Gastronomy tourism is a big part of why tourists are coming to Japan. L’Evo is an example of a restaurant featuring hyper-local ingredients and worth a journey. Chef Eiji Taniguchi’s restaurant is in the mountains of Toyama in the village of Toga in the remote Nanto district. The menu features local seafood and game with…
Category: seafood
Ehōmaki
Today in Japan is Setsubun, the last day before Risshun, the first day of spring in the old Japanese calendar. While homes first day of spring in the old Japanese calendar. While homes with kids will throw dried soybeans at someone wearing a devil’s mask chanting “out with the demons, in with good fortune”. If…
Kanazawa Maimon Sushi
Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures are on Toyama Bay and famous for seafood. Part of any trip to Kanazawa always includes a sushi meal. We love Maimon Sushi, a kaitenzushi conveyor belt sushi chain famous for getting seafood deliveries twice a day, ensuring the freshest seafood. There are a few branches in the city. There’s a…
Ito Marugen
A fun dinner at Marugen Marutaka izakaya in downtown Ito. The drinking pub is very popular so there was a line in front of the small shop from more than 30 minutes before it opened. One of their signature dishes is uzuwa which is sodagatsuo a meaty fish that is chopped up raw and mixed…
Ginza Maru
Ginza Maru is a kappō restaurant that serves lovely grilled fish lunch sets in the heart of Ginza. Kappō is like a kaiseki restaurant but a bit more casual and with a counter where diners can talk to the chef preparing some of the dishes. On this day the options were miso gindara black cod…
Tsukiji Breakfast
My first meal at Tsukiji Market when I worked for a Japanese seafood company was at Toto Grill @totogurill. The busy shop was filled with fishmongers. It’s very quiet now that the wholesale market has moved to Toyosu. A local spot for breakfast away from the chaotic crowds of Tsukiji. The daily specials are always a…
Tsuriya
Tsuriya in Toyama is a shop that specializes in seafood in many forms: dried, marinated in oil, marinated in nuka rice bran, smoked, and much more. Toyama prefecture specializes in these sake-friendly seafood products. Tsuriya is near Toyama Bay and the area has a long history of seafood – both fresh and these seafood products….
Rice Bran Fish
Sanma Pacific saury is marinated in nuka rice bran and salt for four days before grilling. This local lunch spot in #Kurobe,#Toyama is at Hokuyo no Yakata. The café is charming. There is also a shop with local products including kombu kelp, pantry items, and seafood. Hokuyo no Yakata is on the Sea of Japan….
Kaiseki Kashiwaya
Kashiwaya is a small kaiseki restaurant on the quiet back streets of Nihonbashi. Chef Yoshiyuki Kashiwabara was the chef for ambassadors at Japanese consulates overseas. He moved back to Japan and it’s exciting to see him open his own restaurant. Here are some photos from a recent dinner there. Kaiseki are seasonal small dishes. Chef…
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…
Salmon and Ikura Rice at Tsukiji
Delicious start to the day at Tsukiji Tadokoro Shokuhin, a fish roe specialty shop. The eat-in counter has rice and pasta dishes with ikura (salmon roe), tarako and mentaiko (both from pollack roe). There is also onigiri or omusubi rice balls stuffed with roe for take-away. This is rice sauteed in butter and soy sauce…
Table-worthy Canned Goods
We keep a big variety of canned foods in the pantry, in case of an earthquake, and because Japan offers great options. Canned foods in Japan offer a wide variety of seafood and meats, many worth putting on the table with a glass of wine or saké. Kokubu is a company that offers a colorful…
Tuna Lovers’ Day Trip From Tokyo
Misaki Maguro Kippu is a special discounted train, bus, and lunch ticket that is a fun day trip from Tokyo for tuna lovers. Many Japanese train and bus lines offer discounted tickets for round-trip excursions. Misaki is a famous port for tuna. Maguro is tuna, and kippu is for ticket. The Misaki Maguro Kippu can be…
New Breakfast Spot at Tsukiji Market
There is a brand new place to have breakfast at Tsukiji Market that is void of tourists and offering a value priced meal. There is a new facility, Tsukiji Uogashi, with about sixty retail shops for seafood and produce on the first floor. The first floor is open to the general public after 9 a.m. Prior…
Savory Unagi
Ikebukuro Tobu is Tokyo’s largest depachika with over 200 food stalls. The depachika is spread out over two floors and two buildings, and is worth a careful peruse. The restaurant floors on the upper five floors of the department store offers tempura, tonkatsu, sushi, unagi, and much more. The restaurant floors are packed on weekends,…
Keisuke Fugu Ramen
Fugu, a fish that has many names: torafugu, pufferfish, tiger blowfish, blowfish, porcupine fish, or globefish. Regardless of what you call it, you probably know that it is the fish that one could die from if it is not handled properly. Nowadays fugu farmers in Japan have figured out how to raise poison-free fugu. As for…
Nodaiwa
I first came across Nodaiwa while working at Nihonbashi Takashimaya. The fifth-generation unagi-ya has a branch at Takashimaya. Here is the fifth-generation shokunin, Kanejiro Kanemoto-san. Details are in Food Sake Tokyo, my book. I just wanted to share these photos of the storefront and the lovely Kanemoto-san. http://www.littlebookroom.com/products/food-sake-tokyo
Japanese Breakfast – Kuouesu
I have a six-month column on Japanese breakfast in the Japan Times. This special spot was mentioned in my first column on traditional Japanese breakfasts. Kuouesu near Hiroo offers a very unique Japanese breakfast. The kappō restaurant is only open for breakfast and dinner. It was a long walk from the station, so best to…
Shinjuku Kaijin 海神
Kaijin literally means the God of the Seas, a perfect name for this ramen shop that does not use meat. The seafood soup at Shinjuku Kaijin changes daily based on what seafood is in season. The broth, while rich in flavor, is light and refreshing on the palate. The fish that goes into the broth is…
Temakizushi Party
A fun idea for entertaining at home is a temaki-zushi party. Hand rolls (手巻き寿司) are interactive and as each person makes their own rolls it can be a good way to keep everyone happy. Some supermarkets and department store seafood sections will sell the seafood already cut for the rolls, especially on weekends and holidays. Ingredients…
Food Sake Tokyo 