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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
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 28, 2017
Tomita Shuzo: Storied sake on a Shiga street that time forgot
As well as being one of the oldest sake breweries in Japan, the sake here is also some of the nation's finest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 14, 2017
Somtum Der: Spicy food from Thailand's northeast
Somtum Der is unlike any other Thai restaurant in the city. It's not just the look, though the bold red facade certainly stands out in the drab Yoyogi backstreets, and the chic, bright interior reflects a contemporary sensibility, not one rooted in the cliches of tradition.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 14, 2017
Banh Mi Bakery: Flavor and consistency straight out of Saigon
Banh Mi Bakery stands right across the road from Ebisu Yokocho. But with its colorful typography and bottles of nuoc mam fish sauce arrayed in the window, it looks like it's been beamed over straight from the streets of Saigon. Better yet, it smells and tastes like it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 30, 2017
336 Ebisu: Neo-bistro has food and style all its own
If you judge restaurants solely by their architecture and decor, you'd probably finger 336 Ebisu as a temple of modern Scandinavian cuisine. The interior is so simple and airy — all big windows, curving arches, light-wood furniture, unadorned walls — that you expect dishes of Nordic precision. You'd...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 30, 2017
Henry's Burger Akihabara: Same top wagyu, grander digs
At last, Kentaro Henry Nakahara has an outlet to match the quality of the meat he uses and the scale of his ambition. When he opened the first branch of his eponymous burger restaurant in Daikanyama back in late 2015, the justifiable excitement was inevitably tempered by the diminutive scale of the operation....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 16, 2017
Ningyocho Imahan: An old take on an old favorite — sukiyaki
As the city crow flies, it's just a short hop from the bustle and bright lights of Ginza to the laid-back, low-rise backstreets of Ningyocho. But once you're there, it can feel half a world away — especially when you arrive at Imahan.
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.
Russia launched intercontinental ballistic missile during attack on Ukraine, Kyiv says
A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is launched during a test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in Northern Arkhangelsk region of Russia, in this still image captured from video released on Oct. 29.
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.
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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