Despite the fact that I’ve been to Japan several times (12 if to be precise), I recently found myself in two situations where, to my dismay, I realized that I had not yet learned, or at least kept in mind, the elementary rules concerning tipping in Japan… The first time,…

If young and aspiring chefs in the West might believe that being creative and innovative is the key to one’s first Michelin star, in Japan you can get a Michelin star for being really good in what you are doing, even if what you are doing is deep-frying pork cutlets.…

In the normal world of fine dining 38000 Yen or 290 Euros will buy you a tasting menu containing at least a bit of truffles, caviar or other expensive ingredients. Not in Tokyo’s 3 Michelin starred 10 seat tempura restaurant 7 Chome Kyoboshi (Ozio Ginza Building 6F, 5-5-9 Ginza, Chuo-ku,…

Chef Seiji Yamamoto is fond of dragons. The walls of his restaurant and the 400-year old presentation plates are all adorned with these mythical creatures. Even the restaurant’s name, ryugin, means “singing dragon”, while Nihonryori translates as “Japanese cuisine”. Three Michelin star Nihonryori RyuGin (7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; tel.03-3423-8006) specializes in…

The very best sushi experiences in Tokyo are rarely less than ¥ 15 000 – ¥ 20 000 per person, so I was very curious to visit 2 Michelin starred Kimura sushi(3-21-8 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; tel.03-3707-6355) where dinner costs from ¥8,400 to ¥ 12,600, while lunch “only” ¥5,250 for an omakase.…

The updated list of 50 best restaurants in Tokyo according to Tabelog users. Like in the case of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, many changes have occurred since I first compiled the list. 1. Kyo Aji (kaiseki) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13002887/2. Den (modern kaiseki,2*) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1310/A131003/13046855/http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/shop/0120130141/3. Quintessence (modern French/kaiseki,3*) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/0/0/lst/COND-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0/D-rt/ http://quintessence.jp/4. Les Saisons…

The list has been revised on the 30th of October The list of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo on the Japanese language Tabelog.com website is more volatile than I thought. There have been quite a few movements since I compiled it two and a half months ago. Miyakozushi and Sawada have…

Nowhere in the world you can have such excellent beef as in Japan. Wagyu (which literally means “Japanese beef” ) can be so marbled and fatty that if you go for the highest grade beef you might feel as if you are eating foie gras or pure fat. (So my…

Sometimes you need to travel to another side of the world to get answers to your questions. And the question I’ve been asking myself was – what had happened to Umu, my favorite Japanese restaurant in London, which has changed for the worse ever since it’s head chef, Ichiro Kubota…

Some images from the tea ceremony at Happo-en gardens in Tokyo, a complex and sophisticated centuries old ritual where each gesture has a meaning.