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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 2, 2012

Soi 7: Meanwhile, elsewhere in Yoyogi-Uehara ...

Neighborhoods are like microclimates, each with its own ecology of dining opportunities. Some are arid desserts with barely a ramen shop in sight. Others are lush and fertile, with a rich range of cuisines and styles. And then there are the hidden corners, seemingly overlooked, that sprout an improbably...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2012

New Fish House claims east Ebisu as its oyster

First the sad news: One of Ebisu's finest, friendliest little French restaurants has upped and moved to the far side of town. Now the silver lining: Those selfsame pint-sized premises have reincarnated as a branch of Ebisu's finest, friendliest oyster emporium. Just six weeks since saying au revoir to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 6, 2012

Uchiyama: Subtle delights of a brand new year

The holidays are behind us now, but it's still the season for celebrating the New Year. From mochi rice dumplings to mikan mandarins, there are so many festive foods in Japan. Few are more auspicious, or supremely delicious, than madai, known in English variously as sea bream or red snapper.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 16, 2011

Il Rifugio Hayama: coastal cucina with flair and local flavor

The summer beach season may be over, but we are already planning our return to the Shonan coast. Not for the sand and sea, though, but the promise of a meal at Il Rifugio Hayama, currently our favorite Italian restaurant in all of Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 2, 2011

Cristiano's: A taste of Portugal in Tokyo's backstreets

Charcoal-grilled fish, lots of fresh seafood and seasonal produce, rice at least once a day and no fussy seasonings or sauces: Portuguese cuisine has so many points of overlap with Japan's, it's a wonder that it hasn't caught on here more widely.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 19, 2011

Hatos Bar: Perfect BBQ and beer for a long, hot summer

There are few good reasons for staying in Tokyo through a long, punishing Japanese summer. But there are a few consolations. The heat and sweat are a lot more bearable if you know that once night has fallen you can be sitting outside, with a light breeze in the air, cool music on the sound system, a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 15, 2011

My-Le: On track for great Vietnamese food

As soon as the rains lift and the temperatures rise, our thoughts turn to Vietnam. It's the food we crave: No other cuisine seems quite as appetizing once the sweltering summer sets in.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 1, 2011

Shichi Jyu Ni Kou: Sampling unusual finds on the sake list

Perhaps the most singular aspect of Shichi Jyu Ni Kou (72 Kou) is its drinks list. No other kaiseki restaurant we know of this sophistication lays such emphasis on sake produced with organically grown rice — and to a lesser extent organic wine — to the point of devoting special sections in the menu...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 1, 2011

Shichi Jyu Ni Kou: Japanese cuisine that follows nature's cues

Japan, as has been said far too often, is a country of four seasons. But that tired old mantra is by no means the whole truth. The ancient lunisolar calendar recognizes 24 distinct divisions in the year, while haiku poets and others attuned to the constant flux of the natural world identify three times...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 20, 2011

Roppongi Nouen: Farmers' touch brings peas and quiet to Tokyo

Where does the food on our plates come from? Who grows it and how does it reach our tables? It's almost impossible to know, even when we're at home cooking for ourselves. Eating out in restaurants is a far greater leap of faith.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 15, 2011

Roppongi Nouen's Eat For Japan: The first bite is with the heart

Among the massive outpouring of support for Tohoku, one fundraising effort in particular has caught our eye. Eat For Japan is a program launched by Roppongi Nouen, a fine restaurant tucked away in the heart of Tokyo's nightlife district that specializes in good, wholesome dishes and farm-fresh produce....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 18, 2011

Warung Bintang: A taste trip to the Bali backstreets

With all the thousands of Japanese who visit Bali each year, enjoying its beguiling climate and culture, it's a mystery why the island's cuisine does not have more adherents here. Indonesian restaurants are so few and far between in Tokyo that any addition to their number is worthy of note. When it's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 7, 2011

Sasuga Hanare: Slurping soba in more formal surroundings

There are a number of places around the city these days that combine carefully crafted te-uchi handmade noodles with refined Japanese cuisine. Few, if any, do it with greater accomplishment than Sasuga Hanare, the third in this group of innovative, stylish soba restaurants.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 3, 2010

La Gargote: Buzzing new bistro moves in for the grill

The great guide Michelin has again spoken, and lo! Tokyo has yet more stars in its firmament, and with even greater numbers anointed to the most exalted echelons. Further confirmation, should it be needed, that this is the foodiest city on the planet.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Nov 30, 2010

Drive-thru Nippon: convenience or hazard?

At Japan's unique drive-thru, you're gonna want some extra napkins.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 5, 2010

Kamo-shabu Chikutei: Putting the duck into shabu-shabu

There's no mystery as to what's on the menu at Kamo-shabu Chikutei. Even if you didn't know that "kamo" means "duck," the lamps at the entrance with their stylized image of a mallard in flight give the game away.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 17, 2010

Maison Bretonne: All for the love of Breton galettes

Isn't it about time that galettes — those skinny, savory, nut-brown buckwheat pancakes born in Brittany but now ubiquitous in French cuisine — took this country by storm?
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.
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
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
Mar 19, 2010

Happy returns for two French chefs in Tokyo

We're always sad when a top restaurant shuts down, but we were especially disappointed when we heard that the Michelin two-star Pierre Gagnaire a Tokyo had closed its bijou doors last year. As one of the world's most brilliant chefs, Gagnaire's exquisite cuisine would seem a perfect match for Tokyo's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 5, 2010

A16: Brick Square is hip

Spring may not be here for real just yet, but it's never too early to celebrate the first al fresco lunch of the year. So when last week's unseasonably warm spell arrived we knew exactly where to go — into the heart of the city, to grab an outside table at A16.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 5, 2010

Echire Maison du Beurre: Butter boutique continues to draw in the crowds at the Marunouchi Brick Square

With two dozen restaurants, bars and cafes over three floors, Marunouchi Brick Square was a hit right from its opening last October. But the biggest buzz and the longest lines have been at one of the smallest shops in the complex: Echire Maison de Beurre, the first specialist butter boutique in the city....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 19, 2010

Yoshicho: Stellar yakitori down in Gotanda

The idea of gourmet yakitori is nothing new. There are plenty of restaurants around town where the humble art of skewering and grilling chicken has been elevated to a degree of sophistication. But you don't expect to find it in the back streets of Gotanda, just north of Shinagawa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 5, 2010

Kamikozawa-tei: Shabu-shabu in modernist mode

There's no finer way to eat on a chilly winter evening than sitting around a bubbling nabe hot pot. No matter what the ingredients — meat, fish, tofu or vegetables — just cooking and eating from the same communal casserole is nourishment for both body and soul.
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
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.
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

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...

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