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May 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.
For Robbie Swinnerton's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Toritama: Beak-to-tail yakitori washed down with top sake
There are only two fail-safe ways to get through a Tokyo heatwave summer. One is to head for the hills, or anywhere else the nights are cool. The other is to self-medicate. Sake does the trick perfectly, especially when matched with good yakitori. That calls for an evening at Toritama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 4, 2018
Mensho San Francisco: Ramen given the West Coast treatment
It's no secret: Ramen is big in America, and getting bigger fast. It also seems to be undergoing some unusual mutations in its new, no-holds-barred environment. No one understands this better than the self-styled "hyper ramen creator," Tomoharu Shono.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Gold'n Bub: Quality pub grub to match the beer
When Tokyo craves beach time, as often as not it is Shonan that's the destination of choice. This stretch of coastline facing out onto Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture offers sand, surf and no shortage of sun in midsummer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 28, 2018
Monk: Diminutive ristorante punches well above its weight
It's a long hike to Tsujido Station from the Shonan shoreline. Thankfully, there are some excellent places to revive yourself among the bars and eateries that cluster on the beach side of the railway tracks. Monk is one of the newest and best.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Jul 26, 2018
Dining out in Tokyo in the age of gastro-tourism
Tokyo: It's the world's greatest dining city. Twenty years ago this assertion — one I delighted in dropping into conversations whenever possible — would have been met with bemusement if not ridicule, especially among the gourmets of Paris or New York. These days, few seriously dispute it. In terms...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 14, 2018
Inua: Japan on the plate, Noma on the palate
To call Inua the most hotly awaited restaurant this year would be inaccurate. But that's only because its opening, at the very end of June, came a mere matter of weeks after it was first announced. There was little time for the excitement to build.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Sel Sal Sale: Ristorante quality with trattoria values
Sel Sal Sale is not one of those modest restaurants that keeps itself safely hidden out of sight behind an anonymous frontage. Quite the opposite: The wood-framed window onto the street invites you to slow down, pause and peer inside.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 30, 2018
Ayu Ramen: Hole in the wall noodles topped with sweetfish
The noren half-curtain across the entrance, the compact seven-seat counter, the steam wafting up from the simmering vats — this is the DNA for thousands of hole-in-the-wall noodle joints across Japan. But Ayu Ramen stands out in one crucial respect. Every bowl here comes topped with a portion of its...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 16, 2018
A new wave of chefs redefining Tokyo
In 'Tokyo New Wave,' Andrea Fazzari has picked out 31 chefs she feels are defining Japan's contemporary restaurant scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Bricolage Bread & Co.: Sourdough bread and tartines on the terrace
It’s the smell that greets you first as you walk through the door at Bricolage Bread & Co.; the warm aroma of baking intermingled with the heady whiff of good coffee. It could hardly feel more alluring — that is, until you see the array of baked goods.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 16, 2018
Nori-Temaki: A bold attempt to steal the onigiri crown
Think of the nori-temaki (nori roll) as a cousin of the humble onigiri rice "ball" — but served in a cylindrical shape, rather than the flattened pyramids of soft white grain found at every convenience store. Expect to hear much more about this elongated take on the genre if the folks at Global-Dining...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
Juban Ukyo: Alfresco dining to match the environs
It's that short but magical time of year when restaurants throw open their doors, tables proliferate along sidewalks and diners take advantage of the balmy evenings. Quick, now, before the muggy midsummer conditions set in for real: This is prime alfresco season and it's time to book yourself in at Juban...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 2, 2018
BBQPit: All the party without the worry
So you're in the mood for a nice little barbecue evening with a few pals.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2018
La Maison du Isshovin: Energetic, eclectic fare
La Maison du Isshovin is unlike any other restaurant in the Asakusa area. It's not just the name, improbable as it sounds. Nor is it the eclectic — some might say eccentric — menu, or even the contemporary architecture that can't help but catch the eye in this old-school part of town.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 19, 2018
Bees Bar by Narisawa: Restaurant’s side project is a more casual affair
After 15 years, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa's eponymous high-end restaurant in Aoyama needs no introduction or further plaudits, and nor does his innovative, superlative cuisine. But there was always one area that needed addressing: the lack of a bar inside his compact premises.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Sobagami: Soba noodles served with quiet formality
Sobagami is a soba noodle specialist — this you can guess from the name — but it is also an offshoot of the very genteel Ginza Kamiya, a high-end kappu014d that takes pride in doing things the right way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 5, 2018
Test Kitchen H: Reliving the glory days of glam Italian cucina
There's nothing self-effacing about Test Kitchen H. Occupying a considerable swath of real estate just off Kotto-dori, this low-slung, newly built, free-standing Italian restaurant exudes the kind of suave swagger most of us thought had faded along with stone-washed denim, Dragon Ball manga and memories...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 28, 2018
Ribatei: No pretension here, just satisfying yakitori
Ribatei might be located in a grittier part of Yokohama, but the yakitori third-generation owner-chef Tomotsugu Sakakibara serves is nothing to scoff at.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 28, 2018
Sparta: All the Greek classics, with Mediterranean charm
Yokohama's Sparta has been around a while and has the Greek food chops to prove it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 26, 2018
Nordic cooking, Japanese bounty: Strong Noma current runs through new Tokyo restaurant Inua
The culinary thread running from Greenland to Copenhagen and thence to Hokkaido and the rest of Japan may not be immediately obvious. But those are some of the key points on the line of inspiration behind a new restaurant that will open in Tokyo in late June.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Man suspected of using smart glasses to cheat on Waseda University exams
The Waseda University campus in Tokyo. An 18-year-old male test-taker is suspected of using smart glasses to cheat during the university's entrance exam.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.
In Japan, 68,000 people over 65 projected to die alone at home this year
As Japan grapples with its population's rapid aging, supporting people who live and age alone is looming larger on the policy agenda.

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

Longform

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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