Location: Japan / page 13 of 16
Food spying at Osaka’s Takashimaya

Food spying at Osaka’s Takashimaya

Food spying at Osaka’s Takashimaya

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…

20
Oct '12
Lunch at Sushi Kanesaka

Lunch at Sushi Kanesaka

Lunch at Sushi Kanesaka

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.

16
Oct '12
Miyako sushi – 3 Michelin quality minus Michelin stars

Miyako sushi – 3 Michelin quality minus Michelin stars

Miyako sushi – 3 Michelin quality minus Michelin stars

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…

9
Sep '12
Sushi Yoshitake (3*)

Sushi Yoshitake (3*)

Sushi Yoshitake (3*)

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…

1
Sep '12
The samurai’s knife

The samurai’s knife

The samurai’s knife

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 –…

8
Aug '12
One Michelin Star Soba

One Michelin Star Soba

One Michelin Star Soba

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…

18
Dec '11
Sushi for Breakfast at Daiwa

Sushi for Breakfast at Daiwa

Sushi for Breakfast at Daiwa

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…

18
Dec '11
The ultimate seafood at Sushi Saito

The ultimate seafood at Sushi Saito

The ultimate seafood at Sushi Saito

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…

13
Dec '11
Fruit shopping in Tokyo

Fruit shopping in Tokyo

Fruit shopping in Tokyo

It never ceases to amaze me the quality of the products in Tokyo. Sembikiya is the oldest fruit shop in Japan selling fruits of unbelievable quality you will get nowhere in the world. The fruits at the Sembikiya shops are so expensive that usually you buy them by units and…

5
Dec '11
Sushi Matsumoto, Kyoto

Sushi Matsumoto, Kyoto

Sushi Matsumoto, Kyoto

After eating in all these “alpha” sushi places in Tokyo the standards for fish and rice get pretty high. I don’t want to sound snobbish – the first time I went to Japan I was so ignorant, I thought that sushis are the most basic meal to prepare, something everyone…

26
Mar '10