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Japan
It was my first time in Japan, and I was looking for somewhere cheap to eat that wasn’t a burger joint. I happened upon Yoshinoya (they’re everywhere, look for the bright orange signs). The menu is mainly rice-based: the dishes include pork, beef etc. with ginger, curry etc. The dishes cost from 360 - 630 yen (approx. £2-4) including rice and miso soup - fantastic value for money. I ate there four times in a 10-day holiday, and every time we were the only westerners there; as they say, if it’s where the locals go it must be good!
Everywhere in the major cities
Molecular gastronomy in Tokyo. It's no surprise that one of Tokyo's most expensive hotels should have a good restaurant or two, but it's perhaps less usual to head to such hotels for fun dining. So hats off for not taking themselves too seriously in their Molecular Tapas Bar, which offers just two sittings per evening for seven people per sitting.
Around 25 courses are served with liquid nitrogen, syringes, glass plates and steel menus to the fore. Each dish is explained, prepared in front of you and the emphasis is on having a laugh and enjoying the experience. A visit last week included dishes such as 'red', 'cappuchino candy floss', a brilliant homemade mozzarella, 'cucumber caviar' and a beer with a Yakult froth tasting. Great fun and at £60 a head, it's terrific value - maybe for a last night in the city. Somehow Tokyo seems the perfect setting for high-tech cuisine.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Chuo-ku,Tokyo
03 3270 8800 www.mandarinoriental.co.jp
They may still be more expensive than supermarkets but the lush Harrods-style food courts in the big department store Isetan are a great place to pick up Japanese delicacies for much cheaper than restaurant prices.
Take advantage too of the constant free samples…
3-14-1 Shinjuku
Beige Tokyo, the creation of Chanel and Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse, is so achingly hip it’ll make you take off your suit the moment you get in. Located in the Chanel Ginza Building, it is the perfect fusion of high fashion and impeccable cuisine: try the frog’s legs and akagegyu beef for orgasmic culinary pleasure.
The Conrad Tokyo’s major attraction is its location. Walking distance from the Hamarikyu Garden and the legendary Tsukiji Fish Market (amongst other tourist delights), this is the place to stay if you don’t have a weekend (go for the Hyatt if you do) but do have time to explore in the evenings. The in-house Gordon Ramsay restaurants are also a bonus. Book an Executive Room or an Executive Suite; the latter is exceptional value given its 83 square metre size.
Fukuzushi, near Roppongi is great for a quieter (perhaps weekday team) dinner. It is a dinky, gorgeous, family-run restaurant, with sushi dominating the menu. The sashimi – especially tuna and salmon staples – are irresistibly delicious and the sake deserves your full attention. Two important tips. Get there early – it gets rather empty after 9pm – and make sure you get very clear directions – it’s remarkably difficult to find.
The New York Grill on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt is heaving every night, it serves some of the best seafood, poultry and red meat I’ve ever tasted in Japan (no mean feat). There’s also a super-high celebrity quotient.
The two XEX bars in Tokyo are wonderful insider secrets. The first, situated in the Atago Green Hills Mori Tower, is ten minutes from Roppongi and has spectacular views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. The second, located in Daikanyama, is irrefutably the city’s best bar for spring/summer; it features the city’s trendiest folk and also serves very stylish teppanyaki.
Upon arrival in Tokyo Narita International airport (or just before you leave!), don't just rush headlong into the city... If you have come long-haul and are tired, there's nothing better than to get your head down at one of the airport hotels for a few hours, and then use Narita as a gentle introduction to Japan/Tokyo. It is a nice small town, which is very walkable, and has many little gems including a temple, local restaurants, shops and backstreet pubs. Prices for food, hotels et al will be much cheaper that Tokyo city, and it allows you to acclimatise in a much less hectic/congested atmosphere. I have always found it a perfect way to take a breather before business in Japan and/or exploring the country on vacation.
It's talked about but not many people in the world have tasted it. It is decadent and pure luxury. I'm talking about Kobe beef - the most tender, tasty, melt in the mouth moment I've ever tasted. This delight of Japanese cuisine is of course, best tasted in the home of the beef. Kobe is an hour or so away from Tokyo on the bullet train but the journey is well worth it. Step out of Kobe's main shinkensen station and you will be greeted with posters and bill boards of places to taste this fine meat.
Check out the restaurants who offer 'nose print' certificates of the cow to prove authenticity. Lightly grilled is my personal recommendation.
On your own in Tokyo? Search out large office blocks, daytime or night time, there's usually a food court either at ground or upper level. Japan can be expensive and this is an easy and inexpensive way to eat out alone. Don't worry about the language, there are the plastic plates to point out.
All over town
When travelling in Tokyo, I would highly recommend vending machine Ramen (noodles) for the experience. The ramen is not dispensed by a machine but human contact (read the need to communicate in Japanese) is limited - so may be great for the foreign visitor. The process may look intimidating at first but in reality it couldn't be simpler. Outside the restaurant you will be faced with a vending machine with a selection of buttons, typically you need to select:
1) The size of your noodles
2) The type of noodles
3) Any extras, including egg, extra meat, etc
Simply press your desired buttons (all with pictures on for you to follow), insert money and you will be issued with a coupon. Hand this in to the staff in the 'restaurant' (usually a bar - perfect for single dining) and a few minutes later you will be presented with a piping hot bowl of ramen. Prices are fantastically cheap (no more than GBP5 a bowl) and extremely fresh. As an added bonus, you can feel smug that you've achieved to dine like a local and navigate yourself around what can be a very confusing city.
All around Japan, look for the vending machines with pictures on for a clue
Everyone I know uses Tokyofoodie.com to decide on restaurants in Tokyo. Well-written and comprehensive articles by other food lovers are perfect there.
www.tokyofoodie.com
www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jan/18/tokyo.travelwebsites
The rather delightfully named 'Piss alley' might not be the most delicately-named place to enjoy your dinner but the noodles here are truly fantastic. Navigate some of the divinely old-style Japanese 'corridors' of alleyway shops and restaurants and nip into one of the tiny hole in the walls to get your piping hot noodles and aromatic flavours of Japan. Only really able to accommodate a couple of people so you're likely to squeeze in with a hurried commuter and maybe a couple of old ladies but the atmosphere is pure magic in the ramen shops. All in all, thankfully modern plumbing but old-style eating experience!
Tokyo, Shinjuku station
Bon serve Fucha Ryori cuisine, a form of Zen vegetarian cooking originating in China but developed in Japan. Small delicate and beautiful dishes are served in measured succession, in a private room on Tatami mats. We had about 11 courses (we lost count).
The service was immaculate: serene, polite and friendly, quite unlike anything European, and the whole experience was calm and almost meditative.
The restaurant is tucked away down a back street of old Tokyo houses. Booking is required.
Ryusen 1-2-11, Taito-Ku, near Iriya station (Hiriya line). Phone 03 (3872) 0375. Do not rely on the map provided by the restaurant, which is inaccurate. Get someone to look it up for you in the Tokyo street atlas.
This is a very popular and cheap fast food restaurant. Like the similar MosBurger, orders are cooked from fresh, so don't expect MacD's style service.
The burgers are amazingly tasty: I still dream about the bacon omelette burger 18 months after my return to the UK! Delicious fresh lemonade, chunky wedges and a huge range of condiments, all served by very young and helpful staff.
Almost everywhere!
On the east side of Shinjuku station, to the north of the Odakyu department store, look for the alleyways of Shoniben Yokocho - "Piss Alley"!
Don't let the name put you off - this area has loads of small bars selling yakitori. Choose your own kebabs - chicken, tomatoes, fish, pork, etc and have them barbecued as you listen to the banter from the chefs and barmaids to the passing customers. Beer and lemon bitters to drink with the locals, bags of noise and atmosphere and very cheap!
Nishi-Shinjuku, east of Shinjuku station
Tako-Yaki was my favorite street food. A savory octopus gobstopper, you bite through a crispy pancake shell, swallow down runny batter till you get to the chewy chunk of octopus in the center. Stalls selling this tend to have a cute cartoon octopus waiving its legs invitingly at you.
You can buy it from stalls at festivals or in parks (there‘s one in front of Yoiyogi park).
I'm thinking here of Isetan in Shinjuku and Tobu and Seibu department stores in Ikebukuro, although all the major dept stores at Shibuya and Tokyo stations should have similar food basements.
Always busy and noisy with the calls of the sales staff touting their wares, they give an insight into the astonishing variety and sophistication of Japanese cuisine. Also, they also frequently offer tantalising titbits to passers-by.
On an upper-floor, there is usually also a selection of reasonably-priced restaurants offering a variety of different styles of Japanese cuisine.
If you get off the JR Yamanote line at Shinjuku, you'll find Odakyu, leave by the East Exit, and turn right, Isetan is on your left about 200 metres.
Get off the JR Yamanote line at Ikebukuro and it will be hard not to find yourself in either Tobu or Seibu department store basement 1. Both have two whole basement floors of food.
"Kaiten" is the name given to the conveyor belt-style sushi restaurants you'll have seen on virtually any TV programme about Tokyo. Take a seat, make yourself a free cup of green tea and take whatever you fancy. The price of the sushi depends on the colour of the plate (you'll find the price guide on the wall), and once you've had enough just ask for the "okanjo" (bill) and pay at the till as you leave. Simple, easy and delicious. The price of a plate varies from JPY100 (about 50p) to JPY600 (3 pounds).
I recommend "Kazu" in Ginza (Ginei Building 1F, 8-8-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku), near the Burberry store.
Nearest station: Ginza.
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