An insider's guide to Tokyo
Alessandra Zecchini
Japan is a country of big, passionate and knowledgeable eaters. Go anywhere in the country and you will find a local cuisine. Turn on any TV channel and you will see cooking programmes. Open any magazine or even comic book and there again food will be a big topic. Greater Tokyo-Yokohama, the world’s biggest city with 25 million hungry dwellers, has everything a gourmand could dream of, from big, fancy restaurants to street stalls where noodles can be slurped while standing.
With that in mind I hope the reader will understand that no food guide can be anything but limited (in this case to places I’ve visited or had highly recommended). What I’ve attempted here is a selection of the best and most interesting places: places that are easy to reach from hotel or tourist districts (the nearest station is included in parentheses after each address).
If you are going to live in Tokyo, this list is only the beginning of a great adventure. As you start to get to know your neighbourhood and your Japanese improves, hundreds more options for great eating and drinking arise. On the other hand, if your stay is short, either select the restaurant by the kind of food you prefer to try (i.e. sushi, soba), or by the proximity to your hotel.
Finally, one of the best things about being in Tokyo is the abundance of events. At different times of the year local district festivals, or matsuri, draw people from one temple to another, with stalls selling food and curiosities until late at night. It’s worth checking with the tourist office or your hotel to see whether something special is happening during your stay.
Bon appétit or as they say in Japanese itadakimasu . . .
Where to eat
Aoi Marushin
Tempura and Kaiseki Ryori
1-4-4 Asakusa, Taito Ku,
ph: 03-3841 5439 (Asakusa)
Open 10.00am to 9.00pm
seven days
English menu.
Chances are that you will visit the Asakusa Temple, a busy and noisy tourist Mecca. The surrounding district is famous for tempura which, during the Edo period (1600-1868), was the fast food of the commoners. Aoi Marushin is inexpensive and also serves sashimi and unagi (grilled eel). For better food go to the fifth floor, where they have another tempura bar that uses higher quality ingredients, and also Kaiseki ryori (Japan’s classic multi-course haute cuisine) with set menus at 5000, 6000 and 7000 yen. It may seem expensive, but Kaiseki Ryori can easily cost you 10,000 to 20,000 yen in the specialist restaurants.
Bon
Shojin Ryori (vegetarian)
1-2-11 Ryusen, Taito-ku,
ph: 03-3872 0234 (Hibiya)
Open 12pm to 1.30pm and 5.00pm to 7.00pm,
closed Tuesdays
English menu, some English spoken.
Shojin Ryori is the traditional Japanese vegetarian food, usually made in Buddhist temples. At Bon they have a set lunch for 3800 yen and set dinners for 5000, 7000, 8000 and 10,000 yen. The relative expense and limited opening hours are explained by the time Shojin Ryori takes to prepare. Traditional décor with tatami mats and low tables, although standard tables are also available.
Edogin
Sushi
4-5-12 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku,
ph: 03-3543 4401 (Tsukiji)
Open 11.00am to 9.30pm
seven days
Some English spoken.
Some of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo are located here in Tsukiji, not far from the fish market, and Edogin certainly has fishmonger connections because its sushi is top quality. The chefs are trained for 10 years, 13 hours a day, by the senior itamae (sushi chef) and the Kondo family, which opened Edogin in 1924, still runs it. Set menus starting at around 1000 yen will help you keep control
of the budget.
Heiroku Sushi
Kaiten Zushi
(revolving sushi bar)
5-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku,
ph: 03-3498 3968 (Omotesando)
Open 11.00am to 9.00pm
seven days
English not spoken but staff are used to foreigners.
Heiroku is a landmark in the trendy Omotesando-Jingumae area. The full variety of sushi is available, plus asparagus and mayonnaise sushi in spring, and in 
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