest buzz and the longest lines have been at one of the smallest shops in the complex: Echire Maison de Beurre, the first specialist butter boutique in the city....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 19, 2010
Yoshicho: Stellar yakitori down in Gotanda
The idea of gourmet yakitori is nothing new. There are plenty of restaurants around town where the humble art of skewering and grilling chicken has been elevated to a degree of sophistication. But you don't expect to find it in the back streets of Gotanda, just north of Shinagawa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 5, 2010
Kamikozawa-tei: Shabu-shabu in modernist mode
There's no finer way to eat on a chilly winter evening than sitting around a bubbling nabe hot pot. No matter what the ingredients — meat, fish, tofu or vegetables — just cooking and eating from the same communal casserole is nourishment for both body and soul.
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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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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