One of our favorite funky eateries has just sprouted a new offshoot, and it’s every bit as laid-back delicious. Junkadelic, the self-styled “comfortable Mexican” hangout in Naka-Meguro, already has a branch in Akasaka. This new one, which opened in nether Shibuya in late October, ...

This is the golden season, the time for feasting and thanksgiving. Here in Japan, we celebrate the rice harvest, persimmons and pumpkins, mikan mandarins and matsutake mushrooms. Over in Shanghai, though, the autumn delicacy par excellence is freshwater crab. Those gray-green little monsters — ...

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. More of an eye-opener, though, ...

Following the refurbishment of the Ginza Mitsukoshi department store, much media attention has focused on the ninth-floor rooftop lawn terrace. But it’s the bottommost floors that grab our interest. They have been totally revamped to create Tokyo’s newest, classiest depachika basement food hall. The ...

Everyone likes Naka-Meguro. With its languid tree-lined creek, quirky bars and design boutiques and easygoing low-rise ambience — away from the station, at any rate — it’s one of the Tokyo locales we all wish we lived in. Best of all, Nakame (as those ...

It would be absolutely inaccurate to call Tetsuya Saotome a maverick. But within the traditional, buttoned-down world of tempura chefs, he certainly stands out as an individualist. Over the course of 30 years at Mikawa, his cozy little restaurant in Kayabacho, he carved out ...

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? They’re light, tasty and wholesome. Much like pizza, you can top them with any combination of ...

One of our best — and best-looking — discoveries this summer has been Koz Cafe. Occupying a converted house on a narrow pedestrian street on the Tomigaya side of Yoyogi Park, it has a distinctive Scandinavian feel both inside and out (you can’t miss ...

We surely haven’t been the only ones thirsting for ice cream throughout this long, sultry summer. Those cravings have been assuaged by regular doses of the superb gelati made by Grom. As of last month, there are now three outlets in Tokyo for these ...

Even among the architectural mishmash of Tokyo’s jumbled backstreets, Bissori stands out. The two-story facade is sheer, rough-plastered, almost windowless. Creepers and bamboo obscure the few small square portholes. It’s intriguing, enigmatic. Inside, though, is even more remarkable. Entering the narrow arched postern, you ...