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  3. Where to Eat, Drink & Shop in Tokyo

Where to Eat, Drink & Shop in Tokyo

By Food & Wine Updated June 16, 2016
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Mori Art Museum
Credit: Photo © Tetsuya Miura
F&W’s Kate Krader, preparing for a much-anticipated trip to Japan, researched obsessively to find Tokyo's essential stops. Here, her favorite places to eat, drink and shop in Tokyo.
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Soba: Dosanjin

Dosanjin
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

This amazing soba joint with a little rock garden in front is a favorite of Opening Ceremony founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. They love the cold buckwheat noodles with citrus on top, served with a bowl of salt, grated wasabi and sliced green onions. 3-19-8 Aobadai, Meguro-ku; dosanjin.co.jp.

  • How to Make Hand-Cut Noodles

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Omakase: Jimbocho Den

Jimbocho Den
Credit: Photo © Andrea Fazzari

One of the best, most playful meals in Tokyo, if you can score a place at the small counter. Chef Zaiyu Hasegawa serves set menus that include a fried then grilled tempura-crusted chicken wing, stuffed with sticky rice and presented in a fast-food-style paper box adorned with an illustration of the chef’s face. His signature 20-ingredient salad (pictured) is tossed with seaweed dressing and served with a square of dashi gelée, on top of which sits a single ant. 2-2-32 Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku; jimbochoden.com.

  • Japanese Recipes

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Ramen: Tsuta

Tsuta
Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Tsuta

Ramen Adventures blogger Brian MacDuckston describes Tsuta’s ramen as “the stuff shoyu dreams are made of.” The slightly sweet, complex broth blends three meticulously sourced soy sauces from small distilleries across Japan. 1-14-1 Sugamo, Toshima-ku; facebook.com/jsn.tsuta.

  • How to Make Ramen Noodles

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Ramen: Rokurinsha

Rokurinsha
Credit: Photo © Jonathan Khoo

In the labyrinthine basement of Tokyo Station, signs point the way to Tokyo Ramen Street. One of the best noodle spots, and the one with a long line, is Rokurinsha. The specialty is tsukemen, dippable noodles served with a bowl of flavorful broth and extras like shredded pork. 1-9-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku; rokurinsha.com.

  • Fast, Cheap & Delicious Asian Noodle Recipes

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Ramen: Menya Shono

Menya Shono
Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Menya Shono

The tonkotsu gyokai ramen—pork soup laced with smoky fish and homemade noodles—is beloved by famed Manhattan ramen chef Ivan Orkin (who has his own flagship counter in Setagaya); the shop also serves unorthodox specials like foie gras tsukemen. Multiple locations; menya-shono.com.

  • Noodle Soups

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Ramen: Kagari

Kagari
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

The sign outside this eight-seat ramen spot says soba. But Kagari, in an alley near crowded Ginza boulevard, doesn’t serve soba. Instead, it specializes in ramen—namely one with a rich, creamy chicken broth called paitan, slices of breast meat and firm wheat noodles. What makes this ramen exceptional is the chunk of garlic fried in butter you can order alongside. 4-4-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku.

  • 10 Noodle Dishes to Eat Before You Die

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Tempura: Tenko

Tenko
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

Tokyo expert and food-tour guide Yukari Sakamoto is obsessed with the incredibly light, delicately fried tempura at this old wooden geisha house lined with tatami mats. Tenko serves fish and seasonal vegetables, from tender squid and shrimp to lotus root and spicy fresh ginger. 3-1 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku.

  • How to Make Tempura

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Sushi: Sushi Iwa

Sushi Iwa
Credit: Photo © Yichen Zhang

Hisayoshi Iwa is “perhaps the next great sushi chef of Japan,” says René Redzepi, who spent months in Tokyo preparing for his pop-up Noma at the Mandarin Oriental (see p. 140). Iwa is known for exceptionally tender abalone and sea urchin that's flown in from Hokkaido. “Everyone loves this place,” adds Redzepi. “And the prices aren’t too high.” 8-5-25 Ginza, Chuo-ku; sushiiwa.co.jp.

  • How to Make Sushi

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Tonkatsu: Maisen

Maisen
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

Near the shopping complex Omotesando Hills in Shibuya, Maisen is a restaurant dedicated to, and renowned for, its tonkatsu (fried pork cutlets). The pork comes from special regional breeds from Okinawa; fatty kurobuta loin, the house specialty, is thick and juicy with a wonderfully crisp (and not greasy) panko coating. 4-8-5 Jingu-Mae, Shibuya-ku; mai-sen.com.

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Meats: Jumbo Hanare

Jumbo Hanare
Credit: Photo © City Foodsters / Photographer: Grace Chen

Japanese-food expert and Marvel comics talent scout C.B. Cebulski describes eating at the counter in this temple of grilled meat as an education in butchery and flavor: “Each meat is treated like sushi, grilled a different way with a different sauce or seasoning, depending on what they get that day.” 3-27-9 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku; yakiniku-jambo.com.

  • Japanese Recipes

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Meats: Shima

Shima
Credit: Photo © Tom Schierlitz

For the meat served at what Momofuku’s David Chang calls Tokyo’s best steakhouse, chef Oshima Manabu personally selects each animal. He grills the well-marbled beef—either sirloin or tenderloin—so it’s buttery and crusty. Two more reasons Chang likes Shima: It’s not impossible to get into, nor is it outrageously expensive. 3-5-12 Nihombashi, Chuo-ku.

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Meats: Mos Burger

Mos Burger
Credit: Photo © Ming Chan

“Tokyo isn’t only a mecca for four-figure sushi and Kobe steak,” says Questlove of The Roots. “On the other end of the spectrum are affordable foods that are just as awesome. Mos Burger is a prime definition of ambrosia for the fast-food set.” Mos sells standard burgers, as well as the Wagyu Burger Demiglace, Teriyaki Burger and Yakiniku Rice Burger. Multiple locations; mos.jp.

  • Best Burgers in the U.S.

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Tea and Pastries: Higashiya

Higashiya
Credit: Photo © Tetsuya Miura

Everything about this tea salon set in a Ginza office building is exquisite, from the tea service for sale at the entrance, to the Japanese pastry counter with colorful confections under glass, to the dining room in the back. The menu offers 30 types of tea, including seasonal blends and exemplary matcha, and special-edition sweets like tender, chewy mochi with strawberries and cream. 1-7-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku; higashiya.com.

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Tea and Pastries: Kuriya Kashi Kurogi

Kuriya Kashi Kurogi
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

Pastry genius Dominique Ansel—who has been eating sweets across Tokyo before he opens his own store in Shibuya, where he will sell his Cronuts—adores the traditional desserts here, made with mochi and soybean jam. “Even to watch them make the desserts is beautiful,” he says. Many tea salons are tucked inside buildings; Kurogi’s alfresco dining room is set on the grounds of the University of Tokyo, right next to a garden. 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku; wagashi-kurogi.co.jp.

  • Beautiful Desserts

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Coffee: Omotesando Koffee

Omotesando Koffee
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

This minimalist kiosk is set in an old wooden house, fronted by a small courtyard. It consists of a square counter decorated by a red La Cimbali espresso machine. Owner Eiichi Kunitomo explains the design: “Our ‘cube’ concept comes from a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The customer and the barista face each other in a small, extraordinary space.” His smooth espresso is made from single-origin beans sourced primarily from a Kyoto roaster. 4-15-3 Jingu-Mae, Shibuya-ku; ooo-koffee.com.

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Cocktails: Gen Yamamoto

Gen Yamamoto
Credit: Photo © Daniel Krieger

Zen enough to be a yoga studio, this eight-seat bar specializes in gorgeous, seasonal cocktails. Using native Japanese spirits and fresh produce, mixologist Gen Yamamoto creates drinks like one made with Pink Lady apple, Yamazaki whiskey and cinnamon, served with a small apple blossom sprig. 1-6-4 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku; genyamamoto.jp.

  • Beautiful Cocktails

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Cocktails: Ginza Tender

Ginza Tender
Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Food, booze and shoes

In bartending circles, Ginza Tender’s Kazuo Uyeda is famous as the creator of the “hard shake” (a complex and much-copied way of shaking a cocktail). All the barmen here employ the technique to produce the signature gimlet. 6-5-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku.

  • Classic Cocktails

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Seafood: Tsukiji Fish Market

Tsukiji Fish Market
Credit: Photo © Konstantin Kalishko / Alamy

The world’s largest fish market will relocate in 2016 to a new facility outside the city; before then, go see it in its current gritty location for predawn sushi, live tuna auctions (open to the public on many days) and the most beautiful seafood in the universe. 5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku; tsukiji-market.or.jp.

  • Sustainable Seafood

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Food and Style: Isetan Shinjuku

Isetan Shinjuku
Credit: Photo © Alex Segre / Alamy

Like the basements of all Tokyo department stores, Isetan’s is a mini village of food counters; if it’s not the best, most extensive selection, it certainly seems that way. For instance, there’s a farmers’ market with hundred-dollar boxes of webbed melons; rice dishes from all over Asia; desserts from big-deal French bakers like Pierre Hermé and Charpentier; and a wine department with no fewer than 140 sparkling varieties. 3-14-1 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku; isetan.co.jp.

  • The World's Best Food Cities: Tokyo

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Food and Style: Palace Hotel Tokyo

Palace Hotel Tokyo
Credit: Photo © Palace Hotel Tokyo

The rebuilt and renovated hotel has a basement lined with exceptional shops. Among them: Masters Craft, a ceramics boutique with minimalist teapots and cups; Hasegawa Saketen, which has a counter for sake flights, as well as hard-to-find bottles and beautiful little glasses; and the hotel’s pastry shop, which sells a rainbow of macarons and flaky pistachio mille-feuilles. 1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku; palacehoteltokyo.com.

  • Best Hotel Bars

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Food and Style: Doinel

Doinel
Credit: Photo © Raymond Patrick Gonzales

This shop has a spectacularly curated selection of unique housewares, from vintage Swedish wineglasses, copper teakettles and woodblock-printed linens by artist Makoto Kagoshima (a favorite of food stylist Susan Spungen) to an excellent selection of French wines. 3-2-9 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku; doinel.net.

  • 5 New Kitchen Design Trends

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Food and Style: Kohoro

Kohoro
Credit: Photo © Justine Fahd

“The cutest gallery and store for housewares you can imagine,” says Robin Standefer, who, with Stephen Alesch, makes up the all-star design team at New York City–based Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors. There are exquisite glasses and delicate handmade ceramics, as well as products like bamboo baskets, based on traditional ones used for transporting bean curd. 3-12-11 Tamagawa, Setagaya-ku; kohoro.jp.

  • Tadashi Ono's Ceramics

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Art: 21_21 Design Sight

21_21 Design Sight
Credit: Photo © Edmund Sumner/VIEW/Corbis

This experimental, design-centric art museum in Roppongi is a collaboration between fashion designer Issey Miyake and architect Tadao Ando. The low-rise building has a slanted steel roof inspired by Miyake’s Piece of Cloth concept. The “Fab Mind” exhibit recently chronicled regular household activities like bread making and featured an array of sourdough starters. 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku; 2121designsight.jp.

  • Best Museum Restaurants in the U.S.

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Art: Mori Art Museum

Mori Art Museum
Credit: Photo © Tetsuya Miura

On the 52nd and 53rd floors of the Mori Tower, this dramatic gallery space focuses on contemporary international visual arts, architecture and design. It’s a favorite of renowned art collector Dennis Scholl, who appreciates the range of artists shown here, from up-and-comers to superstar painter Murakami Takashi. His recent paintings and sculptures will go on display at Mori this fall. 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku; mori.art.museum.

  • Everyday Art for the Home

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    1 of 24 Soba: Dosanjin
    2 of 24 Omakase: Jimbocho Den
    3 of 24 Ramen: Tsuta
    4 of 24 Ramen: Rokurinsha
    5 of 24 Ramen: Menya Shono
    6 of 24 Ramen: Kagari
    7 of 24 Tempura: Tenko
    8 of 24 Sushi: Sushi Iwa
    9 of 24 Tonkatsu: Maisen
    10 of 24 Meats: Jumbo Hanare
    11 of 24 Meats: Shima
    12 of 24 Meats: Mos Burger
    13 of 24 Tea and Pastries: Higashiya
    14 of 24 Tea and Pastries: Kuriya Kashi Kurogi
    15 of 24 Coffee: Omotesando Koffee
    16 of 24 Cocktails: Gen Yamamoto
    17 of 24 Cocktails: Ginza Tender
    18 of 24 Seafood: Tsukiji Fish Market
    19 of 24 Food and Style: Isetan Shinjuku
    20 of 24 Food and Style: Palace Hotel Tokyo
    21 of 24 Food and Style: Doinel
    22 of 24 Food and Style: Kohoro
    23 of 24 Art: 21_21 Design Sight
    24 of 24 Art: Mori Art Museum

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    Where to Eat, Drink & Shop in Tokyo
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