Friday, Jan. 4, 2013

Tradition rules at this time of year, and few parts of Tokyo are more traditional than the grid of narrow streets to the south of Ueno's Shinobazu Pond. Although many of the buildings in this former geisha district have seen ...

Friday, Dec. 28, 2012

Before we usher out the Dragon and ring in the Snake, it's time to pause, look back and appreciate all the fine eating that Tokyo has provided this year. Gongs and rankings are meaningless in a city the size of ...

Friday, Dec. 7, 2012

As the dust settles from the annual pronouncement of Michelin stars — and, yes, Tokyo remains the tire company's gastronomic capital of the world — it's timely to remember that stellar dining does not have to mean stratospheric prices, even ...

Friday, Nov. 16, 2012

Whenever an exciting new restaurant is launched in Tokyo, usually it's all over the foodie magazines within days. Not so with Flatiron. Though it's been up and running since September, it's been flying well under the radar. ...

Friday, Nov. 2, 2012

For a food with such a long and venerable history, udon gets surprisingly short shrift in Tokyo. Sure, it's not hard to find these long, chunky, white wheat noodles. But compared with the many artisan soba-ya serving handcrafted buckwheat noodles, ...

Friday, Oct. 19, 2012

Autumn is the golden season. Fruit and hearty root vegetables; mushrooms, nuts and new-season rice; plentiful fish and seafood, too: This abundance is the palette from which Japan's top kaiseki chefs draw in creating their intricate, elegant multicourse meals. Few ...

Friday, Oct. 5, 2012

The golden age of luxury long-distance train travel is over. The days when overnight journeys were made in exclusive style — complete with Pullman sleeping cars, lounge bar and restaurant on wheels — have gone the way of the steam ...

Friday, Sept. 21, 2012

The entrance to Yorozuya Okagesan is, to put it mildly, discreet. The modest sign is set back so far from the sidewalk you'd never spot the steps unless you knew to look. And you'd never go down them anyway unless ...

Friday, Sept. 7, 2012

Beard. What sort of name is that for a restaurant, least of all one serving French-inflected food? And what chef would have the word daubed in orange paint across his front door, on the diagonal no less? One with a ...

Friday, Aug. 17, 2012

Summertime, and the living is far from easy in the city. Stuck in the middle of the heat island, appetites fray and taste buds wilt like yesterday's lettuce. Simple snacks are called for, not major meals, with copious quantities of ...