Tokyo

Jyaken Nou: Hiroshima House of Pancakes

What is it that’s so dizzyingly addictive about okonomiyaki? It might be the interactive DIY nature of building your own meal and serving it up from a Japanese teppan grill. Perhaps it’s the communal feeling of sitting around with a beer or two and cooking together. However, most likely is the fact that it’s so darn delicious and satisfying. It’s Japanese soul food that has somehow not quite reached the shores of many foreign countries. Okonomiyaki is a flavorful pancake chock full of whatever ingredients appeal, cooked on a Japanese grill (okono means “cook whatever you like” and yaki means grill). In all parts of Japan it's the secret second cousin to ramen in the family of fast food and cheap student eats.

Tokyo

Hasegawa Saketen: For Goodness Sake

Sake is a very deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture and its function is everything from ceremonial to social. It might be surprising then to know that there are remarkably few establishments in Tokyo dedicated to simple sake tasting. This is perhaps because the roots of public sake drinking stretch back to the 1800s, when sake was bought directly from a seller and often consumed on the premises with bits of food. Back then, people stood next to sake kegs and enjoyed the brew, eventually turning crates and barrels on their sides and sitting to enjoy their drinks. Food was soon added and the izakaya was born (a sakaya is a place to purchase sake, and the “i-“ prefix means “to stay.”).

Tokyo

Otafuku: Tokyo Mix and Match

The weather is turning cold and Japan’s convenience stores, or konbini, have hauled out the oden service pans and positioned them next to the cashier counters. For those not familiar with oden, the sight of assorted flotsam and jetsam afloat in a clear broth and the fishy aroma impinging on their space while paying for a soft drink or chewing gum might seem puzzling. For those who love oden, though, it’s a happy reminder that there will be many ways to enjoy this hearty dish – a kind of hotpot that contains a pantry's worth of ingredients in a light broth – as winter unfolds. A good way to enjoy the best quality oden is at odenya restaurants, which specialize in this Japanese staple.

Tokyo

Ask CB: Halloween in Tokyo?

Dear Culinary Backstreets, I just realized I’ll be in Tokyo for Halloween. Are there any tricks for finding special foodie treats there? Let’s remember that Japan is responsible for inventing cosplay – and that should mean a spectacular Halloween. These days, Tokyo certainly does not disappoint on that holiday, and you’re in for many treats. Halloween has not always been popular in Japan. But in the last five years it has exploded into possibly one of the top three holidays celebrated in that country. Tokyo Disneyland seeded the phenomenon by holding costume parades all through the month of October for many years. Social media exploded interest in the holiday, and now it’s a force to be reckoned with.

Tokyo

Ekiben: Train Fare

Any journey on the Shinkansen – Japan’s bullet train – is the perfect opportunity to enjoy an ekiben, the iconic bento filled with an assortment of delicacies tucked into a container and eaten in bite-size pieces. The term comes from the Japanese words for train (eki) combined with ben for bento (or “lunchbox”). These little jewel boxes are sold at concessions in train stations across the country and occasionally via pushcarts on trains. Different regions of Japan offer up varieties of local ingredients or specialties, making the ekiben a cornucopia of Japanese cuisine. Before airplanes became inexpensive and frequent in Japan, rail travel was the only mass transportation for long distances.

Tokyo

Ichiran: Slurp in Private

There are times when food is just so profoundly, soul-satisfyingly good that we find it difficult to divert our attention enough to do the socializing often required when eating out with company. The folks who devised Ichiran Ramen must have taken that into account when they set up shop. Their concept is to offer complete personal space so that customers can give their undivided attention to the Hakata-style ramen served there. Imagine being encouraged to loudly suck up your ramen in the privacy of your own personal counter “booth.” Nobody really knows or cares who’s there, and whatever slurping happens there stays there.

Tokyo

Nihonbashi Maishi: A Finer Shade of Tuna

Nakaochi appears to be a chopped-up mound of Japanese tuna, but it isn’t. It looks like it should be an inexpensive cut of fish, but it’s not. Instead it’s a rare delicacy, a one-of–a-kind culinary experience we can’t get enough of. Nihonbashi Maishi looks like just another restaurant grouped in the basement compound of the Tokyo Nihombashi Tower, but it isn’t. It appears to be an ultra-expensive establishment, but at lunchtime it’s not. It’s a favorite go-to place for true aficionados of Edo-mae sushi and nakaochi. Edo-mae sushi is considered the root of all sushi.