Customer Reviews

Food Sake Tokyo (The Terroir Guides)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I feel so fortunate to have stumbled upon this book before my very last-minute, first-ever trip to Tokyo and Kyoto.

As a culinary professional - I am always compelled to seek and sample the best food a country has to offer. I knew Japan would be challenging, given my time constraints and the overwhelming number of choices in such large cities, and especially because of its famously rich and sundry culinary traditions. I couldn't waste the limited time I had there on searching out the best soba noodles, the crispiest tempura, or the perfect sushi (there were gardens, museums and temples to see, too!). I had just several hours in Kyoto's Nishiki Market - not the several trips I would've preferred to have made, had I several more days in Kyoto. Still, I was intent on making the right choices...

Enter Food Sake Tokyo - carefully and conscientiously researched by someone who clearly possesses real knowledge and discerning taste, and whom, gratefully, saved me from the useless and practically non-existent recommendations from the (almost-as-useless-otherwise) guidebooks I'd purchased.

Thanks to this guide, I tasted the most perfect (not to mention atmospheric) plate of Soba noodles. I sampled the crispy/tender delights of a properly-prepared tonkatsu. And I was experiencing sensory overload at Tsukiji Market (on a very cold, rainy, jet-lagged morning) when I sat down to not one (the donburi at Nakaya), but two (the fried anago filets at Tenfusa) memorable breakfasts.

Then there were things like the hit-the-spot soy doughnuts in Kyoto! After the first couple of successes, I felt comfortable giving up "the search" for this or that, and just following the author's lead.

I also really appreciated the way this book has chapters which include suggestions about shopping and food items to purchase and bring home, and categories that include cheap-eats and market guides.

Thank you Yukari Sakamoto! I couldn't have "done it all" without you.

Bravo!!

This book is very special worth buying. A trip to the book store may also help you understand why it is a standout from the other travel books on Tokyo or Japan in general.

This book is one of a kind not just for people who will be traveling to Tokyo but also for anyone interested in Japanese food and drink and the culture that makes it so special. If you like this book, please do not forget to check out the two wonderful blogs by the author.

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The coverage in the older, or more traditional part of Tokyo (Shitamachi) also comes as pleasant surprise.

Thank you, Sakamoto San, for writing this excellent book!!

This guide was indispensable during our week in Tokyo. Every single restaurant we tried was fantastic; the reviews were accurate and sensitive, meaning that every time I used Food Sake Tokyo to determine what we wanted to eat based on neighborhood, food craving, energy level, and desired expense---- we found exactly what we wanted.

Not all places recommended have someone on staff that speak english, but even if there was a language barrier we were able to get a tasty meal through generous use of pantomime, pointing, and smiling.

I barely even opened the other travel guide I bought; this was all I needed. Whenever I go someplace new, my first step is to see if The Little Bookroom has published a travel guide for that city/country. I've not been let down yet.

This guide to the Food and Sake of Tokyo is worth every penny spent on it. As a first timer to Japan, I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by the thought of it. Yet with the help of this volume, my partner and I found our way to any number of great places and had some memorable times. Thank You for putting together such an amzing guide. It helped us bridge the cultural gap too. So I would highly suggest it to anyone heading to Japan, especially first time visitors. Do yourself a favor and really listen to what the author has to say about the food and sake in the Department Stores of Tokyo. They, to me, were one of the absolute best things that we discovered in this book. The food halls were not only gigantic, they were also awesome and so interesting. They sold everything under the sun and were definitely on a par with any of the great food halls of the Department Stores of Europe.

Oh, and one other thing. Disregard that 1-star review that someone gave this volume. My copy was used incredibly hard and it looks as good as the day it arrived from Amazon. So I have no idea what kind of problem he was having. All I know is it sure helped us. Hell, even if it fell apart, I'd punch holes in it and but a ring through it, and take it that way. It's the information that is contained within that really makes this one a winner, not the binding. Duh!

I really enjoyed this book and now carry it in my bag when I go out and about in Tokyo. The author's depth of knowledge is apparent throughout the book. I have already found gems I knew nothing about in areas I travel to every day.

A large part of Sakamoto's guide is given over to a detailed survey of Japanese cuisine, not just listing a few dishes but digging deeply into its ingredients and culture. For instance, the miso section taught me all about 8 main types of miso and gave clear markers to start exploring the hundreds of types of miso soup. Then, I learned about aemono and, finally, was recommended a shop in Setagaya that specializes in the stuff. This is one of the great things about the book: you don't just learn the theory, you are given places to start actually exploring what you have learned.

In chapter 5, we get a detailed breakdown of outstanding Tokyo food places by district. Really really useful.This is the part of the book that is opening up new doors for me in Tokyo.

There are nice changes of pace throughout the guide, with entertaining and informative features on particular aspects of Japanese cuisine (eg. knives, department store shopping etc.) and the photography is first rate. Finally, in reply to the customer who said his book was damaged, mine is well bound. No problem on that score. Very pleased with my purchase.

This is an excellent Terroir Guide on Tokyo's Japanese cuisine titled "Food-Sake-Tokyo" by chef/journalist Yukari Sakamoto. Any visit to Tokyo would be incomplete without a thorough exploration of the food culture of this magnificent city, but guidance is required to navigate through the huge array of speciality shops, restaurants & markets. This excellent book de-mystifies the ingredients, traditional dishes, and culture surrounding all things culinary in Tokyo. Exploring more than a dozen neighbourhoods to discover the jewels of Tokyo's food scene, Yukari Sakamoto explains how to navigate the world's largest fish market, where to find the best knives,and how to choose sake & shochu. The guide includes lively primers on sea vegetables, wagashi (Japanese confections), cheap eats, and the country's unique table etiquiette. This is an excellent guide, a must have lexicon of tastes & fashions of Tokyo's cuisine and a perfect manual for anyone new to the city, a highly recommended reading if you are visiting Tokyo, Japan.

I just opened my package with Food Sake Tokyo which I recently ordered from Amazon, and as usual, they delivered my order quickly and well packed.

Since I have been looking forward to receiving this book I eagerly opened the cover and the first few pages and my initial impression of the book's look and feel and content is good, however, I am very disappointed with the quality of the binding.

I know how to handle books as I provide design, layout design services, and printing and binding services to my clients in Japan for the last 30 years, so I carefully opened my book, as I do with any book.

Without any force used at all, and on the first time I opened the book, the first 50 pages slowly began to separate from the spine of the book, and now I have a lot of loose pages sticking out of the book.

I know that without much use, this book is going to fall completely apart and I have not even used it yet.

Guidebooks are meant to be carried around and invariably are subject to a bit of rough treatment, but I cannot imagine taking this book out with me in the shape it is in as it is already falling apart and it has barely been out of its wrappers.

For the almost $30.00 the publisher is asking for this book, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in the poor quality, and how sorry I feel for the writer, and photographer of the book.

I work with binding companies here in Japan all the time, and I know how binding works. I also know that the books I publish for a wide range of use, including children, have to be durable and so spend careful attention to quality, and binding . . . this is not rocket science.

How can the publisher justify this poor level of quality for the price of this book that cannot do what is is supposed to do?

Despite these major flaws the book has many of my favourite shops in it and I look forward to exploring the many others. But if you buy this book, keep in mind that it is going to fall apart!