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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
Nov 17, 2002
Nibblin', sippin' and slurpin'
Shi-an occupies that comfortable middle-ground between the two extremes of kaiseki formal and izakaya casual. It's not unique and the food is not particularly unusual, but its virtues -- quality seasonal ingredients; a deft touch in the kitchen; competent service; and an unobtrusive, stylish setting...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 10, 2002
Restaurant Kinoshita: New digs, but same culinary magic
When the news came through this summer that one of our favorite chefs, Kazuhiko Kinoshita, was closing his eponymous restaurant in Hatsudai and moving to fresh pastures, it came as no surprise to us. In fact the move was well overdue.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 3, 2002
We'll have 'the usual'
Comme d'habitude. As any linguist knows, that's French for "as usual." As the name of a restaurant, it conjures up images of a run-of-the-mill bistro with standard-issue checkered tablecloths. But the name is both modest and misleading, because Comme d'habitude in Kami-Meguro stands head and shoulders...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 27, 2002
Grazing between East and West
The dining-bar is a strange concept, one that is quite peculiar to Japan. Unlike at regular bars, food is a central part of the experience -- not just beer nuts, but real sustenance. Unlike a proper restaurant, though, you are not expected to order a whole meal from starter through to main course and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 20, 2002
A city with the world on its plates
It is highly unlikely that Commodore Perry or any other of his crew had epicurean tastes, but the arrival of the Black Ships in 1853 signaled the start of an influx to Japan of foreign -- specifically Western -- food. With the subsequent opening of treaty ports and the Meiji Era's heady days of "bunmei...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 20, 2002
The garden of heavenly tofu delights
Traditional cuisine intersects with a distinctive modern sensibility at Sorano-niwa. Newly opened on one of Ebisu's quieter back streets, this is an almost textbook example of how some of Japan's most representative foods are being updated and repackaged for the new millennium.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 13, 2002
Fresh, raw Ebisu, on the half-shell
Oysters are definitely in season these days -- and not just because the summer is over and there's an "R" in the letters of the month. Overlooked and undervalued for too long here (or perhaps just overshadowed by all the other superb seafood that's available), these humble bivalves are only now being...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 6, 2002
Iseya: Tempura with a tale to tell
Iseya is a diamond in the rough-and-ready neighborhood that lies to the north of Asakusa. Set between the sleazy, winking red lights of the Senzoku soaplands and the grim and grimy flophouses of San'ya, this is far from tourist territory. And Iseya is no tourist restaurant. But without doubt it's a shitamachi...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 29, 2002
As bistros go, this one is parfait
It's the post-holiday syndrome, the back-at-work midweek slump. You feel like eating out, but you don't want to get dressed up. You need to avoid straining the credit card. And you're certainly not in the mood for elaborate delicacies or rare vintages by candlelight.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 22, 2002
Shinsekai Saikan: Old school from the New World
Shinsekai Saikan (or Xinshijie Caiguan, to give it the proper Pinyin reading) has plied its trade at the Jinbocho Crossing since 1946 -- so long, indeed, that it's become one of the neighborhood landmarks. The name may be "New World Restaurant," but this is definitely an establishment of the old school....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2002
Simplicity, the mother of perfection
First impressions are everything. You can tell a good restaurant from the moment you walk through the door. It could be a visual cue or the general layout, a subtle feeling that the feng shui is right. It could be the way you are greeted at the door, the movements of the chef or the reassurance of seeing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 8, 2002
Toutouan: Three hours of pure bliss
Toutouan lies inside Tokyo -- but only just. You will find it far from the throbbing heart of the city, on the western fringes of the greater metropolis, not so far from where the Tama River flows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2002
Lime: Sublime fare, out of the blue
Just what Tokyo needs -- another Asian-themed dining bar that features exotic interior flourishes and caters to the youthful Ginza office crowd. But hold the all-knowing, world-weary sarcasm. In the case of Lime, it's unfair and quite uncalled for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 25, 2002
New kids on the Aoyama block
There's been a host of new openings in the Aoyama area recently, and they're a very mixed bag. Top of everyone's list has to be Kubakan & Republica, the eagerly anticipated restaurant-cum-champagne lounge.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 11, 2002
Vietnam Alice: It's summer, so lighten up
The Vietnamese know all about hot weather. And one of their ways of dealing with the heat has been to make their food light and appetizing. Using plenty of aromatic herbs, colorful garnishes and condiments that are fragrant yet not overwhelming to the palate, theirs is the most subtle cuisine in all...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2002
Salsita: Just like they do it back in old Mexico
'The best Mexican food in town,' the hand-chalked sign outside Salsita proclaims. That's certainly a cocksure statement for a cantina of such modest dimensions. But, as we all know (in Japan better than anywhere else), when it comes to eating well, what matters is neither the size of the kitchen nor the length of the menu but quality, attention to detail and that plus-alpha personal touch. You'll find Salsita has that in spades.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 21, 2002
Basement beats and eats
So what do hip young French eat when they go out clubbing these days? Actually, that's a trick question. Nobody feels like eating much when there is a first-rate DJ working the turntables. But that doesn't mean there's nothing worth eating on the menu at La Fabrique Paris, the cutting-edge club-cum-diner...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 14, 2002
Keep your cool in the big heat
Every food has its season, and every season its food -- and the arrival of the big heat means that, more than ever, this is the time of year for noodles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 7, 2002
Hisio: The pleasure zone is your oyster
Now that the monthlong soccer carnival has samba'd off stage, it's safe to venture back into the heartland of Roppongi again. This is highly welcome, as there are several places that we've been looking forward to trying out -- and top of the list is Hisio, with its newly opened oyster bar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2002
Even a sultan would approve
No matter their relative prowess on the soccer field, there can be no disputing which of the nations that reached the semifinal of the World Cup would deserve to be champions, were the title decided on culinary merit alone. With all respect to the gastronomy of Germany, Brazil and South Korea, none can...
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.
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.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
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.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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