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April 05, 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
Aug 20, 2010
Kanagawa taverns with brews of note
When we find ourselves thirsty in Yokohama, we know exactly where to head. Our latest favorite watering hole in the city is Pivoya, a small pub that specializes exclusively in beer from the Czech Republic. It's in a quiet, out-of-the-way locale but definitely worth tracking down.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 20, 2010
August Beer Club: Beers that taste great in August
In this punishing heat, a lot of people complain they have lost all appetite for food. We say: Change your definition of the word "food." At this time of year, we gain a significant proportion of our nourishment from that most essential of food groups: beer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 6, 2010
Escape the heat island to the great outdoors
Al fresco tables are at a premium at this time of year, especially if the view you want is one of leafy nature rather than city traffic or nearby buildings. Add quality food into that equation and the choices narrow even further. However, one place that fits the bill perfectly is Park Side Cafe, down...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 6, 2010
Peace Tokyo: Pasta, pizza and riverside peace
Peace is hard to find, they say. Equally elusive in this mighty megalopolis are tranquil riverside dining spots with al fresco tables, sunset views and nary a building in sight or traffic noise to drown out the birdsong.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 2, 2010
Myojinshita Kandagawa Honten: Beating the heat with classic unagi
The Great Heat has returned, blanketing the city, sapping our energy and, worse yet, stifling all appetite for food. There's only one solution for lifting that summer lethargy — at least if you hold with local lore: It's time to feast on that supreme summer specialty, unagi eel.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 2, 2010
Matsuyoshi: Old-style eel with a neighborhood feel
Throughout Tokyo and the rest of the country, eel restaurants are gearing up for the annual "Unagi Day" feeding frenzy. The exact dates are determined according to the old almanac on the midsummer Day (or Days) of the Ox, which this year falls on July 26. And the longest lines will be outside some of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 18, 2010
Premium sake tasting is back in Tokyo
Good news for anyone with an interest in Japan's traditional tipple: The Ginjo Bar is up and running again for the summer. This annual event is organized by the Nippon Ginjo Kyokai, a loose affiliation of kura (sake breweries) around the country that specialize in premium sake, most of it prepared in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 18, 2010
Nozaki Sakaten: Fine sake served with enthusiasm
To enter the warren of low-rise, low-rent back streets southwest of Shinbashi Station is to venture well off the gourmet beaten track. These few blocks around Karasumori Shrine are known for carousing, not fine dining. But at least there is plenty of good sake to imbibe — once you have found your way...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 4, 2010
Incanto weaves its enchantment
Anyone with the nose, the nous and the drive to become a certified sommelier has our respect. But to gain that certification in Italy — in Italian, when your native tongue is Japanese . . . That demands the greatest admiration.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 4, 2010
Change is not always for the better
Hidden away just up the side street from Incanto, the bijou wine bar formerly known (and extolled in this column) as Terauchi has gone through two name changes in the past couple of years. First it became Magazzino; now, since April of this year, it is simply known as Itabar.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Frijoles: Tex-Mex classics, fast and flavorful
Is there any finer fast food than a well-constructed taco or, better yet, its bulked-up big brother, the burrito? At their best, they're wholesome and filling, nutritious and versatile, a square meal rolled up in a package that's both portable and tasty.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Cozy spots for more south-of-the-border fare
There's little likelihood of Mexican cuisine hitting the mainstream in Tokyo anytime soon, but there's a fair sprinkling of places around town that can scratch the itch when those cravings for tacos and burritos get too insistent.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 21, 2010
Tex-Mex classics, fast and flavorful
Is there any finer fast food than a well-constructed taco or, better yet, its bulked-up big brother, the burrito? At their best, they're wholesome and filling, nutritious and versatile, a square meal rolled up in a package that's both portable and tasty.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 7, 2010
Maruni/Zaku: Here's the beef, in vintage style
Like so many casual eating/drinking spots opening in these cash-strapped times, Maruni keeps things simple and cheap. It's basically a standing bar serving yakiniku barbecue, with a brightly lit interior and retro wooden facade. What sets it apart from just about any other place of its kind is that the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 7, 2010
Jamaica in Japan: One Love festival
This weekend (May 8 and 9), Tokyo celebrates its continuing love affair with all things Jamaican. The annual One Love Festival takes place in Yoyogi Park, and this year it will be bigger than ever. Expect to find rocksteady reggae rhythms on the sound systems, Red Stripe lager in the ice boxes and plenty...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 30, 2010
Kyoto's temples of gastronomy
You need a strategy when you're visiting a city the size of Kyoto. Ours was simple: No tourist spots, no taxis and no traipsing around. We were there to eat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 16, 2010
Yasai Kaiseki Nagamine: Vegetables given pride of place in upmarket kaiseki cuisine
Down in Ginza, we got another glimpse of the future. This version, though, is hushed and sophisticated, with waitresses in kimono. It feels very traditional — in all but one respect. Instead of tuna and eel on your sushi, you get mushrooms and vegetables. Welcome to Nagamine, Tokyo's first vegetable...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 16, 2010
Noka no Daidokoro: A fresh future for healthy dining
We have seen the future. It's a bright, cheerful place, where farmers are heroes and everyone munches on raw food. There are posters and didactic messages everywhere, and the enthusiasm seems almost otaku. Welcome to Noka no Daidokoro (Farmhouse Kitchen), the taste of things to come.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2010
Bills Yokohama: Pancakes, scrambled eggs and more, bills brings a taste of Sydney to Yokohama
One of the Food File's all-time favorite settings for breakfast in Japan — lunch and dinner, too — has to be bills , Aussie chef Bill Granger's stylish beachfront cafe/restaurant on the Kamakura coast. The good news is that there's now a second branch, and it's a lot more convenient if you're living...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2010
Lauderdale, Mariage Freres, Lipton Tea House: Roppongi breakfast, high tea in the Ginza
Breakfast and afternoon tea: Two meals that rarely get discussed in this column. It's not a question of bias. It's just there are very few places in town that get them right.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
3D printer used to construct train station building in Japan
A train station building (front) is assembled from parts printed using 3D printer technology, in Arida, Wakayama Prefecture, on Wednesday.
Japan’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
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).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
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.

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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