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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
Jul 18, 2008
Unagi Akimoto: Tradition beats the summer heat
Squeezed in between towering modern neighbors, Akimoto's traditional low-rise architecture is so self-effacing you barely notice it. From the tiled eaves to the wood-slatted second-floor windows and the sliding door set back from the street, all is inscrutable.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 4, 2008
Antica Vineria Giuliano: A slice of Italy in Shirokanedai
There's nothing remotely antique about Antica Vineria Giuliano. It's barely been open a month; you can still smell the paint as you make your way down the stairs. And yet this cozy basement wine bar already exudes the kind of self-assurance that can take other places years to accrue.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 20, 2008
Yasaiya Mei: Bespoke veggies in Omotesando
It's been a very long time since we got excited about curry rice. In fact, this is certainly the first time that we've gone on record extolling the virtues of Japan's blanded-down version of the spicy stew that is British India's lasting contribution to the world of gastronomy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 6, 2008
Maru 3-kai: Maru steps up one more floor
Location, location, location. It's the cardinal rule, the holy trinity of real estate, the prerequisite for success in many a trade — and almost an essential for any restaurant. So how come one of Tokyo's most happening little diners is in a part of town that few people would ever consider their first...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 16, 2008
Bills: Bites along the Shonan coast
Regular readers of this column will know it doesn't take much to lure us to the Shonan Coast of Kanagawa Prefecture, especially when there's good eating to be done at the end of the journey. And since the spring, there's been very good reason for making that trip: the stylish new restaurant/cafe known...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 2, 2008
In the carnal realm of Sin
[Note: Sin is no longer in business.]
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 18, 2008
Kurosawa: Hand-rolled soba — the director's cut
The word tsu (connoisseur) is often bandied around when talking about Japanese cuisine. Originally denoting a general savoir-faire in worldly matters — most especially in the pleasure quarters — it is now widely used for those who know their food and drink.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 4, 2008
Eating, drinking roving, writing
The blossoms have been popping, and ditto the pink champagne. We're not talking about hanami parties in Aoyama Cemetery — they were officially banned this year; nor the exclusive but oh-so-chilly opening party for Sakura Garden, out in the open space behind the Midtown Complex in Roppongi. No, the...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2008
Shinsuke: A sip of sake in shitamachi
Slowly but surely word is getting out to the rest of the world: Japanese restaurants don't have to be formal, exquisite and jaw-droppingly pricey. Quite the opposite, in fact: Eating out in Tokyo can be casual, friendly, affordable and fun.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 21, 2008
Words from the food wise on finding the best izakaya
The izakaya, of course, is much more than a pub in the Western sense of a drinking establishment. While there will always be plenty of sake and other kinds of inebriants, food is an integral part of the experience — ranging from tried-and-true traditional "comfort cooking" to inventive cuisine with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 7, 2008
Spain Iberico Bar Mon-Naka: Iberico comes to Monzen-Nakacho
It took a puzzlingly long time for Japan to catch on to the pleasures of the taperia. It should be a perfect fit since, after all, the exquisite Iberian custom of slowly whiling away the evening with tapas and drinks, one dish and one glass at a time, is so close in spirit to the izakaya tradition.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 15, 2008
Le Pré Verre: French freres serve up 'bistronomie'
It's always a pleasure to find a new restaurant that doesn't quite fit into any of the comfortable, well-worn categories. That's certainly the case at the excellent Le Pré Verre, which opened last November in the designer-sleek Gyre building on Omotesando-dori.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 1, 2008
Yoshiume: Simmering over a nabe hot pot
The sleet was lashing down, the wind whipping off Tokyo Bay as we trudged the streets of Ningyocho, eastern Nihonbashi, in search of dinner. Appalling conditions, certainly, but worth braving for the down-home charms of an evening at Yoshiume.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 18, 2008
Hallelujah: The fiery flavor of Korean winter
A fter all the holiday feasting, the boozing and carousing, it comes as no little relief to get back to basics. Warming sustenance is what we crave in this coldest of seasons. And few things are more comforting, to body and spirit alike, than the hearty home cooking of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 4, 2008
Sake Bistro W: New Year's cheers
A toast is called for, to greet this brave new murine Year of the Rat as it scuttles out of the wainscoting and into the dining room. Nihonshu, Trappist ales, Prosecco, whatever — we're not fussy, as long as the setting is right and there is quality food to go with the liquid refreshments. Here are...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 21, 2007
Rounding off a great year in food
The winter solstice is hard upon us; the days of wassail, mince pies and figgy pudding close behind. As is our custom, the final Food File column of the year is a tightly stuffed Christmas stocking of musings over 12 months of dining out. But before settling back and sifting through the fragrant lees...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 14, 2007
Michelin maestro spills the beans
For one of the world's most illustrious chefs, Pierre Gagnaire keeps a remarkably low profile. Unlike many of his media-savvy colleagues, he shuns business suits and the spotlight of stardom, and just lets his food do the talking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 7, 2007
Smile and say cheese at Esperia
Enough already with the hype and chatter about Michelin stars. Many of Food File's favorite chefs are those who fly below the radar of that most self-promoting of gourmet guides, shunning the limelight and just getting on with the business of putting fine food on tables — exactly the way chef Katsuki...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 16, 2007
N_1155: Naka-Meguro goes organic
Who'd have thought it? Vegetables have become hip. Forget those premium cuts of chu-toro tuna and gourmet meals of beer-pampered wagyu beef: The really happening restaurants these days are those that can offer bespoke produce shipped straight from the farm.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 13, 2007
Thanks, Michelin, but we already knew Tokyo is top
So it's official: Tokyo is the gourmet capital of the planet. That is the incontrovertible message of the new Michelin guide published Thursday, which awards the city a total of 191 of its coveted stars — compared with 98 in Paris and just 54 in New York.
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.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
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.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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