Ōki Shichimitōgarashi (大木七味唐辛子屋) Has Closed

Ōki Shichimitōgarashi Closed After some 400 years in business, Higashinihinbashi’s Ōki Shichimitōgarashi has closed. It actually closed back in July of 2021, but despite passing by the shop quite frequently, I was not aware of the closing until I saw a notice on the door last week. Ōki Shichimitōgarashi, along with its previous other half, Yagen Shichimitōgarashi, based in Asakusa, is considered to be the first shop to make the now ubiquitous seven spice mix known as […]

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Not Just Any Pizza

Outside of Japan, the art of professional cooking is almost always performer in a kitchen, out of site from the dining area. But not in Japan, where counter seating is common and diners can watch chefs at work, making cooking, or chefing, a performing art. Restaurants designed with the kitchen work area on the far side of a counter allows personal interaction and communication between diners and the person or people preparing the meal, as well as—at […]

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Nikkō

As part of my great endeavor to walk all of the five highways of old Japan (the go kaidō, or 五街道), this summer a friend and I set out to walk the shortest of the five, the old Nikkō Kaidō from Nihonbaashi to Nikkō and its main attraction, the Tōshōgū, the mausoleum honoring the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The distance for this journey is not too great, only around 140 km. Walking an average of around 30 […]

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Sushi Yoshitake 鮨よしたけ

鮨よしたけ　Sushi Yoshitake Another great meal at the main counter at Sushi Yoshitake in Ginza, this time with a 6:00 start rather than the late seating as last time. No more restrictions on serving alcohol, or business hours, which is a great relief to everyone in Tokyo, or at least every adult. Once again, no photos are allowed, so the list that follows of what we ate is from memory only. I have a feeling one dish may […]

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October: The Best Month For Eating in Japan

A few years ago Kurogi san, the owner of the then Michelin Two Star restaurant bearing his name, mentioned that October was the very best month of the year for food in Japan. That particular evening we were seated at the counter at the restaurant’s previous location in Yushima (it has since moved to Daimon). I like sitting at the counter over tables as you can not only watch what’s going on (and learn!) but also converse […]

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Happy Christmas (War is Over), October Version

Happy Xmas (War is Over) While walking around my home neighborhood of Ningyōchō this evening, and pretty much every evening since October 1, I keep thinking of John Lennon’s old song “Happy Xmas (War is Over),” a song that was originally meant to be a protest of America’s war against Vietnam but evolved into more of a song to celebrate Christmas. I do not think of the song in a Christmas context, not here in Ningyōchō, especially […]

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Jigona-ya Kirishita Soba 地粉や霧下蕎麦

A month or so ago the owner of Lapin, bistro type restaurant in Nakakaruizawa where we had dinner, recommended a couple of soba restaurants he liked. One of them was a bit out of the way, so we had to wait until we returned this past weekend to drive out towards the city of Komoro to try Kirishita Soba. Actually, the full name is Jigonaya Kirishita soba (地粉や　霧下蕎麦), the name meaning something like locally produced soba made […]

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Bistro En Face

My wife and some friends and I finally made it to the fairly new French bistro En Face. And it was great, with copious portions of wa-fu French fare with plenty of very good and affordable wines to go with it. En Face opened in late 2019 in a newly built space that had been a parkaing space for as long as I could remember. The owner is a local guy, from Kakigarachō, his home maybe 250 […]

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Dining Out in Tokyo, Mid-August, 2021

Dining Out in Tokyo, Mid-August, 2021 My wife and I wanted to go out for sushi the other night here in Ningyōchō. We needed someplace close, as it was getting close to 7:00, currently the time for last order at restaurants in Tokyo under the current corona restrictions. Or at least I think it is 7:00 last order; it is sometimes hard to tell by looking at what is happening most evenings with local places. I had […]

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Edomasa is Open Again!

Edomasa Open Again! This past Saturday, July 3, I went to my favorite yakitori place, Edomasa, tiny shop in Higashinihonbashi that has been around for nearly 100 years.. They had been closed since the start of the most recent so called state of emergency was imposed as it just wasn’t worth opening up to do take out only yakitori, especially when their most famous item, nama (raw minced chicken) can’t be sold for takeout, at least not […]

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