I am a big fan of the Onyado Nono hotel chain for it’s simple Japanese-style rooms, hot springs including an outdoor rotenburo, and free bowl of ramen at night. This branch is between Kitahama and Yodoyabashi stations in Ōsaka. Onyado Nono is part of the Dormy Inn chain. Members of their app can get free…
Month: March 2023
Tokyo Tips
Some articles and videos that may help you plan your time in Tokyo. Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/tips/visiting-tokyo-heres-how-ride-train-like-local/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/japan/tokyo-local-guide/?nid=btw_navbar_cities https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/japan/nihonbashi-neighborhood-tokyo/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/japan/monzennakacho-monnaka-neighborhood-tokyo/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/japan/nishi-ogikubo-neighborhood-tokyo/ AFAR: https://www.afar.com/magazine/how-traveling-in-japan-has-changed https://www.afar.com/magazine/traditional-japanese-food Eater: https://www.eater.com/maps/best-restaurants-tokyo-japan Saveur: https://www.saveur.com/travel-guide-tokyo/ Condé Nast Traveler: https://www.cntraveler.com/sponsored/story/an-insiders-take-on-tokyos-best-foodie-finds Tokyo Weekender: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/author/yukari-sakamoto/ Metropolis for articles on restaurants, trends and tips for Tokyo: https://metropolisjapan.com/author/ysakamoto/ http://punchdrink.com/articles/this-is-what-tokyo-tastes-like/…
Easy Curry
We love curry in Japan. Most often we make it from scratch, but I do keep pre-cooked curry packs in our home for rainy days. These simply need to be cooked in the pack in hot water – usually for about 5-7 minutes. To cook in the microwave I open the pack and move the…
Cafe Haiti
Café Haiti has been serving dry curry since 1974. The shop is located in a basement mall near Shinjuku Station called Subnade. Cafe Haiti specializes in coffee and this dry curry dish. The curry is made with minced meat and finely chopped vegetables and is rich with spices. It is served over a bed of…
Muji Diner
Simple lunch at the Ginza Muji shokudō diner in the basement of the Ginza MUJI shop and hotel. The special set lunch this week is all about soybeans. Okinawan style yushi dōfu which is like a soup made from tōfu, ganmo fried tōfu, and unohana made from tōfu lees (okara). The rice, Yamagata Yukiwakamaru, was…
Unafuji Unagi
Unagi donburi at Unafuji in the new Midtown Yaesu building near Tokyo Station. The unagi is butterflied in the store, by a handsome fishmonger, behind a window. The fresh water eel is skewered is grilled over charcoal, glazed with a kabayaki sweet soy sauce, and served over a bowl of rice. Unafuji also serves a…
Sustainable Tuna
A tuna sushi meal that is made with farmed tuna from Kinki University. The fatty tuna is lean with a soft texture. There are only two restaurants in Japan that the whole menu is based on farmed seafood from Kinki University. Not just tuna, but also sea bream, yellowtail, and a hybrid of yellowtail and…
Yakisoba
Easy to cook Japanese food using supermarket products series. Yakisoba, stir-fried noodles, are a simple dish to make at home. We love the Maru-chan @maruchan_inc noodles that are sold in packs of three and include a powdered seasoning sauce. The noodles are delicious on its own, but most of the time we add pork and…
Vegetable Bentō
Met a girlfriend for lunch after eight years. We picked up noriben, nori bentō, from the basement of the Ginza Six department store and headed to the roof. I was so excited to try the vegetable version. Maitaké (hen of the wood mushrooms) tempura, yamaimo (mountain potato) and renkon (lotus root) is grated to a…
Renoir Kissaten
Renoir is a kissaten chain with branches throughout Tokyo. The morning set starts at only 60 yen (45 cents) on top of the price of a drink for a thick slice of toast, soup, and a hard boiled egg. Coffee starts at 730 yen ($5.50). The special sando morning set includes a teriyaki chicken sandwich…
Sakura Soba
Sakura are blossoming all over Tokyo. One of my go-to soba shops Akatsukian at Ginza Mitsukoshi is serving sakura soba that is made with the leaves from the cherry tree. Only ten servings are made daily so go early. The seasonal soba is only for two weeks, March 15-28. The meal started with saké in…
Tsukiji Nakagawaya
I love the pickles at Tsukiji Nakagawaya tsukemono shop. Nakagawaya has an amazing space near the entrance to the market – and across the aisle from Sushi Zanmai. There is a colorful selection of Japanese pickles including: misozuké – miso nukazuké – rice bran Narazuké – sake lees bettarazuké – daikon pickled in kōji, a…
Kaoriya Soba
Had a fantastic soba meal at Ebisu Kaoriya. Started with a flight of saké. Included a half-order of dashimaki tamago savory omelet, soba yaki miso, and tsukemono pickles. All very good. My favorite is always the miso with buckwheat groats. This one included julienned ginger. These three dishes are lovely with the nihonshu. The otameshi…
Mai Mai Onigiri
Onigiri meals are the most comforting. The onigiri at Mai Mai are made with zakkokumai rice rich with grains, beans, seeds, and millets. Nutritious. Rich texture. There was a variety of about two dozen fillings. All tempting. I went with cream cheese and shio kombu which I will start making at home. We often make…
Ochazuké
I am enjoying my #FoodSakeTokyo market tours so much. I love demystifying Japanese cuisine. Just last week I did a local supermarket tour with a client who has moved to Tokyo. We walked through her local supermarket introducing ingredients and products she can use in her daily life. She lived in Japan before so is…
Tokyo Edition Toranomon
I love the small luxury of having breakfast at nice hotels in Tokyo. The avocado toast at The Tokyo Edition hotel in Kamiyachō. Smashed avocado over grainy toast with two poached eggs. The Blue Room at The Edition is on the 31st floor. From my window seat I watch as people make their way to…
Handmade Soba
Koharu Biyori @koharubiyori.kokubunji in Kokubunji serves handmade soba noodles, onigiri, and a colorful variety of osōzai seasonal side dishes. It’s the restaurant to go to when we want to eat nourishing dishes. Broccoli with udo – a spring vegetable, squid, liver, and kabocha squash with raisins and walnuts. The rice is topped with ground pork…
Pizza Marumo
2023 October update. Pizza Marumo was just voted top ten pizzeria in the world by the Best Chef Awards. Pizza Marumo opened near Ebisu station in December of 2022. The pizza crust is delicate and with a high amount of water making it light. The menu of pizzas is also quite extensive. Hard to choose…
Nihonbashi La Fresa Kissaten
Finally made time to visit this historic kissaten old school coffee shop. This tuna sandwich morning set, with a boiled egg, salad, and fresh strawberries comes with a cup of siphon coffee is a bargain 550 yen ($4). Seriously, one of the best values in Tokyo. The regular customer who sat next to me got…
City Bakery
The deli plate at @citybakeryjapan. Only 990 yen ($7). There is also selection of breads, both sweet and savory. Many of my clients say that they feel like they are not getting enough vegetables when visiting Japan. So this is one option to get one’s fill of vegetables. Sadly City Bakery has closed in New York…
Tsukiji Toritoh
The tori jūbako at Tsukiji Toritoh. A bed of rice topped with ground chicken with a kick of ginger, bonjiri – the fatty part from the chicken, chicken liver, and chicken with a sweet teriyaki sauce. A small plate of pickles because the meal needed vegetables. 🙂 Toritoh started in 1907. Toritoh Chūō-ku, Tsukiji 4-10-18…
Sakura Mochi
This time of year we are starting to see the early blossoming sakura cherry blossoms. The wagashi confectionary shops are starting to offer sakura mochi. There are many variations. Ginza Akebono’s sakura mochi is a sweet azuki red bean paste surrounded by a thin cherry colored pancake wrapped in an edible salted cherry tree leaf…
Amanoya Tamago Sando
Aiste Miseviciute of Luxeat introduced me to Amanoya tamago sando in Azabu Jūban. I visited the shop with her and she placed orders for their saké cake to bring back home as omiyage gifts. https://www.luxeat.com/ The egg sandwich is not the Tokyo style of boiled eggs with mayonnaise but the Kansai style of dashimaki tamago,…
Izakaya 101 Yama-chan
Yama-chan is a kid-friendly izakaya chain that specializes in tebasaki chicken wings. We went for an early dinner and there were about a half dozen kids, elementary age and younger in the restaurant with their families. The menu is filled with photos so just point if you don’t read Japanese. The drinks menu includes beer,…
Yamamotoyama Tea and Nori
When I worked at Nihonbashi Takashimaya twenty-some years ago I loved exploring the neighborhood. Lunch breaks. After work. Nihonbashi in the 17th Century was the merchants district of Tokyo, called Edo in those days. The first seafood market was here, before it moved to Tsukiji. Shops were concentrated here near the fish market. To this…
Chirashizushi and Inarizushi
Today is Girls Day, Hina Matsuri in Japan. A festival that families with young girls celebrate. Many homes will eat chirashi zushi, scattered sushi, this evening. Wagashi traditional confectionary sweets are also part of the festivities. We don’t have a girl at home, but are happy to enjoy sushi. Supermarkets and depachika are filled with…
Tsukiji Hoshino Coffee
My go-to Tsukiji coffee shop is Turret Coffee. Recently had a client who drinks tea so went instead to Hoshino Coffee. The morning service options includes coffee with a ham and cheese #toast for ¥730 ($5.40). The kissaten overlooks the main Tsukiji intersection. https://www.hoshinocoffee.com Tsukiji 4-7-5 Hoshino Coffee is located next to the Tokyo Sushi…
$3 Soba Noodles
It’s not unusual to find soba shops inside of stations in Japan. Many of them are tachigui stand-and-slurp styles as these are very quick meals. This shop, Irorian Kiraku, is in Yotsuya station. This shop had seats. Only 420 yen ($3) for a bowl of noodles for the morning special. sansai mountain vegetables wakamé sea…
Food Sake Tokyo 