The Diversity of Food　Tradition and Innovation Power Tokyo's Diverse Food Culture

Discover the Flavors That Can Only Be Experienced in Tokyo

From traditional Edomae cuisine to flavors from all over Japan and the world, Tokyo has melded a vast array of culinary influences together into perfect harmony, evolving the city into a gastronomic capital unlike any other.

As the supervisor of this project, Hamada Takefumi, an internationally renowned gourmet, invited foreign journalists, famous chefs and luxury travel company representatives to Tokyo to experience the city's unrivaled gastronomic culture firsthand.

The three main themes of this project include “experiencing the true essence of traditional Japanese cuisine,” “the development of internationally originated cuisine in Tokyo,” and “the rich diversity of food in Tokyo.” Let's dive in and discover the depth of the city's culinary culture.

The Diversity of Food　Tradition and Innovation Power Tokyo's Diverse Food Culture

Tokyo has a rich history of traditional cuisine, combined with food culture from around the world. The chefs of the city's many restaurants use their knowledge and experience to elevate their dishes.

A World of Infinite Culinary Possibilities

Makitori Shin Kobe is a restaurant using new cooking techniques to create an innovative take on yakitori.

The restaurant goes against the grain by cooking their skewers on a wood-fired grill instead of using traditional charcoal. The restaurant owner, Suetomi Makoto, was inspired by his international travels, specifically to Spain. There, he discovered the unique benefits of cooking over a wood fire.

“The inspiration … comes from the Spanish Asado. In a way, it's a fusion. We don't typically cook yakitori … on wood fire. So this is something new,” Hamada said. “It's a new generation of yakitori restaurants. All the other yakitori restaurants, they would use charcoal.”

Hamada explained that while the inspiration for the cooking method came from Spain, the end product is still very Japanese. “You'll see a lot of the inspirations from his travels,” he said. “But it's strictly Japanese in a sense that it's all Japanese ingredients and … the end result is Japanese.”

Wood-fired cooking infuses a delightful aroma into the meat, but the moisture in the wood makes it difficult to achieve crispy skin while leaving the inside moist and tender. Suetomi and Head Chef Hikita Toyoki have used their experiences working with wood fires to find ways around these difficulties.

They underwent a lengthy selection process to find chicken best suited to be cooked over a wood fire, settling on Akita's Hinai Chicken and Gunma's Takasaki Chicken.

Their tori soboro gohan, a mixture of ground chicken and rice, is another example of a common dish elevated by their novel techniques. After cooking over the wood fire, the final step involves covering the pot with a piece of wood inside. This process steams the ingredients and infuses the distinct flavors of the wood into the dish.
“This recipe is very unique to this restaurant. You can't have it anywhere else,” Hamada said. “This kind of aroma you can't get with charcoal.”

This dedication to wood-fire cooking expresses Tokyo's shokunin spirit. Makitori Shin Kobe has married cooking techniques from overseas with the art of yakitori while utilizing high-quality Japanese ingredients to create an experience distinctive to Tokyo.

Our next stop is Azuki to Kouri, helmed by an artisan with a background as a pastry chef.

Kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) is a summer staple in Japan known for its simple combination of shaved ice topped with artificial syrup. However, over the last ten years, chefs have begun infusing high-quality ingredients and innovative toppings to create a new gastronomic category for kakigori.

“People would have [it] at really casual local shops during summer only. People would not eat kakigori in winter in the old days,” Hamada said. “But this new generation of kakigori shops emerged, and now it's a proper genre as a dessert. So people would [now] have kakigori during winter as well.”

Pastry Chef Horio Miho cut her teeth at Florilège, a Michelin-starred French restaurant near Tokyo Tower, before creating Azuki to Kouri, a small nine-seat dessert shop.

“Her offerings are a little bit more complicated than a traditional kakigori,” Hamada said. “Her background as a pastry chef makes a difference. She offers a unique combination … a more refined build.”

The toppings are where Chef Horio can let her experience as a pastry chef shine. While the only constant flavor is azuki (red bean) meringue, other limited flavors, like chestnut with puff pastry, showcase the abilities of a Tokyo shokunin.

The foundation of any kakigori is ice. The mineral content of the water is very important to creating the right texture. Japan's water has naturally lower mineral content, but this can still vary depending on the region. Chef Horio landed on ice manufacturers that use fresh Nagano spring water, providing ice that can achieve the signature fluffy texture she strives for.

Tokyo's welcoming environment for small shops has helped professionals like Chef Horio branch out independently. These artisans utilize their past experiences to develop cuisine unique to Tokyo, pushing standard dishes to new heights of gastronomy.

Finally, we head to FARO, a restaurant serving a full vegan course focused on sustainable ingredients.

This sustainability is at the heart of the restaurant's philosophy. Many ingredients are sourced from trusted suppliers across Japan, while the tableware showcases beautiful dishes, glasses and cutlery from different Japanese artisans.

Chef Takuaki Hamamoto honed his craft at several renowned restaurants across Italy, from north to south, before gaining further experience in Singapore. Today, he brings that breadth of expertise to Tokyo. His cooking is defined by thoughtful pairings and a restrained, simple approach that draws out each ingredient’s natural flavor to its fullest. One standout dish, the “Pumpkin and Pistachio Ravioli,” showcases seasonal vegetables delivered from Japanese farms alongside Sicilian pistachios, brought together through his distinctive technique—an elegant expression of FARO’s culinary philosophy.[

Working alongside Chef Hamamoto is FARO's Pastry Chef, Kato Mineko. Fresh off her crowning as Asia's Best Pastry Chef in 2024 at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants award event, Chef Kato now brings each course meal at the restaurant to a close with delightful flourishes of colors and flavors.

Her signature Flower Tart dish is the headliner. She tops each tart with vegan cream and 20 different flowers and herbs picked in mountain villages throughout Japan. Most people harvesting the flowers and herbs in these villages are no younger than 70. Kato created the dish in part to help bring prosperity back to these communities by providing an income to the elderly farmers.

It also serves as a reminder that these villages could soon die out, erasing the sustainable practices and techniques passed down through the generations. The sustainability focus is not just on the ingredients and ecosystem but also on the oft-forgotten communities that are essential in bringing these dishes to the tables of the city's restaurants. This focus on sustainability must play an important role as Tokyo continues to evolve as a consumer city.

In Tokyo, inspirations from abroad meld with traditional Japanese dishes, while local producers work with chefs to bring delicious food creations to life.

（This article is a report on the promotional project conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government during the 2024 fiscal year to showcase the appeal of Tokyo's culinary culture.）

Project Collaborators

Biography of Takefumi Hamada
Takefumi Hamada is the No.1 ranked restaurant reviewer for six consecutive years as determined by the OAD (Opinionated About Dining) Top Restaurants, having dined at the best restaurants in 128 countries and regions around the world. He is an advisor to businesses in entertainment, food and hospitality, as well as an investor in food technology startups. Takefumi has a background in finance, starting his career as an investment banker before moving on to private equity. He holds a B.A. magna cum laude, with distinction in Political Science, from Yale University.
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