Kitamura is one Michelin star sukiyaki place in Osaka that has been in business for over a hundred years. You get your private room where a hostess cooks your meal. The sukiyaki here is Kansai style which means the ingredients (soy, sugar, sake and mirin) are poured over the thinly…

Beef consumption in Japan is relatively new. Actually only after the Meiji restoration in 1868 eating wagyu (which literally means “Japanese cow”) has become more common. Nowadays Japanese have the best beef in the world and plenty of ways to prepare it. One of my favourites is teppanyaki which was…

Melons for 18 900 Yen (around 180€) a piece, sensational seafood such as sashimi quality sea urchin, fatty tuna or live crabs, never-ending aisles filled with freshly prepared sushi, yakitori or traditional Japanese sweets… Osakans are known for their love for food and even have a saying, “kuidaore”, which literally…

Lunch omakase at Sushi Kanesaka in Tokyo. It costs 5000 Yen (around 50€) and is one of the best deals for lunch at a top sushi shop.

Calling a restaurant “the best in the world” or awarding it with one, two or three stars is a very Western notion. If you ask any well-travelled foodie ( including me ) what is the best sushi shop in Tokyo, she would mention Sushi Saito, Sukiyabashi Jiro or other sushiyas…

If you don’t read at least a little bit of hiragana, you might look for the Suzuryu building for a long time. Like many high-end restaurants in Tokyo’s Ginza, Sushi Yoshitake (3F, Suzuryu Building, 8-7-19 Ginza Chuo-ku Tokyo, tel. 03-6253-7331) is located in an ordinary office building, on an ordinary…

This is the knife chef Jun Yukimura (Azabu Yukimura, 3*, Tokyo) uses, particularly for shearing pike eels (hamo) bones. The knife comes from Aritsugu, a 450 year old producer from Kyoto, who originally produced swords for samurais. When I asked to hold it, I felt I was holding danger –…

Soba – traditional Japanese buckwheat noodles that can be eaten cold or hot, alone or in a broth. The soba at Tajima (1*) was delicious, but sometimes I wonder if Michelin guide makes any sense in Japan. If to be fair, all the decent restaurants in France, serving fresh, cheap…

Eating the freshest fish possible is part of the fun when visiting the biggest fish and seafood market in the world. Daiwa Sushi (Tsukiji Market Part6 Bldg. 5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo,tel. 03-3547-6807) hides in one of the busy alleys of Tsukiji and is definitely worth the over an hour wait- the…

When you sit at a 7 places sushi counter, you will most likely end up making conversations with your neighbours. My neighbours at Sushi Saito ( Jidousha kaikan Bldg. F1, 1-9-15 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo,tel. 03-3589-4412 ) – a nice Japanese couple who comes to this sushi bar regularly and who…