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April 03, 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
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2018
Kikuya: Seasonal tempura on the fly at Ebisu standing bar
Who says good, fresh tempura requires major outlays of time and money? Back in the day, batter fried foods were cooked and sold at street stalls. And that's pretty much the way it's done at Kikuya.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2018
The Hangar: A triumphant pairing of food, sake and techno in Tokyo
How better to start the new year than with lofty aspirations, a leisurely dinner in a hip setting, techno on the sound system — and plenty of great sake?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2018
Komesan: A Tokyo restaurant where rice takes its rightful place center stage
Komesan subscribes to the radical notion that rice is not just an afterthought but the focal point and raison d'etre of the meal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 31, 2017
A decade on, Shonan surfer is still making waves in the world of soba
Fate intervened when the heavens opened, guiding Ippei Hayashimoto on his path to mastery in the art of pure buckwheat noodles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 30, 2017
No looking back in hunger: a wrap-up of Tokyo's restaurant scene in 2017
As the year draws to a close, all that's left to do is to slurp New Year's soba and give thanks for another bumper year of superlative dining.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 16, 2017
Den: 'Ultimate home cooking' taken to the next level
Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa's leap into the unknown is now starting to look like a stroke of genius.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 16, 2017
Longrain: Getting the Thai savory, sweet, spicy and sour mix right
Marrying good food and drinks with a buzzy style and easygoing ambience is a formula that works just as well in Tokyo as in Melbourne.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2017
Ode: Yusuke Namai creates poetry in his eclectic dishes
First impressions are everything. At Ode, it's the gun-metal gray wall by the front door and the row of white orchids lined up against it. Even before you go in you can tell chef Yusuke Namai's new restaurant has the look and style to match his aspirations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 2, 2017
Homemade Ramen Muginae: These noodles are well worth the wait
All the best restaurants require considerable outlay. Usually that means a hefty dent in your bank balance. At Homemade Ramen Muginae the demand is not on your pocketbook but your time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2017
Locale: Californian farm-to-table in deepest Meguro
At Locale, the menu depends on the ingredients freshly delivered by a network of organic farmers around Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2017
Eneko Bar: At long last, a place in Tokyo to savor classic Basque pintxos
Finally, Tokyo has a pintxos bar worthy of the name. And what a name: Creative culinary genius Eneko Atxa now has a Japan outpost for his contemporary, inventive cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 4, 2017
Tadenoha: A taste of rural Japan in the heart of Tokyo
As the days draw in and the nights get chilly, what greater pleasure could there be than settling in by a warm hearth stacked with glowing charcoal? One thing only: watching the meal you're about to eat being cooked on it. That's the kind of enjoyment delivered at Tadenoha.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 4, 2017
Good Luck Curry: A different take on a favorite spicy dish
It's immediately clear that Good Luck Curry is a bit different. From the cheery sign by the entrance exhorting "Don't Worry, Be Curry!" to the hip decor and the indie/club-jazz/hip-hop soundtrack, this simple, stylish 10-seater neither looks or sounds like your average Tokyo curry-rice joint.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 28, 2017
Tokuyamazushi: Wild dining from lake and forest in Shiga
Owner-chef Hiroaki Tokuyama prepares modern versions of narezushi, which he serves as part of his multicourse meals featuring local fish and game.
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.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
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.
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.
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
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).
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.
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.

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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