Table For One

Taxi drivers in Tokyo always know the fastest way to get to the train station or airport. They also know where the best restaurants are to dine. During our many taxi rides across the city, we talked to drivers about the best places to have Japanese B-kyu gurume—a unique Japanese style of B-class gourmet cuisine which is prized for its flavors. This cuisine is typically prepared in small restaurants, using local and relatively inexpensive ingredients. A complete meal here typically costs under 1500 yen (US$15), which better fits a driver’s budget. Here are our results of taxi driver B-kyu gurume restaurants in Tokyo, where the food tastes like you are transported straight to …

Many Japanese are obsessed with sweets. If you happen to have watched the Netflix series, Saboriman Ametani Kantarou, based on a Japanese Manga story, it provides you just a glimpse of the population’s passion for desserts. On this show, you can see there are so many glamorized visual presentations of desserts in Japan. It is not surprising to see a man like Kantaro enjoying sweets alone at a cafe. From children to senior citizens, everyone loves to enjoy sweets. Western-style sweets were first introduced to Japan in the Meiji civilization and enlightenment period (1868 to 1912). During this era, coffee shops flourished and people ate Western-style sweets while drinking coffee. Many shops still carry …

In Japan, curry is one of the perfect dishes for a Table For One, as known by solo diners. The Japanese curry is a convenient food, just like ramen and conveyor belt sushi, known as Kaiten-zushi. These dining venues that serve these foods are gender-free and feel very comfortable for soloists to have lunch or dinner. Since curry was introduced to Japan from the UK, it has been served in restaurants and cafes. Households also like to prepare their own unique curry. During the 1980s and 1990s, there was an ethnic food boom in Tokyo, led by Southeast Asian cuisine. In the beginning of the 2000’s, the media reported that “Jimbocho …

Regarding the introduction of curry to Japan, no exact data available. Various theories exist as to the true origin of Japanese curry, such as possibly Hokkaido or Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture. However, we will try to describe one perspective, the Yokohama theory here. American Commodore, Matthew Perry landed his ships in Kurihama, which is currently part of Yokosuka city, in 1853 and opened Japan to the world after centuries of isolation. He was one of the first Westerners that the Japanese people came in contact with. In 1858, the Japan-U.S. Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed, opening five ports, Hakodate, Niigata, Yokohama, Kobe, and Nagasaki, and thus, trading began. Yokohama, …