Podcast Episode 84: Where to Eat in Tokyo, Japan

In this episode of the Find Dining podcast, Matthew Amster-Burton, co-host of Spilled Milk podcast, talks to us about dining in Tokyo. We discuss raising children to be adventurous eaters, the origins of his podcast and the secrets to eating tempura.

Stephanie Georgieff

• Listen to the Spilled Milk podcast, which Matthew co-hosts with Molly Wizenberg, author of A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table

• Matthew wrote Hungry Monkey: A Food-Loving Father's Quest to Raise an Adventurous Eater and Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo

• When in Matthew's home town of Seattle, try a Chinese-style hot pot at Boiling Point or Sichaunese Cuisine

• Check out blogs by Danny Choo and Yukari Sakimoto

• Tokyo is a good walking city with an incredible train system to help you get around

• Visit the Senso-ji Temple in the Asakusa neigborhood

• Try yakatori on Memory Lane in the Shinjuku neighborhood

• Dining in Tokyo offers lots of high quality choices more economically than one might expect; tipping is not customary

• A bowl of noodles in broth is a common breakfast for a Tokyoite on the go

• Have tempura as an appetizer or make a full meal of it; it can be ordered a la carte in most restaurants

• Save room for saki at an izakaya (Japanese style pub) or experience tea at Cha Ginza

Food for Thought

• Q: In Japan, what is the most common dipping sauce for the hot pot dish Sukiyaki?

• A: A beaten raw egg

Out of the Frying Pan Picks:

• Neighborhood to use as home base: Asakusa is close to the airport, Shinjuku is a central transit hub

• Hotel/Accommodations: Liveinasia.com

• Farmer’s Market: Shop at a depachika (expansive food hall)

• Favorite Dessert: Soft serve ice cream and shave ice are available in exotic flavors like black sesame or tea

• Most Adventurous Things Eaten in Japan: Junsai and Unagi No Hone (crispy fried eel bones)