updated 25 September 2017 If you are looking for jizake or shochu from a small producer or an artisanal miso the first place to check out are the antenna shops. Markets that specialize in regional products, usually from a specific prefecture. The Okinawa antenna shop in Ginza has a huge selection of awamori and the Miyazaki antenna shop…
Ekiben, Hokkaido, and Shimane Food Fairs in Tokyo
Today starts three food fairs in Tokyo. Get this amaebi donburi at the Hokkaido Food Fair at Tobu Ikebukuro (8th floor event space) running through January 24th. Select from over 200 ekiben at Shinjuku Keio’s event also through January 24th. At Shibuya Tokyu Toyoko Ten on the 8th floor is a Shimane Food Fair running through…
Maguronald まぐろナルド
With an awesome name like Maguronald, which sounds an awful like lot McDonald’s when pronounced in Japanese, this is definitely worth checking out. Maguro, or of course, tuna, is the specialty of this small 20 seat restaurant in Ginza. It is open for lunch and dinner and closed on Sunday and holidays. And affordable, budget…
Sushi and Bento Fair at Ikebukuro Seibu 寿司・弁当とうまいもの会
Ikebukuro Seibu will host a Sushi, Bento, and Delicacies food fair from Friday, January 6 – 18, 2012 on the 7th floor. (Note that the event closes at 6 p.m. on both the 12th and 18th.) Regional food and sake from throughout Japan are available. Highlights include sushi from Ginza Kyubey (Jan. 6-12) and ramen…
Akita and Tohoku Food Fair at Shinjuku Odakyu
Now through Monday, January 9th at Shinjuku Odakyu on the 11th floor is the Akita-ken to Michinoku Bussanten food fair of products from Akita and Tohoku. Highlights include the Nihonkai no Sachi donburi posted above from Aomori, seafood on the rice bowl include salmon, ikura, uni, and hotate. Also look for bouzushi or presed sushi of…
January Japanese Seasonal Seafood 一月旬の魚
January Japanese Seasonal Seafood The seafood in winter is rich with fat as the fish protects itself from the cold waters. Some sashimi eaten this time of year will be a bit oily as a result. As always, we love to have most seafood as sashimi when possible, in particular tairagai and yari ika….
Osechi Ryori at Depachika おせち料理
Osechi ryori is food made to eat the first days of the New Year. The photo above is of osechi ryori I made two years ago (I made most of it, I am still not confident to make kuromame). Here is a list of just some of the popular items in osechi ryori: Kazunoko (herring roe)…
Hakodate Zundou at Shibuya Tokyu Food Show ずんどう
Thanks to Robbie Swinnerton for pointing out that the famous ramen shop Zundou from Hakodate in Hokkaido is at Shibuya’s Tokyu Food Show (until this Thursday) on his blog. Zundou sells a great bottled spicy takana with red chili peppers that we love over rice. If you are in Shibuya, stop by Tokyu Food…
Food Gifts – Omiyage from Tokyo 東京のお土産
Omiyage most often describes gifts that you pick up while traveling that you bring back to your family, friends, and colleagues. For example, on a trip to Kyoto I may select some local jizake or wagashi for friends. For my colleagues at work I may pick up a box of yatsuhashi, a popular confectionary that Kyoto is known for….
Tsukiji Market Holiday Schedule 2011
Just a reminder that Tsukiji Market is closed not only on Sundays, but other days this month due to the holidays. Here is the market calendar for 2011 and 2012. Below are the days it is closed for the next four weeks. Dec. 11, 14, 18, 23, 25 (short day), 31 January 1-4, 8-9 If…
Restaurants in Ginza on Sunday
The Ginza district is a popular destination on Sundays for shoppers and browsers. I love Ginza’s restaurants, but surprisingly, many are closed on Sundays, notably the restaurants that rely on Tsukiji Market for fresh seafood. Here is my shortlist of restaurants that are open on Sundays in Ginza. If all else fails, then head to…
What and Where to Eat in Tokyo
Updated May, 2016 I often am asked for restaurant suggestions in Tokyo. Wow. Where does one begin? The food is amazing, from the high end kaiseki restaurants and sushi counters to the neighborhood ramen shop or izakaya. Even on a budget it is very easy to eat well in Tokyo. Let me put here just…
Kappabashi – Okuda Shouten Shiten for Bamboo Products
Okuda Shouten Shiten is on the rightside This shop features bamboo products. Strainers, steamers, bamboo baskets for soba, tempura, or for large strainers, chopsticks,handai for making sushi rice, bento boxes, bowls for miso soup. Okuda Shouten Shiten オクダ商店支店 Taito-ku, Nishi-Asakusa 1-5-10 Phone: 03-3844-4511 http://www.kappabashi.or.jp/shops/32.html (Japanese)
December Seasonal Japanese Seafood １２月旬の魚
I love seafood this time of year. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I met Shinji around New Year’s and one of the first days we spent together he took me on a tour of Tsukiji Market (he was working as a buyer at Tsukiji then). Some of our…
Higashiya Ginza
For traditional Japanese confectionaries there is Toraya, which is one of Japan’s most famous shops with locations around Tokyo. A modern confectionary shop that I love is Higashiya in Ginza. I first met the folks from Higashiya at a food event where I was pouring dessert wine from Coco Farm and Winery. The Higashiya team…
Shochu 焼酎 – Futan 風憚
My favorite type of shochu is an imojochu, or sweet potato shochu. It comes in a wide variety of aromas and flavors. Some can be really funky and others very smooth. Fuutan is on the easy-drinking and light side. This is a great starter shochu if you are interested in sweet potato shochu but are…
Japanese Pastry Chefs Worth Checking Out
The December 2011 issue of Cuisine Kingdom (料理王国) lists some Japanese patissiers and chocolatiers worth getting to know. I am listing them here. On a side note, it also includes a friend of ours, Shinji Oyama, who is in charge of all of the public relations for the Tsuji Chori Gakko. Susumu Koyama 小山進 Patissier…
Autumn Lunch at Nihonbashi Yukari 日本橋ゆかり
Nihonbashi Yukari is just a few minutes’ walk from Tokyo Station’s Yaesu exit. This third generation restaurant is one of my favorites in Japan for many reasons. For the quality of food it is a great bargain. The Yukari bento lunch here is about 3,675 JPY. A kaiseki multi-course dinner starts at 10,500 JPY. At…
International Supermarkets in Tokyo
There is a great article in today’s Japan Times by my former editor at Metropolis, Steve Trautlein. It outlines some of the best supermarkets that offer a wide variety of international products. Some of my personal favorites in this list include Nissin (see photo above), Seijo Ishii, Kaldi, and Eataly. Click here for Steve’s article. Click…
November Seasonal Japanese Seafood
Autumn is a great time for Japanese seafood as a lot of the fish are rich with fat. This time of year we love sanma, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. Katsuo done tataki-style, seared on the outside and rare on the inside, calls out for some shochu or nihonshu. And when it…
Nihonbashi Takashimaya’s Aji Hyakusen Gourmet Food Fair 第32回 グルメのための味百選
It is that time of year again, my all-time favorite gourmet food fair at Nihonbashi Takashimaya. It is also very popular with the customers so I suggest coming early in the day as the event gets very crowded. Takashimaya brings in the top restaurants and food purveyors from around the country twice a year for…
Ebisu Tachinomi Q
I first came upon this great standing bar about five years ago when it first opened. It had great reviews for being cheap, with great food, and a fun environment. It was exactly that. This is not your typical izakaya with Japanese fare but includes many tapa-style bites. The menu includes home-cured bacon, escargot, smoked…
Support Tohoku – Kessenuma Shop in Ginza
Antenna shops showcase food and other products from a certain area, usually a prefecture in Japan. I love to shop at antenna shops for hard-t0-find shochu, sake, regional seafood, and other items like miso. It is a good place to pick up omiyage for friends, or things for yourself. Recently in Ginza, across the street from…
Japan Times Review – Hosokawa Soba in Ryogoku
Robbie Swinnerton introduces Hosokawa Soba in Ryogoku. This soba-ya looks like it worth the trip across the Sumidagawa.
Hokkaido Food Festival at Nihonbashi Takashimaya
Now through Monday, October 10th, at Nihonbashi Takashimaya on the 8th floor, is a great Hokkaido Food Festival. Highlights include pop-up restaurants serving sushi from Hokkaido seafood like ikura, uni, and crab, local ramen, and grilled pork over rice. Lots of sweets, seafood, and cheese. Check out this promotional flyer for photos of some of…
Tuscan Food Fair at Shinjuku Isetan
Now through Monday, October 10th, at Shinjuku Isetan on the 6th floor, is a food festival promoting the great food and wine of Tuscany. From pizza to gelato to wine, there is a wide variety of products available. Note that the event ends at 6 p.m. on Monday.
October Seasonal Japanese Seafood
As the waters become cooler the fish become rich with fat. We love sanma (Pacific saury) this time of year, both as sashimi, or simply salted and grilled. If there is a nice cup of nihonshu on the table, eating the guts of the sanma is also a treat. For miso soup a handful of…
Hanamaru Market Food Fair at Shinjuku Odakyu
Hanamaru Market is a morning television variety program. While it is not a food program, it introduces the favorite food of each day’s guest. I have found this program a great way to be introduced to products I would not necessarily come across. Food items include regional items from guests’ hometowns to some local favorites…
Wine Dinners with Master Sommelier Ned Goodwin – Salt
Here is the first upcoming wine dinner with the great Ned Goodwin. ■ Jamsheed Winemaker’s Dinner @ Salt The Jamsheed label began in 2003 with a focus on single vineyard Syrahs and aromatic whites from unique sites in Victoria. The vineyards are selected to demonstrate the versatility and charm of these magnificent varieties. Each wine is…
Wine Dinners with Master Sommelier Ned Goodwin
Here is the second upcoming wine dinner with the great Ned Goodwin. ■ Jamsheed Winemaker’s Dinner @ Tableaux The Jamsheed label began in 2003 with a focus on single vineyard Syrahs and aromatic whites from unique sites in Victoria. The vineyards are selected to demonstrate the versatility and charm of these magnificent varieties. Each wine is…
Tokyo’s Top Places to Drink
Izakaya 居酒屋 are literally places to have something to drink. When I was working as a sommelier at the New York Bar and Grill at the Park Hyatt Tokyo my shift would end late at night, well after dinner. I would often stop by a local izakaya for a beer and some small bites. What…
Hokkaido Food Festival at Ikebukuro Tobu
Running now through Tuesday, September 27th at Ikebukuro Tobu is a big Hokkaido Food Festival. My favorite food to pick up here is always the amazing bento, both seafood based but also including some wagyu. I am always a fan of the seafood from Sato Suisan, like the bento layered with uni, ikura, and crab…
Five Questions for Sake Master John Gauntner
John Gauntner has done more to promote sake than any other non-Japanese in the world. John is the author of five books, an informational monthly newsletter, and for those lucky enough to be in Tokyo, he holds interesting tasting seminars at Takara. His accomplishments are too numerous to list all of them here but some…
Shochu 焼酎 – Shiro しろ
Perhaps the most asked question I have is what is a good shochu to start with for those who are new to shochu. A rice based shochu is a good place to start as it is usually light, easy-drinking, and clean, much like rice. A good brand to start with is Hakutake Shiro, referred to…
Sake no Ana: Best Place for Tasting Sake for Lunch in Tokyo – Part 2/2
Sake no Ana 酒の穴 Chuo-ku, Ginza 3-5-8 03-3567-1133 3. Juyondai Honjozo 十四代 本醸造 Premium sake, very hard to purchase retail. Often sold at much higher prices on E-bay (Sakamoto-san, the sake sommelier said that the bottle we had would go for 10,000 JPY even though the retail price is only about 2,500 JPY.) From Yamagata prefecture. http://www.yukinosake.com/juyondai.html (sake brewery site in Japanese)…
Sake no Ana: Best Place for Tasting Sake for Lunch in Tokyo – Part 1/2
Sake no Ana 酒の穴 Chuo-ku, Ginza 3-5-8 03-3567-1133 There are many wonderful izakaya in Tokyo, however finding one that is open for lunch is a challenge. I was in particular looking for an izakaya with a wide variety of sake by the glass that is open for lunch. All of my favorites, including Sasagin and Takara…
Tohoku Food Festival at Takashimaya Nihonbashi
This weekend through Monday the 12th, stop by Takashimaya Nihonbashi’s 8th floor (large event space) for a special food festival featuring the food of the Tohoku region. My mother is from Yamagata so Tohoku holds a very special place in my heart. Shinji also works with many fishermen from Aomori to Iwate and Miyagi…
Hokkaido Food Festival at Shinjuku Odakyu
Just a reminder that the Hokkaido Food Festival at Shinjuku Odakyu runs through this weekend. If you are near Shinjuku, stop by Odakyu department store. Click here for more details.
Tokyo Station Omiyage – Nihonbashi Nishiki Hourin 日本橋錦豊琳
Karintou are traditional sweet confectionaries made from a flour based cracker that is fermented and then is deep-fried and covered with a sugar coating. The sugar coating can be a white sugar but many times it is a dark sugar coating that is rich in minerals. The cracker can have different ingredients folded into it…
September Seasonal Japanese Seafood ９月旬の魚
September Seasonal Japanese Seafood Perhaps no fish signals the arrival of autumn to me than sanma (Pacific saury), a silver skinned, long and skinny fish that for me is best when simply salted and grilled. This at night with a glass of nihonshu or shochu is heaven for me. What many Japanese especially appreciate is the…
Hokkaido Food Festival at Odakyu in Shinjuku
Starting today through Tuesday, September 13th, Odakyu at Shinjuku station (nishi guchi or west exit) will host a food festival highlighting the food of Japan’s northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido. As a two-week event, vendors will change on the second week starting on Wednesday, September 7th, giving customers a chance to come back next week for new…
August Seasonal Japanese Seafood
Look for these seafood when eating out in Japan or in the supermarkets or at your fishmonger. Most of the seafood listed here you can enjoy as sushi or sashimi. At home we like to have tachiuo as sashimi with a bit of sesame oil and sea salt. Karei we like either simmered in a delicate…
August Seasonal Japanese Vegetables
August is when the gardens are overflowing. Look for these vegetables when dining out. Edamame at beer gardens, vegetables in bento at depachika, and in the supermarket. One of my favorite shops at depachika for inspiration on Japanese vegetables is RF1. It is located in most depachika and is a deli with a wide variety…
Top Ten Depachika in Tokyo 東京のデパ地下
Working at the sake section of the depachika in Nihonbashi Takashimaya was loads of fun. As a sommelier it was my job to sell wine but my responsibilities also included selling sake, shochu, and other spirits. Who wouldn’t love to be surrounded by amazing food all day long? My breaks were spent carefully perusing the floor for new items….
Shochu 焼酎 – Tantakatan 鍛高譚
As a shochu advisor I wanted to share with readers shochu that are worth checking out. The first shochu I will introduce is very interesting. My first day at work at Nihonbashi Takashimaya in the sake department some of my colleagues took me out for drinks. They asked me to pick something from the store…
Update – Fukumitsuya in Ginza has closed
In Food Sake Tokyo on page 182 I have listed Ginza Fukumitsuya (Chuo-ku, Ginza 5-5-8) as a sake shop worth checking out. Unfortunately they have closed their doors as of July 31, 2011. It is so sad to see special shops like this shut their doors. FYI, the other shop listed in Food Sake Tokyo…
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….
Okinawa Fair at Shinjuku Isetan めんそ〜れ〜大沖縄展
Shinjuku Isetan will hold a Okinawa Festival, including many local foods and awamori, shochu made from Thai rice, from Wednesday, July 27th to Monday, August 1st. The event closes at 6 p.m. on the final day and is held on the 6th floor of the main building. This is a great opportunity to try Okinawan…
Gotta Get: Ra-yu Salmon Flakes
Salted salmon flakes are a popular topping for a hot bowl of rice. It is sold in a small glass jar and found is most supermarkets. Shinji came home the other day with a new product we had never seen before, ra-yu (chili oil) flavored salmon flakes. Taberu ra-yu is a very popular product still, having…
Grazing Tsukiji Market
Grazing is not really recommended in Japan. Walking while eating can be seen as impolite. But one place where there are lots of small bites for sale is Tsukiji Market. If you do want to graze here my only suggestion is that you step off to the side and eat before you move on. Tsukiji…
Food Sake Tokyo 