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May 21, 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.
For Robbie Swinnerton's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 15, 2018
Nihonryori RyuGin: New address for a Tokyo classic
Even in Tokyo, a city that relentlessly reinvents itself, change never comes easy, no matter how celebrated a restaurant may be. The bigger the name, the greater the expectations, and few have larger reputations than Nihonryori RyuGin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 15, 2018
Konjiki Hototogisu: Ramen's new star rises in Shinjuku
Konjiki Hototogisu is exactly the kind of new-wave noodle counter that old-school ramen grinches love to hate. It's squeaky clean and has a rustic wooden frontage. The delicate noodles are handmade in-house. The soups are light, complex and deep, with none of that porky tonkotsu greasiness. And then...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 1, 2018
Wana Tedome: Partake in a feast on the wild side
Wana Tedome doesn't mess with any ordinary meat. "Deer, not cow. Boar, not pig," the illuminated street-level sign outside proclaims in Japanese. "Grilled venison, grilled boar and grilled pheasant."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 1, 2018
Lature: Wildfowl and game meat worthy of a Michelin star
As you head to your table at Lature, don't be surprised if you spot your dinner curled up on the counter by the kitchen. It might be a mandarin duck, a mallard or a pheasant from Okinawa, resplendent in its plumage. At this time of year especially, gibiers (game birds and animals) play a central role...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 17, 2018
Yuu: Relaxed kappō dining worth crossing town for
It is not hard to track down the very best of Tokyo's high-end Japanese restaurants. After all, there are plenty of guides and websites to point you on your way. At street level, too, it's easy to locate good noodle joints, yakitori counters or mom and pop diners. Navigating the middle ground, though,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 17, 2018
Ibrew Shinbashi: Craft beer fits fine in salaryman territory
The cheap, cheerful, crowded, smoke-patinated dives that populate the lower floors of Shinbashi's Ekimae Building are an enduring time capsule of old-school, after-work salaryman drinking culture. Ibrew's craft beer pub has only been open there for a year, but its no-frills, low-budget approach makes...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 3, 2018
Vaner: Norwegian-style sourdough rises in Yanaka
The old-school, low-rise district of Yanaka boasts tree-lined streets, temples aplenty, fresh air and a sense of connection with Tokyo's past that has long been paved over elsewhere. What it lacks — and this is a plus, not a minus — is a subway station, with the accompanying bright lights and commercial...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 3, 2018
Toridoki: Old-school yakitori near new Toyosu market
There are plenty of reasons to mourn the closure of Tsukiji's legendary wholesale market, and many more to bemoan its successor in Toyosu. Not least is the dearth of good, established restaurants out on that sterile landfill location.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 20, 2018
Iyaiya Sanbai: At the contemporary edge of izakaya
A generation back, the average izakaya tavern was noisy, cheap, smoky and the clientele overwhelmingly male. There would usually be one brand of beer; two choices of sake, warmed or room temperature; and food that ranged from reliable to rough and ready.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 20, 2018
PST Roppongi: Pizza Studio Tamaki's natural evolution
PST: The large neon letters shining in the evening gloom spell out a very familiar welcome. And once you're inside, so do the sizzling pizzas with their rough-formed, carbon-flecked rims being pulled from the squat, no-nonsense, gunmetal-black, wood-fired oven. Anyone who has eaten at the original Pizza...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 6, 2018
Los Tacos Azules: Traditional tacos defying preconceptions
Marco Garcia is a man with a mission that is at once modest and radical. At Los Tacos Azules, his bright, cheerful little restaurant, his aim is simply to serve the staple food of his homeland, Mexico. But along the way, he is likely to blow a few minds, palates and preconceptions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018
Kishin Kamakura: Giving breakfast its proper due
For most of us, the first meal of the day is also the fastest, a quick bite or perhaps just some java on the run. But why the hurry? Slow down, breathe, take your time, reward yourself. This is a good half of the pleasure of getting to break your morning fast at Kishin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018
Oxymoron Komachi: Piquant curry favored by the locals
In a tourist town, it pays to know where to eat before you get there. Pro tip: The best places are usually off the main drag. Look where the locals are lining up; the queue outside Oxymoron in Kamakura is always one of the longest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2018
Tandoor Bar Kamalpur: Comfortable as your local izakaya
No prizes for guessing what's on the menu at Tandoor Bar Kamalpur. The familiar, beguiling aromas that greet your nostrils as you arrive are much the same as you'd expect at any other Indian eatery in Tokyo — or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 15, 2018
Kerala no Kaze II: South Indian specials with a Japanese touch
"Tiffin" and "meals." "Uppma," "vada" and "idli." The vocabulary of South Indian cuisine conjures up images of spices, swaying palm trees and fragrant ocean breezes. In Tokyo, the locations tend to be rather less exotic. But the ride to suburban Omori repays you well, once you arrive at Kerala no Kaze...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2018
Eneko Tokyo: Basque-inspired, truffle-infused cooking
It was one of the major restaurant openings of last year — a renowned, award-winning European chef at the top of his game, launching his second self-named overseas offshoot. And yet, when you arrive at Eneko Tokyo, hidden away on a quiet Nishiazabu side street, it can feel as though you have come across...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 1, 2018
Yakiniku Champion Haneda: Wagyu roll ready for take-off
Picture this: A generous amount of A5 wagyu beef lightly grilled with a proprietary tare sauce. Next, it’s wrapped up inside the leaves of fragrant sangchu (Korean lettuce), along with kimchi and spicy mayonnaise. Finally, it's rolled up in white rice, coated with a generous helping of sesame seeds...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Okinawa Paradise: A laid-back taste of Ryukyu culture
The earthly delights are numerous and varied in Kabukicho, Shinjuku's notorious, though now mostly scrubbed-up, red-light district. The pleasures offered at Okinawa Paradise, though, are strictly wholesome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 18, 2018
Mimosa Ginza: New offshoot from a Shanghainese favorite
Farewell to Ginza's iconic (albeit dated) Sony Building. Once extolled by gourmets for housing the Tokyo outpost of Maxim's de Paris — at a time when few French restaurants or chefs had any interest in Japan — now all that's left is a hip and well-curated hole in the ground. Welcome to Ginza Sony...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 11, 2018
Shocked to silence: Yasuhiro Fujio reflects on S. Pellegrino Young Chef title
The lights flashed, the music swelled and glittering confetti streamed down onto a stage filled with culinary luminaries. It was the moment of truth, the denouement of an intense, year-long and worldwide competition. And there in the spotlight, receiving the winner's trophy as S. Pellegrino Young Chef...
Rare sequel to 'My Neighbor Totoro' to play at Cannes
A screening of "Mei and the Baby Cat Bus," which is being billed as a "mini-sequel" to the Studio Ghibli classic "My Neighbor Totoro," is set to take place at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday.
America wasn’t made for walking, and it’s killing them
A 2010 study found that U.S. adults averaged 5,117 steps daily and that this was lower than the averages found in similar studies in Switzerland, western Australia and Japan.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
Why half of Japan's cities are at risk of disappearing in 100 years
A couple looks out onto the Fukuoka nightscape. Due to its distance from Tokyo and its close proximity to South Korea and China, professor Tomoya Mori believes that Fukuoka is one of the few metropolitan regions of Japan that will see some form of growth in the decades to come.
Japan concerned over U.S. officials' remarks on atomic bombings
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to reporters during a news conference in Washington on Thursday.
Fuchu Prison adapting to foreign prisoners
From the outside, the light-brown complex that is Fuchu Prison in western Tokyo could easily be mistaken for a city hall.
The politicians moving Japan forward on climate
While not the most outspoken politician on the issue, digital minister Taro Kono has a track record of being serious in his commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
Seoul's eclectic Art OnO shines light on Japan's artists and galleries
Art OnO, which took place from April 19 to 21 in Seoul, featured a modest number of 36 participating galleries from 15 countries.
Want to be a voice actor? Stay 'true to the character'
SungWon Cho is a veteran with more than 10 years of experience portraying characters in anime, cartoons and video games.
Local theater in Japan is more than a hobby — it’s a community
Japan Times contributor Laura Pollacco (front right) was offered the role of one of her all-time favorite heroines, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bennet, in the Tokyo International Players’ production of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

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Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

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