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July 17, 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 8, 2010
Other soba houses to discover in Kamakura
Kamakura has no shortage of good soba restaurants. Like Matsubara-an, many occupy freestanding traditional buildings. Here are three more worth tracking down on a visit to the ancient capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 8, 2010
Matsubara-an makes soba a fresh tradition
From the very first sip of aromatic otoso sake and steaming-hot ozoni soup, we always love the time-honored ritual and ceremony of New Year's in Japan. But even more than that, we like it when the hallowed traditions are brought up to date and placed in a contemporary context. That's the way they do...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 18, 2009
Ryugin: Refined flair in the dragon's lair
It's that season once again, when we pause, look back and savor some of the outstanding meals we have enjoyed over the past year. High on that list has to be going back to eat at Ryugin last month.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 4, 2009
Staying in Tokyo for Christmas dinner
These days, just about every restaurant in town offers a Christmas menu — in just about any cuisine you want. Whether you're craving turkey and stuffing, oysters and risotto or gravlax and smoked trout, there's a place for you. Here are just a few Food File recommendations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 4, 2009
Mario i Sentieri: A personal touch from super Mario
You're booking a table for a nice night out, so which is it to be: punctilious precision in a bubble of privileged privacy; or something a bit warmer and jazzier, with a personal touch, plenty of atmosphere and a hint of glamour?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 20, 2009
Restaurant J: A favorite chef's inspired return
Fantastic news: Restaurant J has returned. After a gap of over four years, one of our most talented chefs, Masahito Ueki, is back in action in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 6, 2009
Tempura Uoshin: A masterclass at the counter
Tradition, craftsmanship, and understated refinement. These are attributes expected of any place serving traditional Japanese cuisine of a certain quality. When it comes to tempura, those same values are every bit as important.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 16, 2009
Tapas Molecular Bar: Elevated dining at a molecular level
Test-tube "caviar," froths and foams and taste-teasing flavor infusions, miracle fruit and desserts "cooked" at super-chilled temperatures. . . . Welcome to the brave new world of contemporary cuisine commonly known as molecular gastronomy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 2, 2009
Natural nourishment for body and spirit in Nishi-Ogikubo
Nishi-Ogikubo — or Nishiogi, as the locals like to call it — is a quiet, low-rise neighborhood, a backwater that most people overlook in their hurry to get to bustling Kichijoji. Therein lies its primary appeal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 2, 2009
Hobitto-mura: Natural nourishment for body and spirit in Nishi-Ogikubo
Nishi-Ogikubo — or Nishiogi, as the locals like to call it — is a quiet, low-rise neighborhood, a backwater that most people overlook in their hurry to get to bustling Kichijoji. Therein lies its primary appeal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 2, 2009
Norabo: Perfectly simple seasonal cuisine
Returning from any trip out of the country, it's always Japanese food that we crave. No need for anything fancy: hand-chopped soba at the neighborhood noodle shop will do us fine, or perhaps a few charcoal-grilled skewers of chicken at our local yakitori counter. This time, though, having been away for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2009
Awamori : Keeping up high spirits with Okinawa's signature drink
Awamori, the signature spirit of Okinawa, is often lumped together with shochu, the clear liquor produced in the rest of Japan. However, its production is significantly different and its history — like that of the islands themselves — is quite distinct.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2009
Awamori: Keeping up high spirits with Okinawa's signature drink
Awamori, the signature spirit of Okinawa, is often lumped together with shochu, the clear liquor produced in the rest of Japan. However, its production is significantly different and its history — like that of the islands themselves — is quite distinct.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2009
Taketomijima: Southern comfort Okinawan style
Everybody loves Okinawa. Japan's southernmost prefecture boasts sun-kissed beaches, coral reefs, an easy-going lifestyle and a culture unlike anywhere else in the country. These days, the islands and their distinctive cuisine enjoy a certain hip cachet; this has not always been the case.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 4, 2009
Tharros: Sardinian flavors in taberna style
Tokyo's love affair with Italian food and drink shows no sign of abating. In the bad old days — and they weren't that long ago — finding a ristorante that was even half good might entail a trip across town and considerable expense. Now we're spoiled rotten for choice.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 21, 2009
The new Harajuku Taproom brews up a storm with craft beer and yakitori
Another American who has been carving out an impressive niche for himself in Japan is brewmaster Bryan Baird. Over nine years has passed since he first began producing craft beers, which he sold in his own brewpub, the Fishmarket Taproom in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 21, 2009
Ivan Ramen: Artisan ramen with NY accent
"Eat ramen here." It's the kind of illuminated sign you might expect to see outside a restaurant in central London or New York. To find it over the door of a one-counter noodle joint on an old-fashioned shopping arcade in the western suburbs of Tokyo is, however, little short of bizarre.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 7, 2009
Surf Kamakura's spicy Asian turf
A chilled bottle of Singha beer forms a ring of condensation on the table. The heady aromas of fried garlic, lemongrass and curry spices waft from the kitchen in the corner of the wooden hut. Two waitresses gossip in Thai.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 17, 2009
Piazza pizza and sidewalk crepes
It took us more than six months to get around to checking out Eataly in Daikanyama. With a name like that, we still couldn't believe it was anything other than a gimmicky Italian food theme park. We're still not convinced, but it certainly boasts one of the most pleasant al fresco eating spots in the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 17, 2009
Cool out at Two Rooms in the sky
The good news: The rainy season is over. The bad news: The Great Heat is now upon us, blanketing the city. The only recourse: eat lightly, eat late and eat outside. Here are a few places where you are likely to find the Food File enjoying the night sky, cradling a glass in the cool of the evening with...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
China’s economic growth comes in worse than expected
Pedestrians in the Wangfujing shopping area in Beijing on July 11, 2024. China's economic growth in the second quarter was lower than forecast, adding pressure on Chinese leaders to lift confidence at the Chinese Communist Party's third plenum this week.
Kansai airports to increase takeoff and landing slots ahead of Osaka Expo
Kansai International Airport in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture. The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at the airport as well as Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture will be raised in spring next year ahead of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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