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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 15, 2015
Spring Valley Brewery allows for a glance at its signature suds
When it comes to handing out this year's gongs and plaudits for the best setting and most notable architecture, there are going to be very few restaurants that will rival Spring Valley Brewery. That's because it occupies pride of place at Log Road Daikanyama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 15, 2015
New York's famed Ramen Burger arrives in its spiritual home
Ramen Burger has come to Tokyo. Its eponymous creation has been one of the hottest new foods in the U.S. in the past couple of years, but here in Japan the arrival has been muted to the extreme, with minimal publicity and a location far from the center of the city. That's just the way the originator,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 1, 2015
Shinagawa Station's great wall of sake
Finding a new favorite izakaya tavern is always cause for celebration, especially if it happens to be on your way home. Better yet, if it offers good food and a great sake selection. Nurukan Sato Gotenyama Saryo ticks all of those boxes — just as long as "on your way home" involves passing through...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2015
Kuriya Kashi Kurogi: Tokyo's sweet shop in the shade of Kengo Kuma
The instant you see Kuriya Kashi Kurogi you know it's special. The hidden location, verdant setting and striking architecture are more than remarkable — they are one of a kind. With the Kurogi name, you expect nothing less.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2015
Magical Animal may have crafted Tokyo's best pulled pork sandwich
Everyone loves food trucks and al fresco snacking — especially now that the weather is warming up. There's nowhere better in the city to combine the two than Commune 246 in Omotesando. This colorful encampment of cafes and food stalls opened last December as the successor to the much-loved 246 Common....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 10, 2015
Ineffable dining in Kyoto
Spring is here, and Kyoto is calling us. The old capital is ablaze with blossom, fresh foliage and the exhilaration that winter is over. This is a magical time of year — not just for sightseeing, but for eating out, too, with all the produce of the new season. There are great restaurants close to all...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 3, 2015
'Brave and exciting dining' at Florilege
Spring brings new beginnings. It also ushers in restaurant openings galore. This year, few are likely to be as radical and impressive as the rebirth and reinvention of Florilege.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 3, 2015
Riverside restaurants in season for cherry blossom views
The Meguro River is one of Tokyo's most popular blossom-viewing venues, especially the section running through Naka-Meguro. Maybe that's because once you've had your fill of the crowds and street food, there are plenty of restaurants at hand where you can gaze out at the ethereal blooms and the fresh...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 17, 2015
Old-school Izuei Umegawatei a prime spot for new cherry blossom season
Spring always arrives with a rush. One week it can feel like mid-winter; the next, there's cherry blossoms everywhere.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 17, 2015
Unosato's old ways still shine in flashy Shibuya
In a city as rapidly changing as Tokyo, it's a major feat for any restaurant to survive over four decades. To do so on the edge of Shibuya's teenage wasteland is even more remarkable. So let's raise a cup — of premium sake of course — to the one and only Unosato.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2015
Takazawa adds Akasaka bar to his name
Great news: Chef Yoshiaki Takazawa has opened a bar. This is fantastic for all those who know the beautiful bijou, high-end restaurant in Akasaka that bears his name. Revered by visiting gourmets, it is one of the hardest tables in town to book. Now, we all can sample his cuisine in a more accessible...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2015
A long, leisurely lunch leaves no doubts at Chic Peut-etre
Let's hear it for lunch. Long, leisurely sessions at the table, with multiple courses and an equal number of wines to go with them. And then at the end, lingering over coffee and conversation. That's the way it happens every Saturday at Chic Peut-etre.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2015
Top French chef says fundamentals are key to selling washoku to the world
In December 2013, when UNESCO formally recognized washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine) as part of the World's Intangible Cultural Heritage, the reaction here was mixed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2015
Masa's Kitchen 47 defies stereotypes with bold take on Chinese cuisine
Gleaming white tableware, understated decor and not a single dragon or red lantern in sight: Masa's Kitchen 47 boldly defies the stereotype for Chinese restaurants in Tokyo. Which is just as it should be. So does the food.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2015
A little shiokara goes a long way at Surugaya Kahei
The specialty at this little counter-type sake bar is shiokara, the salty, odoriferous innards of assorted seafood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2015
Tuck into tradition at Nabeya
Is there any food more comforting and satisfying than a nabe? Sitting around a bubbling casserole watching your dinner cook satisfies all the senses, nourishing the soul as you fill and heat your body. So why aren't there more places like Nabeya?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2015
A night at Camp to write home about
Curry rice isn't meant to be healthy any more than it's supposed to be spicy. It's a carb-laden comfort food, a cheap and filling staple of students and singletons. Obviously the folks at Camp never got the memo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2015
Noma's take on a Japanese menu is bold
After a drumroll of media announcements, a steady drip of social media speculation and the crescendo of anticipation, Noma Japan has finally opened. Denmark's preeminent restaurant has begun its month-long residency in Tokyo, and it's every bit as remarkable as expected.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 20, 2015
Top chef Yoshihiro Narisawa takes his kitchen to go
Have you heard? There's a Michelin two-star chef running a two-month pop-up in central Tokyo. But this one is not inside a plush, high-rise hotel. It's a food truck — or kicchin kā (kitchen car), as they're known here — and it's the brainchild of one of Japan's most renowned chefs, Yoshihiro Narisawa....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 8, 2015
Redzepi: 'I think the restaurant staff in Japan are some of the best on Earth'
Last year, while still only halfway through the extensive planning process, Noma chef Rene Redzepi sat down with The Japan Times in the extensive test kitchen above his Copenhagen waterfront restaurant and outlined his reasons and vision for Noma in Japan.
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 fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
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.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
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.

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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