author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 21, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Twitter

@tokyofoodfile

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
Jun 25, 2023
Tokyo hosts Asia’s first ‘Nobel Prize in gastronomy’ award
For the first time, the Basque Culinary Center brought its annual summit to Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 11, 2023
Villa del Nido: Local produce, Italian technique, volcanic backdrop
Tucked away among the smallholdings of a rural community in Unzen City, it seems an unlikely setting for Villa del Nido’s sophisticated, Italian-accented, farm-to-table cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 14, 2023
Noma Kyoto’s eclectic beverage lineup leaves no stone unturned
As with the food menu, the beverage program at Noma Kyoto is the fruit of long, deep and, by all accounts, highly enjoyable consideration by Noma’s head sommelier, Ava Mees List.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 13, 2023
Noma Kyoto: The focus — and future? — of the culinary world
Noma is one of the best restaurants in the world and earlier this year it moved its entire staff to Kyoto to create a pop-up that is currently the hottest ticket in the country. Our food critic joins the podcast to talk more about this culinary experience, which ends in May.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 12, 2023
At Noma Kyoto, chef Rene Redzepi plants ‘seeds’ for the future
The world's best chef is experimenting with the next phase of fine dining at his Kyoto pop-up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2023
Shizen: Firewood, ferments and finesse in backstreet Shibuya
Chef Yu Kunisue's dual passions of wood-fired cooking and fermented exploration come to delightful fruition.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 12, 2023
Dewaya: Sansai cuisine worthy of a pilgrimage
Chef Haruki Sato prizes the freshest ingredients, even if that means digging them up in the dead of winter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 23, 2023
L'Effervescence chef Shinobu Namae: The making of an 'icon'
The man who runs Tokyo's chic L'Effervescence restaurant reflects on his career from washing dishes to Michelin-star meals.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 5, 2023
Yoichi Sagra: Feasting in Hokkaido wine country
Despite its occasionally inhospitable climate, Hokkaido is home to superb wines — as well as cuisine more than worthy of those vintages.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 25, 2023
Japan on a plate: Our food critic reveals his favorite spots
Food writer Robbie Swinnerton has been covering Tokyo’s culinary scene for decades, so for this week’s episode we asked him to pick out a few standout meals from last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 22, 2023
Eureka moments abound at sake sommelier Marie Chiba’s new bar
The acclaimed nihonshu maven hasn't lost a step — in fact, she might be better than ever before.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jan 15, 2023
L’Atelier de Noto: Peninsular cuisine with a French accent
Located about two hours from tourist-heavy Kanazawa, this modern French restaurant tucked away in tranquil Wajima takes full advantage of the Noto Peninsula's bounty of land and sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 31, 2022
With borders reopened, Tokyo dining closed 2022 on a welcome high
For all the ups and downs of 2022, Tokyo's culinary scene seems poised for a big year in 2023.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 25, 2022
A year in, Gucci Osteria is Ginza’s sharpest Italian
Chef Antonio Iacovelli's Italian cuisine wins hearts, minds and a Michelin star.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 4, 2022
At Akai, tranquil dining without distractions
Minutes from the sacred island of Miyajima, chef Kenji Akai's cuisine showcases its own divine simplicity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 27, 2022
Noma sets sights on Kyoto, and diners bite in droves
The acclaimed Copenhagen restaurant's second extended residence in Japan shifts to the country's ancient capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Nov 6, 2022
Dining from forest and field at Niigata's Satoyama Jujo
The Sanaburi dining room in Minamiuonuma serves dishes so fresh they come straight from the soil — sometimes literally.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 16, 2022
From ‘gastrobar’ origins, Tinc Gana elevates modern Spanish cuisine
Chef Jerome Quilbeuf prefers to start each meal with “the finest cured ham in the world.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 2, 2022
At Don Bravo, creativity and wood-fired pizzas draw diners from afar
Far from the epicurean districts of Tokyo, this Chofu spot still manages to attract gourmands with omakase (chef's choice) pizza and much more.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2022
Tokyo's new sushi shops keep focus on quality but pare back on frills
Dreaming of sushi? Having nightmares about the bill? Believe it or not, you can find a middle ground.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world
mission sustainability vol.12 : Kose Corp.Kose takes pride in creating beauty in the world

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER