The Hungry Traveller's Guide to Tokyo by Jill Starley-Grainger

“Most children dream of being actors or sportsmen, but not me. I’ve wanted to be a chef since I was a kid growing up in Sugito, just north of Tokyo – a city that boasts some of the best food in the world.

“At 11, I had my first experience of a sushi restaurant - and when I walked through the door I was surprised to hear the staff shout “Welcome!”. I felt such warmth and energy - and loved the sushi so much - that I decided to become a chef on the spot.

“Now, when anyone enters any of the Nobu restaurants around the world - the staff shout 'Welcome!' to recreate that feeling.”

MARKET BREAKFAST
“Fish is integral to Japanese cuisine and any food-lover who comes to Tokyo must visit Tsukiji Market – the best, and biggest, fish market in the world. The sight of so many kinds of fresh fish, shellfish and other seafood and the busy atmosphere of scooters, trucks, sellers and buyers make the market a thrilling place.

“Most Tokyo restaurants, including Nobu Tokyo, buy fish from Tsukiji. You can check out an amazing range of seafood – including tuna, abalone, sea urchins, squid, crab and sea bass - then have a breakfast of the freshest sashimi or sushi at one of the small restaurants and counters in the market, just like the locals.”

TRADITIONAL LUNCH
“For food on the go, pick up a bento box – a boxed lunch of rice with accompaniments such as egg, fish and pickles. These boxes are a staple of Japanese life and traditionally made at home, but good ones are available in train stations and department stores like Mitsukoshi. Alternatively, find a restaurant serving traditional local food. At 18, I started work as a trainee at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo, taking deliveries and washing dishes before spending four years learning to make sushi. At that restaurant, we only served sushi and in Japan many restaurants are specialised in this way, making just one type of dish.

“Many of my favourite restaurants are specialty restaurants like this, and a couple of years ago I discovered a great tempura restaurant, Tenko, which is located in a former geisha house.

“Tempura is battered, deep-fried seafood and vegetables. If you’ve tried it before and found it greasy, you must try Tenko. There, the tempura is so light, delicate and fresh-tasting. I love the atmosphere here, with the tatami mats, sliding shoji doors and intimate private dining rooms.

“Like many traditional Japanese restaurants, you’ll not be presented with a menu at Tenko. Instead, the chef prepares a meal for you with the freshest, seasonal ingredients. You might be served shrimp, squid, gingko nuts, lotus root and Chinese ginger, all fried in a delicious light batter. As with all conventional Japanese meals, miso soup, pickles and rice will be served at the end. This is a classic combination that’s always served together - our version of roast beef and potatoes.

“Another traditional dish I love is tonkatsu, a breaded, fried pork cutlet, and I think Maisen make it especially well. The main restaurant is in a former Japanese bathhouse near the famous Omotesando shopping street, and it’s not too far from the beautiful Meiji shrine, a must-see for visitors to Tokyo and a place I visit when I want to rediscover my Japanese mind and heart and feel the essence of my homeland.”

SHOPPING
“Pickles are important in Japanese cuisine, but the pickles we use are not gherkins. In Japan, we have a great variety of pickled vegetables, including daikon radish, turnips, cabbage, plums and ginger. The pickled ginger we use at Nobu is made by a company called Niitakaya who make pickles for the emperor – visit their shop and buy some to take home.

“Another great place to shop for Japanese foods to take away is the department store food halls, especially those of Tokyo’s oldest and most revered, Mitsukoshi. The food halls of their Nihombashi store are especially beautifully organised and presented. In addition to the bento boxes I have already mentioned, they sell the finest fresh fruit and vegetables, dried fish, Japanese sweets and foodie gifts to take back home.

“Many people will come to places like Mitsukoshi to get items for picnics in the spring when the cherry blossom is out in March or April. This is a time that is hugely celebrated in Japan - it’s in full bloom for only a few weeks, and during that time the parks are filled with people having picnics and drinking sake under the cherry trees.”

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE
“Tokyo is a very international city with some of the best food in the world, and the trendiest new restaurant in town is Peter, which is situated on the 24th floor of the elegant new Peninsula hotel.

“The food is European with an Asian twist and a meal here is very dramatic. Diners come in to the restaurant on a stage that makes them the centre of attention, then sit at tables with stunning views over the Imperial Palace. Depending on the season, you might try the honey-tangerine glazed Hokkaido venison loin or butternut and Kabocha squash velouté.

“Another great international favourite of mine is Il Ghiottone (2-7-3 Marunouchi Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), an Italian restaurant near the swanky Ginza shopping district.

“Or, for a relaxed meal with good friends and wonderful food, I visit Wakiya, a Chinese restaurant with a traditional Japanese atmosphere, but innovative cuisine. Chef Yuji Wakiya – who is a great friend of mine - might serve Japanese hinona turnip with shiitake, potato and carrot sauce as part of a six-course meal.

“Although Chef Wakiya is Japanese, at 10 years old, he learned to cook from a Chinese person here in Japan and now makes some of the best Chinese food in the world. It has made him famous here in Japan, with many TV shows and books. His character is so sweet and kind and the ladies love him - I think he has a great future ahead of him.”

NOBU TOKYO
“When I’m in Tokyo, I spend most of my time at Nobu Tokyo working with my daughter Junko, who helps manage the restaurant. Even though my background is in Japanese cooking, the menu has international influences - my Tiradito sashimi, for example, doesn’t come with the traditional soy sauce and wasabi, but instead has sea salt, the juice of lemon and yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit) and a Peruvian red chilli paste called rocoto, which I discovered when working as a chef in Peru for three years.

“After leaving South America, I moved to Anchorage, Alaska to set up a restaurant. Fifty days later – on my first day off – the restaurant burned down. I was so shocked and upset, I almost considered suicide. I’d lost everything and felt I’d hit a big wall.

“I went to Los Angeles to run away from my problems, found a job there as a sushi chef and brought my family from Japan to live with me – my wife Yoko and I are still based there.

“After several years in Los Angeles, I opened Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills in 1987. Word spread about the restaurant, and soon celebrities were turning up. Robert De Niro was a regular customer and asked me to go into business with him - we opened the first Nobu in New York in 1994. Now we have many restaurants together, and are still great friends – his favourite dish at Nobu is Black Cod with Miso Rock Shrimp Tempura and Creamy Spicy Sauce.

“At heart though, I’m still a chef. My goal is to give customers food they enjoy. If I can make customers smile, that makes me happy. Sometimes after dinner, they come to me to say thank you for the meal. But I say thank you for coming here and enjoying the food. When I see people here eating and smiling, that is three stars for me.”

OUTSIDE TOKYO
“Recently, De Niro came to Japan to visit Nobu Tokyo, and we went to Hakone, a famous hot springs resort two hours away - visiting hot springs is an important part of Japanese culture. My favourite resort is Gorakadan (1300 Gôra, Hakone; Ashigarashimogun; Kanagawa; Hakone), a beautiful, traditional Japanese-style hotel, where we visited the hot springs and ate at the restaurant, which serves delicious kaiseki food – considered by many to be the most elevated form of cuisine in the world.

“Kaiseki is as much an art form as a meal, and the chef expresses the seasons through seasonal food, plates, decorations and garnishes, which are often made with real leaves and flowers.

“Kaiseki usually consists of many courses - seven, eight or more - of vegetables and seafood. In winter, you could be served fragrant matsutake mushroom, one of the most expensive fungi in Japan, revered as much as truffles are in Europe. In spring, you might enjoy the highly prized aiyu fish served on a 200-year-old ceramic dish decorated with cherry blossom or iris. A kaiseki meal is often very expensive, but it is a unique experience.

“Another wonderful place to try Kaiseki is Kyoto, the ancient imperial capital of Japan, which is a 2 ½ hour train ride from Tokyo, and perhaps the most famous kaiseki restaurant in the country is Kitcho (58 Susukinobaba, Tenryuji, Saga, Ukyo, Kyoto; reservations essential), which has played host to everyone from movie stars to world leaders. Alternatively, try Hyo-tei (35 Kusakawa-cho, Nanzen-ji; reservations essential, which opened 350 years ago as a tea shop for pilgrims visiting the nearby Nanzen-ji Temple.”