Ningyocho is a charming part of Tokyo that I was thrilled to discover. I had lived in Tokyo for years and when I first walked the streets of Ningyocho I was kicking myself for having not made it there earlier. Many historic food shops and a laid-back energy that is hard to find in the…
Category: Ningyocho 人形町
Tamahide in Ningyocho
Tamahide in Nihonbashi Ningyocho has a perpetual line out its front door, regardless if it is a weekday or holiday. Its signature dish, oyakodon, literally mother and child, is bite-size pieces of chicken mixed with scrambled eggs and a sweet sauce. The chicken is cooked and then added to the eggs which is then just…
Popular Donburi in Japan 日本の丼
Oyako-don from Tamahide in Ningyocho Donburi 丼 are simple and fast meal. It is a large bowl of hot rice with toppings. We often make it for lunch as it is not only easy to assemble, but also easy to clean up after the meal. Many restaurants often serve donburi at lunchtime as an affordable option,…
Cheap Eats – Taniya Udon in Ningyocho 人形町の谷や
Udon is a dish we often eat at home for lunch. Udon noodles are sold in the supermarket as dried noodles that need to be boiled and rehydrated or fresh (and also frozen) that just needs to be blanched in hot water. While both of these versions are fine for a simple meal at home,…
Popular Donburi in Japan
Donburi are great one bowl meals. A large bowl of hot rice with toppings. We often eat these at home when we are in a hurry. Or, if Shinji is making the meal, he often resorts to donburi. They are easy to assemble and only one dish needs to be washed. The Asashi Shimbun reported…
Gyokueido in Ningyocho 人形町の玉英堂
Gyokueidou 玉英堂 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-3-2 中央区日本橋人形町2-3-2 03-3666-2625 9:30 – 21:00 (Monday – Saturday), until 17:00 (Sunday and holidays) closed the last Sunday of each month http://www.ningyocho.or.jp/shop/a28.html (Japanese) Commanding the corner, this branch of a Kyoto shop dates back 400 years. Gyokueidou is famous for two sweets, its dorayaki of pancakes stuffed with azuki paste…
Toukai in Ningyocho 人形町の東海
Toukai 東海 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 1-16-12 中央区日本橋人形町1-16-12 03-3666-7063 9:00 – 19:00, closed Sunday and holidays no website For almost 100 years Toukai has been a popular wagashi shop in Ningyocho. Be sure to pick up their signature Japanese-style waffles. There is a small selection of other wagashi confectionaries. Across the street is a well-stocked sake…
Tsukushi in Ningyocho 人形町のつくし
Tsukushi つくし Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-1-12 中央区日本橋人形町2-1-12 03-3664-7357 8:00 – 20:00 http://www.ntv.co.jp/burari/030329/info02.html (Japanese) Tsukushi is a kanmidokoro (sweets café) that offers the classics of anmitsu and its many variations. There are sweets to go, but the real reason to come here is to sit and in the café to indulge in their signature purin, a…
Digging into an Ice Cold Kakigori
On summer visits to Japan as a child my favorite sweets were kakigori topped with milk. Only when I grew up did I realize that it wasn’t milk but it was sweetened condensed milk. No better way to cool down in the Tokyo heat than a bowl of shaved ice topped with a sweet syrup….
Kotobukido in Ningyocho 人形町の寿堂
Kotobukido 寿堂 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-1-4 中央区日本橋人形町2-1-4 Tel. 0120-48-0400 (toll free number in Japan) 9:00 – 21:00, closed Sunday This 5th generation shop is so small that only a handful of people can enter at one time. The three-story gray building with red trimming displays some of their confectionaries behind glass display windows up front….
Shigemori Eishindou in Ningyocho 人形町の重盛永信堂
Shigemori Eishindou 重盛永信堂 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-1-1 中央区日本橋人形町2-1-1 Tel. 03-3666-5885 9:00 – 20:00 (Saturday and holidays until 17:30) closed Sundays Commanding the corner with its large display of stuffed cakes and sweet crackers is Shigemori Eishindou. It opened in 1917 as a shop selling ningyoyaki of shichifukujin (the seven lucky gods). The azuki paste in…
Ningyocho Imahan 人形町今半
Ningyocho Imahan 人形町今半 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-9-12 中央区日本橋人形町2-9-12 Tel. 03-3666-7006 11:00 – 22:00, no holidays http://www.imahan.com/e-guide/ningyocho_shop.html (English) Ningyocho Imahan is a branch of the Asakusa shop that opened in 1952. Imahan is synonymous with sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, and grilled wagyu steak. The large two-story red building with black tile roof sits on the corner. The entrance…
Tamahide in Ningyocho 人形町の玉ひで
Tamahide 玉ひで Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 1-17-10 中央区日本橋人形町1-17-10 Tel. 03-3668-7651 11:30 – 13:00, 17:00 – 22:00, Saturday 16:00 – 21:00 closed Sunday and holidays http://www.tamahide.co.jp/ (Japanese) Tamahide will be easy to find as there is a perpetual line out the front door. The large white building looks like a castle with the large stones surrounding its…
Uokyu in Ningyocho 人形町の魚久
Uokyu 魚久 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-4-3 中央区日本橋人形町2-4-3 Tel. 03-3666-0048 Monday – Friday 10:00 – 20:00 Saturday 10:00 – 19:00 Sunday and holidays 10:00 – 18:00 http://www.uokyu.co.jp/ (Japanese) Uokyu is famous for its seafood marinated in sake kasu (sake lees). This process is not seen too much outside of Japan, unlike the miso marinated seafood, which…
Hiyama in Ningyocho for Wagyu 人形町の日山
Hiyama is renowned for its wagyu for sukiyaki, shabu shabu, or for steaks. Next door to the restaurant is a retail shop selling the gorgeously marbled Japanese beef. Pricey, but worth having once in your life. Hiyama 日山 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-5-1 中央区日本橋人形町2-5-1 Tel. 03-3666-5257 Monday – Saturday, 11:30 – 14:00, 17:00 – 21:00; closed…
Kintame in Ningyocho 人形町の近為
If you are really passionate for pickles, a meal at Kintame (from Kyoto) is not to be missed. Ask for the bubuchazuke, an array of pickles along with a grilled fish that has been marinated in miso or sake kasu. The most convenient location is at Daimaru’s Restaurant Floor at Tokyo station. The other shop,…
Kizushi in Ningyocho 人形町の㐂寿司
Kizushi 㐂寿司 Chuo-ku, Nihonbashi Ningyocho 2-7-13 中央区日本橋人形町2-7-13 Tel. 03-3666-1682 11:45 – 14:30, 17:00 – 21:30 (Monday – Friday) 11:45 – 21:00 (Saturday) closed Sunday and holidays no website Opened in 1924, this third generation sushi shop feels as though time as stopped. The third generation owner works with his sons, fourth generation, behind the counter. This…
Shotengai Shopping Arcades – Walking Food Tours of Tokyo
I love the shotengai, Japanese shopping arcades. Filled with ma and pa shops selling tofu, fresh produce, rice, pickles, miso, and other basics of the Japanese pantry. This article recently appeared in Metropolis magazine and features five of my favorite shotengai in Tokyo. http://metropolis.co.jp/dining/local-flavors/street-eats/ (text follows) While the one-stop food shopping at Tokyo’s depachika is an amazing…
Food Sake Tokyo 