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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
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...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 16, 2018
A new wave of chefs redefining Tokyo
In 'Tokyo New Wave,' Andrea Fazzari has picked out 31 chefs she feels are defining Japan's contemporary restaurant scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Bricolage Bread & Co.: Sourdough bread and tartines on the terrace
It’s the smell that greets you first as you walk through the door at Bricolage Bread & Co.; the warm aroma of baking intermingled with the heady whiff of good coffee. It could hardly feel more alluring — that is, until you see the array of baked goods.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Nori-Temaki: A bold attempt to steal the onigiri crown
Think of the nori-temaki (nori roll) as a cousin of the humble onigiri rice "ball" — but served in a cylindrical shape, rather than the flattened pyramids of soft white grain found at every convenience store. Expect to hear much more about this elongated take on the genre if the folks at Global-Dining...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
Juban Ukyo: Alfresco dining to match the environs
It's that short but magical time of year when restaurants throw open their doors, tables proliferate along sidewalks and diners take advantage of the balmy evenings. Quick, now, before the muggy midsummer conditions set in for real: This is prime alfresco season and it's time to book yourself in at Juban...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
BBQPit: All the party without the worry
So you're in the mood for a nice little barbecue evening with a few pals.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2018
La Maison du Isshovin: Energetic, eclectic fare
La Maison du Isshovin is unlike any other restaurant in the Asakusa area. It's not just the name, improbable as it sounds. Nor is it the eclectic — some might say eccentric — menu, or even the contemporary architecture that can't help but catch the eye in this old-school part of town.
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.
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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