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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
May 19, 2018
Bees Bar by Narisawa: Restaurant’s side project is a more casual affair
After 15 years, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa's eponymous high-end restaurant in Aoyama needs no introduction or further plaudits, and nor does his innovative, superlative cuisine. But there was always one area that needed addressing: the lack of a bar inside his compact premises.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Sobagami: Soba noodles served with quiet formality
Sobagami is a soba noodle specialist — this you can guess from the name — but it is also an offshoot of the very genteel Ginza Kamiya, a high-end kappu014d that takes pride in doing things the right way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Test Kitchen H: Reliving the glory days of glam Italian cucina
There's nothing self-effacing about Test Kitchen H. Occupying a considerable swath of real estate just off Kotto-dori, this low-slung, newly built, free-standing Italian restaurant exudes the kind of suave swagger most of us thought had faded along with stone-washed denim, Dragon Ball manga and memories...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 28, 2018
Ribatei: No pretension here, just satisfying yakitori
Ribatei might be located in a grittier part of Yokohama, but the yakitori third-generation owner-chef Tomotsugu Sakakibara serves is nothing to scoff at.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 28, 2018
Sparta: All the Greek classics, with Mediterranean charm
Yokohama's Sparta has been around a while and has the Greek food chops to prove it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2018
Nordic cooking, Japanese bounty: Strong Noma current runs through new Tokyo restaurant Inua
The culinary thread running from Greenland to Copenhagen and thence to Hokkaido and the rest of Japan may not be immediately obvious. But those are some of the key points on the line of inspiration behind a new restaurant that will open in Tokyo in late June.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 14, 2018
Kagawa Ippuku: Udon to rival Shikoku's very best
Sometimes you want simple. Sometimes you feel like hunkering down with no-frills, no-fuss food that fills and comforts. Sometimes you need a quick, restorative visit to Kagawa Ippuku in Kanda.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 14, 2018
The Oak Door: A fiery rebirth for a Tokyo heavyweight
The Oak Door is back in action. For the past 15 years, the Grand Hyatt's flagship restaurant has been a Tokyo fixture, a monument to man-sized steaks, heavyweight wines and power dining. That was until a chimney fire in early 2017 necessitated a year-long hiatus. Now, like a phoenix from the ashes, it's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 31, 2018
Know by Moto: Sake finds a chic haven below Shinjuku
So you've rendezvoused beneath the huge video screen at Studio Alta. You've explored Shinjuku, maybe caught a movie or trawled for treats in the gleaming depachika (basement food floor) of the Isetan department store. Now you're ready for sustenance. Somewhere cool, with good food and premium sake. No...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 31, 2018
Otafuku: Temporary home preserves 100-year tradition
April in Japan isn't cruel so much as capricious. It brings unexpected chills and sudden rain as readily as it does blossom and sunshine. There's still plenty of need for warming, restorative fare — and nothing fits that description better than oden.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 31, 2018
A new generation of Japanese chefs comes to the fore at Asia's Best 50
Just as surely as spring brings blossom and fresh foliage, it also heralds the announcement of the annual Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings. And this year there was intense celebration by many of Japan's top chefs to match the festivities going on underneath the billowing sakura (cherry trees) back...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 24, 2018
Lessons from the forefront of the global fight for food security
Where does our food come from? Who grows it? What is its impact on the environment? How can we feed the world's growing population? What effect will global warming have on food security?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 17, 2018
The Blind Donkey: Serving up nature in the inner city
Among the brash drinking holes and boisterous old-school izakaya taverns clustered in the narrow alleys that surround Kanda Station, The Blind Donkey is an unexpected, understated anomaly.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 17, 2018
OnJapan Cafe&: Reimagining the fermenting tradition
Shibuya's Kamiyamacho district continues to bubble up with worthy new dining venues. One of the most intriguing new arrivals on its increasingly popular shopping street — the long, straight artery connecting Tokyu Department Store with Yoyogi-Koen — is OnJapan Cafe&.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2018
Bakushuan Nihonbashi: Oysters don't get much better than this
Bakushuan Nihonbashi is keen to make sure you know what to expect. "We're a craft beer and sake place," they tell you when you call to reserve. It's not so much a warning as an invitation: Come prepared to explore both beverages in considerable depth.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2018
Hakkoku: Hiroyuki Sato is striving for the next level of sushi greatness
What makes outstanding sushi? Seafood, balance and technique, for starters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2018
Tokyo Saryo: The new stylings of sencha green tea
Japan's traditional daily drink, sencha green tea, is making a comeback. For too long it's been crowded out of modern consciousness by the buzz and self-promotion of coffee culture. But thanks to places like Tokyo Saryo, sencha may be starting to regain its relevance and appeal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2018
Fratelli Paradiso's new venture in Tokyo: 'I want to enjoy my food, wine and mates'
When Fratelli Paradiso arrived in Tokyo last spring, it had a mission that was both straightforward and daunting: to introduce the kind of excellent, no-frills Italian dining that's made this buzzy Sydney-based restaurant so successful in its homeland.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2018
Men Labo Hiro: Balanced ramen from a yakitori chef
Men Labo Hiro is far from your standard noodle counter. Squeaky clean both inside and out, with spacious tables by the door and enough room to squeeze in even a stroller or two, it feels more like a family restaurant than the type of place to excite the hardcore ramen fraternity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2018
Sonoji: Ningyocho tempura chef has noodle-making in his DNA
When Sonoji arrived in Ningyocho just over a year ago, it stirred up considerable interest. Primarily due to its obvious quality, but also because it stands out from the pack.
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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