Carbonara udon at Tsurutontan at Haneda Airport, Terminal Three. Creamy soup topped with eggplant, fried lotus root, snap peas, scrambled eggs, egg yolk, chunks of bacon, and a generous shower of Parmesan cheese. Tsurutontan has branches in Tokyo including #Ginza. Diners can select from thick or thin (hosoi) handmade udon noodles. This massive bowl is…

Honmura An is a charming soba shop with handmade buckwheat noodles and a tempting menu of side dishes. It’s all good. Today was a fabulous avocado salad (900 yen) thinly sliced onions, smoky katsuobushi flakes, and a shiso and tart ume dressing. Nukazuke rice bran pickles (850 yen) that are pleasantly sour and crunchy. Soba…

A delightful vegetarian meal at @esttokyo at the @fsotemachi. The cuisine is mostly made with locally sourced Japanese ingredients. Chef @guillaumebracaval masterfully creates dishes that showcase the seasonal vegetables. Highlights include a corn flan accented with a gazpacho-inspired tomato sauce and sweet corn kernals. Roasted potatoes thinly and accented with black truffles. Tartly pickled zucchini with a sweet…

No When working at Nihonbashi Takashimaya I sometimes would have lunch at Yoshinozushi Honten. The sushiya dates back 140 years. Yoshinozushi is famous for being the restaurant where fatty tuna was first called toro. It is a fifth-generation restaurant. When I was going about 20 years ago there was a young apprentice, Takuya, who was…

Kakigōri shaved ice is one way to make Tokyo summers bearable. Matcha and azuki is a classic combination. Some sweetened condensed milk to make it richer. Umezono is a famous traditional sweets shop in Asakusa. This branch is in the Nihonbashi Takashimaya department store, on the 7th floor, in the kimono department. I was surprised…

Fantastic cha no yu tea ceremony exhibit at the Nihonbashi Mitsui Memorial Museum. Fascinating to see pieces used by tea master Sen no Rikyu. Included are a few National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties. Tea bowls. Bamboo tea scoops. Water jars. Tea kettles and more. Many items from the 16th and 17th c. Some from…