While I usually refer to Aoyama Dori as a dead or at least quiet zone, there are some pretty good places hiding in plain sight. This is one of them, although you should go in with the right expectation price-wise. This being Tokyo, you probably know which end you’ll be surprised on. The main difficulty […]
- Italian
- ...
Ristorante Frick, Aoyama
August brings hard times for big men in Tokyo. When colleagues go to Hong Kong or Hawaii and come back talking about how the weather is worse in Tokyo, all we want to do is retreat to our air-conditioned rooms and laze on the couch. Or maybe go out for a touch of elegance. As […]
- izakaya
- ...
Hanafusa, Tsukiji (はなふさ)
Try walking, or jogging, or cycling around this quiet part of Tsukiji – 7-chome, across Harumi Dori from the side entrance to the fish market. You’ll be struck by how old it is, with a village feel on the minor shopping street and a few dark alleys parallelling that. Each has a couple quaint old […]
- izakaya
- ...
Nekoya, Tsukiji (ねこ屋)
How would you come up with this concept? “Stylish, private basement izakaya with homey food served by a youngish female master in kimono, with an outstanding sake selection. And everything cat-themed.” Everything. Well, it’s a good place, and the Woodsman deserves all credit for coming up with it when the rough plan was an evening around Tsukiji. Neko-san […]
- Other treats
- ...
Ganko ramen, Takadanobaba (がんこ)
If you’re willing to make a good effort, and you’re a little relaxed about time, you can go all sorts of places for lunch. Like Baba, home of 100 ramen shops and various college girls in costume. What’s up, sailor? Walk up toward Waseda, going with the flow of kids on their way to school. […]
Coulis, Shintomi
The photo gallery on the web site shows a range of semi-artful but fully fresh-looking dishes. Vegetables are everywhere. So are construction pictures, and the last of the series is a couple with a young child, backs to the camera, looking at the completed kitchen. No doubt, Coulis is a labor of love. With quality […]
- Indian
- ...
Mumbai Bar, Kanda
Recently the sky is so blue it’s almost comical. Anyway. Food. “This place has been on the radar for months.” Repetitious, no? But true. It’s on the main street from whence you turn to get to all the places in the north of Kanda that are featured here daily. The bright exterior is a cut […]
- Kanda
- ...
Zemaitis Museum, Kanda
Note, no actual food content here. Lots of guitars though. Tony Zemaitis was a British guitar builder who may have been the first to throw a slab of metal on the front of a guitar (cf my friend Chris Larsen and Girl Grand Guitars for more modern and wacky stuff!). He retired in 2000 and […]
- Kanda
- ...
Wagura ramen, Kanda (わ蔵)
Frankly, being in a new neighborhood is confusing these days. I’ve spent so much time wandering a few blocks of Kanda that it feels like home, and it’s disconcerting to visit streets that have the same faceless similarity of most of Tokyo…but aren’t the same. And that’s cool! I was standing on a corner, dithering […]
- izakaya
- ...
Daitetsu, Kanda (大鉄)
Japan’s construction philosophy is often described as ‘scrap and build’. You’d think that the narrow buildings and cramped neighborhoods would impede construction, but no…it just means they find ways to be careful. Here, a building is being torn out from between others, and a pint-sized backhoe is perched atop the rubble. But that’s not particularly […]