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April 05, 2025
 

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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
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 2, 2007
Oden: Japanese for 'soul food'
There's no need to look at the changing leaves to know what season it is; just walk into your nearest 7-Eleven outlet and sniff. Those trays of oden stewing by the checkout are all you need to know that winter is on its way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 19, 2007
Suji's and Bills: Stateside menus go big in Tokyo
Spend too much time wandering down the main Roppongi drag and you start wondering what country you're in. Since Suji's threw open its doors earlier this year, close to the Iikura-Katamachi Crossing, that particular stretch of Gaien-Higashi-dori has started to feel more like Main Street, USA.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 5, 2007
Don Ciccio: Channeling the flavors of Sicily
What distinguishes a trattoria from a full-blown, self-styled ristorante? It's not the decor, the size of the dining room or the proximity of your neighbors' table. Nor is it necessarily the quality of the cooking. We always know we're in trattoria territory when the staff seem to be enjoying themselves...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 21, 2007
Seigetsu: Great balls of cedar promise good sake
It's the constant conundrum we all face when we arrive in a strange city or wander into an unfamiliar neighborhood. Among the profusion of restaurants and bars, how can you tell which ones are any good? One rule of thumb that has stood us in good stead here over the years: keep your eyes peeled for sakabayashi....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 17, 2007
Summertime and the grazing is easy
It's holiday time and the Food File is off for a break, but not before tidying up a few loose ends. This column is a summer miscellany — call it a chop suey (from the Cantonese shap sui, meaning "odds and ends") — on a few of the places we've visited and enjoyed in recent months.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 3, 2007
Sumile: Al fresco dining above the crowds
Shibuya is not the neighborhood that springs to mind most readily when planning a mellow evening of al fresco dining — and certainly not anywhere in the vicinity of brash pedestrian street Center-gai. And yet why not, when the tranquil terrace at Sumile lies just steps away from all that relentless...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 20, 2007
Rak Thai Pheng Roi: Thai 'food stall' keeps it casual
At this time of this year, every day feels like casual Friday. And as the humidity rises and the perspiration drops, simple is the way we like it. That means food that's light and flavorful, preferably with a good spicy kick to it — and strictly no dressing up for dinner.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 6, 2007
Eating your way along the coast
The ocean sparkles; the beach beckons; a breeze stirs the appetite. And the Shonan coast — an hour or so south of Tokyo by train — looks mighty appealing, especially the secluded inlets down the peninsula in genteel Hayama. That's where you'll find the Food File.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 15, 2007
Tofuya Ukai: Below the Tower a Garden of Edo
Tofuya Ukai is one of those "only in Japan" experiences. In the heart of the city, minutes from Roppongi and at the very foot of Tokyo Tower, you round a corner and find yourself in front of a samurai-era merchant's residence, its low-slung wooden gateway announced by an imposing white lantern and a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 1, 2007
Butagumi: In hog heaven with the pig gang
Gourmet tonkatsu. It sounds like a contradiction in terms, as implausible as haute cuisine hot dogs or Michelin-starred jellied eels. Surely those breaded, deep-fried "cutlets" of pork can be nothing but comfort food: fatty, filling and reassuringly easy on the budget.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 18, 2007
Viron: Bread and rosé in Marunouchi
Whatever happened to Tokyo's love affair with the cafe-brasserie? A decade ago, the entire city seemed ready to embrace the Gallic ethos of sipping coffee and nibbling on croissants (or pastis and salade nicoise) while indulging in the leisurely sport of people watching.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 4, 2007
Manuel Churrascaria: Portuguese bistro-casual with a grill
Another week, another new building complex. After working our way through Tokyo Midtown, Velviakan in Ginza and the new Shin-Marunouchi Building, we'd had it with the hype and the crowds. Craving simple, honest sustenance in a quiet neighborhood setting, it came as a pleasure to return at last to Manuel...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 20, 2007
Kinsai: Nakame's hip new super kitchen
The three sturdy wooden doors that form the frontage of Kinsai open out onto busy Yamate-dori, a 10-minute walk from Naka-Meguro Station. It's an unromantic location, but that doesn't deter the well-clad clientele who have been filling the place every night since it opened at the beginning of this month....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 6, 2007
Kin-no-saru: In any season, a park-side classic
We had it all planned. We'd spend the afternoon in Kichijoji's Inokashira Park, strolling and sitting under the cherry trees, with maybe a dram or two of sake to inspire lofty thoughts, before adjourning for dinner nearby. But we hadn't counted on the weathermen getting their predictions so wrong.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Tokyo’s KK Line to close for decadelong overhaul as public greenway
People enjoy running and yoga on Tokyo Expressway’s KK Line, a 2-kilometer elevated expressway cutting through the capital’s commercial Ginza district, when it was opened as a pedestrian space in May last year.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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