Japan Archives - Page 4 of 8 - Gazing and Grazing

Takehara – Farmhouse Goodness

January 17th, 2016

Tired of hearing the negative stories about the town's diminishing fortunes, Nishino Farmhouse Restaurant opened in Takehara to showcase the homestyle cooking and fresh produce in the area. Like so many of Japan's rural towns, Takehara sits just on the fringe of a large metropolis (Hiroshima in this case) but slumbers, its contributions forgotten, and emblematic of the country's aging challenges. The area was previously renowned for its fantastic potatoes, which the restaurant's...

Gotetsu – Simply Good Chicken Yakitori

October 4th, 2015

Recommended by a 3-star Michelin sushi chef, I knew that Gotetsu in Tokyo's Akasaka neighbourhood had to be good. And it was simply that. Gotetsu specialises in chicken yakitori served in an unassuming restaurant that seats probably not more than 25. We had all parts of the chicken including some of the best innards I've tried.

The restaurant is less than a five minute walk from the Akasaka subway station and located on a street behind Akasaka's main street. The clientele was local...

Tokyo: A Walk Around Asakusa

September 30th, 2015

On a recent business trip to Tokyo, I had a couple of free hours and decided to drop in on Asakusa, an old part of the city with a historic temple. The thing about Tokyo is that for historical cultural landmarks, it just can't compare to Kyoto. Some of this is because a number of temples and shrines and their surrounding areas have been rebuilt. This is certainly true of Asakusa. The place was also incredibly crowded - full of tourists as well as locals going to make their Sunday...

Tokyo’s Butagumi – For Pork Cutlet Lovers, This Place Takes the Bacon

July 26th, 2015

A friend just asked me for some restaurant recommendations in Tokyo and although there are numerous great places to eat, I always make a point of going to tonkatsu (pork cutlet) specialist Butagumi. This is seriously gourmet tonkatsu where you get to choose the type of pork you want. Butagumi describes the taste of the various kinds of pork in their menu (light, rich, flavourful, etc.), with cuts that come from all over Japan as well as overseas, including Berkshire, Iberico and Bigorre....

Tokyo’s Sasagin – Great Food and Sake in this Izakaya

June 4th, 2015

There is a lot of good food in Japan - essentially places that mainly locals go and Sasagin would be one such neighbourhood izakaya. Izakaya, in my mind, are like pubs or tapas bars where the focus is on the drinks and generally decent food happens to be served as an accompaniment. In Sasagin's case, the food is also excellent while sake is the owner's forte.

A Japanese foodie friend recommended we come to Sasagin - good food without having to pay a lot for it. While not much english...