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April 02, 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
Oct 20, 2018
Iyaiya Sanbai: At the contemporary edge of izakaya
A generation back, the average izakaya tavern was noisy, cheap, smoky and the clientele overwhelmingly male. There would usually be one brand of beer; two choices of sake, warmed or room temperature; and food that ranged from reliable to rough and ready.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 20, 2018
PST Roppongi: Pizza Studio Tamaki's natural evolution
PST: The large neon letters shining in the evening gloom spell out a very familiar welcome. And once you're inside, so do the sizzling pizzas with their rough-formed, carbon-flecked rims being pulled from the squat, no-nonsense, gunmetal-black, wood-fired oven. Anyone who has eaten at the original Pizza...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 6, 2018
Los Tacos Azules: Traditional tacos defying preconceptions
Marco Garcia is a man with a mission that is at once modest and radical. At Los Tacos Azules, his bright, cheerful little restaurant, his aim is simply to serve the staple food of his homeland, Mexico. But along the way, he is likely to blow a few minds, palates and preconceptions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018
Kishin Kamakura: Giving breakfast its proper due
For most of us, the first meal of the day is also the fastest, a quick bite or perhaps just some java on the run. But why the hurry? Slow down, breathe, take your time, reward yourself. This is a good half of the pleasure of getting to break your morning fast at Kishin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018
Oxymoron Komachi: Piquant curry favored by the locals
In a tourist town, it pays to know where to eat before you get there. Pro tip: The best places are usually off the main drag. Look where the locals are lining up; the queue outside Oxymoron in Kamakura is always one of the longest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2018
Tandoor Bar Kamalpur: Comfortable as your local izakaya
No prizes for guessing what's on the menu at Tandoor Bar Kamalpur. The familiar, beguiling aromas that greet your nostrils as you arrive are much the same as you'd expect at any other Indian eatery in Tokyo — or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2018
Kerala no Kaze II: South Indian specials with a Japanese touch
"Tiffin" and "meals." "Uppma," "vada" and "idli." The vocabulary of South Indian cuisine conjures up images of spices, swaying palm trees and fragrant ocean breezes. In Tokyo, the locations tend to be rather less exotic. But the ride to suburban Omori repays you well, once you arrive at Kerala no Kaze...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2018
Eneko Tokyo: Basque-inspired, truffle-infused cooking
It was one of the major restaurant openings of last year — a renowned, award-winning European chef at the top of his game, launching his second self-named overseas offshoot. And yet, when you arrive at Eneko Tokyo, hidden away on a quiet Nishiazabu side street, it can feel as though you have come across...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2018
Yakiniku Champion Haneda: Wagyu roll ready for take-off
Picture this: A generous amount of A5 wagyu beef lightly grilled with a proprietary tare sauce. Next, it’s wrapped up inside the leaves of fragrant sangchu (Korean lettuce), along with kimchi and spicy mayonnaise. Finally, it's rolled up in white rice, coated with a generous helping of sesame seeds...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Okinawa Paradise: A laid-back taste of Ryukyu culture
The earthly delights are numerous and varied in Kabukicho, Shinjuku's notorious, though now mostly scrubbed-up, red-light district. The pleasures offered at Okinawa Paradise, though, are strictly wholesome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Mimosa Ginza: New offshoot from a Shanghainese favorite
Farewell to Ginza's iconic (albeit dated) Sony Building. Once extolled by gourmets for housing the Tokyo outpost of Maxim's de Paris — at a time when few French restaurants or chefs had any interest in Japan — now all that's left is a hip and well-curated hole in the ground. Welcome to Ginza Sony...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 11, 2018
Shocked to silence: Yasuhiro Fujio reflects on S. Pellegrino Young Chef title
The lights flashed, the music swelled and glittering confetti streamed down onto a stage filled with culinary luminaries. It was the moment of truth, the denouement of an intense, year-long and worldwide competition. And there in the spotlight, receiving the winner's trophy as S. Pellegrino Young Chef...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Toritama: Beak-to-tail yakitori washed down with top sake
There are only two fail-safe ways to get through a Tokyo heatwave summer. One is to head for the hills, or anywhere else the nights are cool. The other is to self-medicate. Sake does the trick perfectly, especially when matched with good yakitori. That calls for an evening at Toritama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Mensho San Francisco: Ramen given the West Coast treatment
It's no secret: Ramen is big in America, and getting bigger fast. It also seems to be undergoing some unusual mutations in its new, no-holds-barred environment. No one understands this better than the self-styled "hyper ramen creator," Tomoharu Shono.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Gold'n Bub: Quality pub grub to match the beer
When Tokyo craves beach time, as often as not it is Shonan that's the destination of choice. This stretch of coastline facing out onto Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture offers sand, surf and no shortage of sun in midsummer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Monk: Diminutive ristorante punches well above its weight
It's a long hike to Tsujido Station from the Shonan shoreline. Thankfully, there are some excellent places to revive yourself among the bars and eateries that cluster on the beach side of the railway tracks. Monk is one of the newest and best.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Jul 26, 2018
Dining out in Tokyo in the age of gastro-tourism
Tokyo: It's the world's greatest dining city. Twenty years ago this assertion — one I delighted in dropping into conversations whenever possible — would have been met with bemusement if not ridicule, especially among the gourmets of Paris or New York. These days, few seriously dispute it. In terms...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 14, 2018
Inua: Japan on the plate, Noma on the palate
To call Inua the most hotly awaited restaurant this year would be inaccurate. But that's only because its opening, at the very end of June, came a mere matter of weeks after it was first announced. There was little time for the excitement to build.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Sel Sal Sale: Ristorante quality with trattoria values
Sel Sal Sale is not one of those modest restaurants that keeps itself safely hidden out of sight behind an anonymous frontage. Quite the opposite: The wood-framed window onto the street invites you to slow down, pause and peer inside.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Ayu Ramen: Hole in the wall noodles topped with sweetfish
The noren half-curtain across the entrance, the compact seven-seat counter, the steam wafting up from the simmering vats — this is the DNA for thousands of hole-in-the-wall noodle joints across Japan. But Ayu Ramen stands out in one crucial respect. Every bowl here comes topped with a portion of its...
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
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.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
Osaka Expo's Japan Pavilion completed
A ceremony is held to mark the completion of the Japan Pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka on Saturday.
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.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
No longer a 'bridesmaid': Yuki Tsunoda prepares for the Red Bull pressure cooker
All eyes will be on Yuki Tsunoda as he makes his Red Bull debut at the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.

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
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