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. As the name proclaims, the focus at this laid-back, old-school izakaya tavern is on the food and drink ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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. He's the man behind some of ...

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. It also boasts breezes off the ...

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. It's also ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. Stroll past at dinnertime — ...