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-Why did Tokyo become a city known for its food?

Presentation event for overseas media and embassy officials to taste the past, present and future of Tokyo food:
A Journey to Discover Tokyo’s Heart Through Its Diverse Cuisine

[Time and Date]
1st Event: 10:00–14:40, Monday, December 16, 2024 (Registration opens at 9:30)
2nd Event: 16:00–20:40, Monday, December 16, 2024 (Registration opens at 15:30)
*The content of both events will be the same. 

[Venue] Kitchen Studio BAX (4-12-1 Morishita, Koto-ku, Tokyo)/Daigo (2-3-1 Atago, Minato-ku, Tokyo) 

The Tokyo Food Promotion 2024 Executive Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will be holding a presentation event to allow overseas media and embassy officials to experience the appeal of Tokyo’s diverse cuisine.

 

Tokyo is a food city where you can encounter a variety of food cultures, everything from traditional Japanese cuisine to all kinds of food from around the world. In the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2025 announced in October 2024, 170 restaurants were awarded stars, making Tokyo No. 1 in the world for the 18th year in a row. Tokyo was also ranked No. 1 in Food & Wine magazine’s 2024 edition of “12 Top International Cities for Food and Drinks, According to the Experts.” Along with the growing number of inbound tourists to Japan, there are growing expectations for Tokyo’s food. 

This event will have participants experience Tokyo’s food culture starting from 400 years in the past, in the Edo period, following its development up to the present day after the Meiji Restoration, in order to discover the origins of Tokyo’s diverse cuisine. In the Edo period, people cultivated an appreciation for cuisine based on a foundation of people’s ancient respect for food. Later, overseas food cultures had a significant influence leading to unique developments, while harmonizing with Tokyo’s existing food culture. As time passed, now in Tokyo there are professional chefs looking to the future and seeking to further evolve Tokyo’s traditional food culture, incorporating sustainability and diversity.

In this Journey to Discover Tokyo’s Heart Through Its Diverse Cuisine, where participants will experience everything from the past to the future of the wide ranging variety of Tokyo’s food culture, famous Tokyo chefs will act as guides. Based on their knowledge, curiosity towards food, and unique perspectives, they will present dishes representing the past, present, and future in an open kitchen. Starting in December, similar events will also be held in January and February, for a total of six times over three days, with chefs based out of Tokyo who are receiving attention from around the world planned to participate. 

Acting as a general supervisor for all six events is Yusuke Nomura, 4th generation owner-chef of Daigo, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025 and received its first Michelin Green Star in the new Michelin Guide Tokyo. Daigo prepares shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine) using seasonal ingredients, serving it kaiseki style (traditional multi-course meal). The food served by Daigo lets one experience the four seasons when eaten, delighting not just the tastebuds but all five senses. Chef Nomura is also involved in producing a restaurant that serves plant-based food, working to promote new healthy diet habits so that everyone can enjoy food. The first event on December 16 will also include Akihiko Murata, owner-chef of Suzunari, and Yahei Suzuki, owner-chef of Piatto Suzuki. Chef Murata creates new washoku (Japanese cuisine) using ingredients such as wine and cheese, and is active in promoting washoku as a member of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Washoku School Lunch Project. Chef Suzuki serves cuisine based on traditional Italian dishes fused with innovative techniques. Presenting novel dishes such as deep-fried pasta, without neglecting traditional Italian cuisine, he is developing dishes that can evolve pasta in Japan and connect Japanese food culture to the future. 

We hope that you will participate in this opportunity to experience the variety of Tokyo cuisine along with these three elite chefs, in a journey from the past to the future of Tokyo’s food culture. 

■Sponsors:　Tokyo Food Promotion 2024 Executive Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

■Cooperation: Foreign Press Center Japan

1st Event: 10:00–14:40, Monday, December 16, 2024 (Registration opens at 9:30) 

2nd Event: 16:00–20:40, Monday, December 16, 2024 (Registration opens at 15:30) 

*The content of both events will be the same.

Reception Location: Kitchen Studio BAX (4-12-1 Morishita, Koto-ku, Tokyo) 

End Location: Daigo (2-3-1 Atago, Minato-ku, Tokyo) 

With a video and a talk session, the chefs will explain the history and psychological background behind Tokyo’s diverse food culture today. 

Chef Murata of Suzunari will cook a menu of three to five dishes representing the variety of Edo period food culture while explaining them. Experience the Edo period by tasting them. 

Chef Suzuki of Piatto Suzuki will cook a menu of three to five dishes representing the variety of modern food culture while explaining them. Experience modernity by tasting them. 

Time will be made available to film and photograph the dishes (prepared to be filmed) and interview the chefs. 

*Travel between venues (60 minutes): Participants will be taken to the next venue by bus

The venue will shift to Daigo, where Chef Nomura will present and explain a menu of three or four dishes representing the variety of future food culture. *You will not be able to film or photograph the food as it is being prepared, as only staff are allowed in the kitchen. 

Time will be made available to film and photograph dishes prepared to be filmed and interview the chef. 

●Daigo 4th Generation Owner-chef/Tokyo Tourism Ambassador Yusuke Nomura (General Supervisor)  The 4th generation owner-chef of a long-standing Japanese restaurant in Atago, Minato-ku that serves shojin ryori kaiseki style. Trained at a French restaurant and worked as a bartender, and also certified as a sommelier. Daigo has been listed in the Michelin Guide Tokyo for 18 years in a row since 2007, and in the 2025 edition also received a Michelin Green Star as a restaurant actively working towards sustainable gastronomy.

●Suzunari Owner-chef Akihiko Murata  After training at the long-standing Japanese restaurant Nadaman for 13 years, he opened Suzunari in Arakicho, Shinjuku in 2005, and has received one Michelin star for seven years in a row. He has a strong interest in promoting washoku food culture, participating in the 2015 Milan Expo as a washoku chef and participating in efforts to revitalize communities through food.

●Piatto Suzuki Owner-chef Yahei Suzuki Became interested in cooking after working part-time at a local French restaurant in his home of Ibaraki Prefecture. After training at Japanese Italian restaurants and traveling to Italy to study cooking, he went independent in 2002 and opened Piatto Suzuki in Azabu-juban, Minato-ku.  Received one Michelin star for 14 years in a row. Has also won multiple awards for his panettone, a type of Italian bread with dried fruits, nuts, or chocolate mixed in.

●Presenter (Both events) Actress Sahel Rosa  Born in Iran in 1985, lived in an orphanage until the age of 7, came to Japan at the age of 8. Began working in the entertainment industry in high school, was the lead in the play The Respectful Prostitute. Well regarded at international film festivals for her roles in films such as West North West and “Cold Feet,” she won the Best Lead Actress in a Foreign Language Film at the Milan International Film Festival. Working in film and stage, she has been expanding her range as an actress. She also acts as a goodwill ambassador for an international human rights NGO, and in 2020 received an award as a human rights activist.

A varied food culture was developed in the Edo period. How did food culture evolve as people, ingredients, and cultures from around Japan gathered in Edo? With art and entertainment developing along with food, people were relaxed enough to learn to respect and enjoy food. You will learn about condiments vital to the flavors of Edo, such as dark soy sauce and bonito broth, and taste Edo food culture while learning about how white rice was eaten at the time. 

Theme: See the Origin of Washoku in Edo’s Varied Food Culture

0. Welcome Drink: A sake pairing selected by the chef, or mineral water/carbonated water

1. White Rice
White rice, the staple food of Japanese people, is the pride of Edo. White rice culture became widespread in the Edo period.

●Food Intention
White rice, the staple food of modern Japanese people, was a valuable ingredient until the Edo period.
In the Edo period, white rice became a common meal for commoners in Edo as well.
Dishes to accompany white rice became popular at the same time, nurturing an ample food culture. White rice will be provided with side dishes.

2. Hachihai Tofu
A dish through which you can experience the playfulness of Edo food culture. A side dish using tofu, a popular ingredient in Edo, which became a fad. There was even a book made with 100 tofu recipes, Tofu Hyakuchin.

●Food Details
A tofu dish made with six cups of broth, a cup of sake, and a cup of soy sauce, for a total of eight cups (=hachihai). The tofu is made into thick, rectangular noodles.
This popular dish appeared in an Edo period ranking of eastern and western Japanese dishes, “Ryori Banzuke.”

3. Toza Buri Iriyaki
A dish combining ancient Japanese wisdom and Edo ingredients. A point of origin for popular washoku dishes beloved to this day.

●Food Details
Iriyaki is an ancient Japanese cooking method from the Heian period (794-1185), in which ingredients are cooked in a pot instead of over an open flame.
Using this method, buri (yellowtail) and Senju negi (spring onion) are cooked in a sukiyaki pot, as well as adding soy sauce that become popular among commoners in the Edo period, to make a sweet and salty dish similar to modern buri teriyaki.

4. Natto Soup
Soups are an important part of washoku cuisine. Natto soup is an Edo period way to eat natto, one of Japan’s top superfoods.

●Food Details
Straw-wrapped natto is used for the soup. The natto is pounded using a pestle, and made into a miso soup along with komatsuna, abura-age (fried tofu), and yuzu.

After the Edo period, foreign cultures gathered in Japan, and Japan and overseas food cultures began to harmonize. Japanese food developed by respecting overseas food culture while undergoing uniquely Japanese changes, appreciated by people and close to communities, to the extent that Tokyo become known as a city of food.  For example, in a fusion of Japanese broth culture and Italian cuisine, dried tomatoes were used to make a more savory tomato broth. You will be able to taste similar examples of Tokyo cuisine that has been developed by incorporating uniquely Japanese ideas for inspiration. 

Theme: Transformation of Italian Cuisine in Tokyo

0. Welcome Drink: A wine pairing selected by the chef, or mineral water/carbonated water

1. Dried Tomato Style Vegetable Terrine
A dish representing the future of sustainable food. Dried tomato broth gives a rich flavor to this 100% vegetable dish.

●Food Details
A terrine made by stewing seasonal vegetables in a dried tomato and shiitake broth and adding agar. Japanese broth culture transforms Italian cuisine to have an even richer flavor.
The multilayered, savory tastes of the tomato broth and vegetables create a perfect harmony with the textures of the vegetables.
A sustainable dish made with all plant-based ingredients.

2. Pesce Crudo
A dish created from Japan’s raw fish culture and the chef’s knife skills. A dish displaying a perfect harmony between Japanese and Italian food cultures.

●Food Details
Italian carpaccio usually uses beef, but this carpaccio is made with raw fish (sea bream). A dish made with Japanese sashimi culture and fish preparation skills.

3. Chilled Capellini
A dish using ingredients raised by localvore food culture. A dish connecting tradition and spirit, from master to pupil.

●Food Details
Chilled capellini (a pasta with thin noodles) with foam made from horsehair crab and kombu broth.
Local consumption of locally grown ingredients is a traditional food culture shared between Italy and Japan. Chef Suzuki carries on both the spirit of his master, Chef Hirata, and localvore food culture.
Based on a traditional dish, experience the transformation of Italian cuisine in Tokyo in this dish made in an innovative style that demonstrates the appeal of local ingredients.

What is the food of the future? What value is there in the food of the past, present, and that which is yet to come? Food is something universal that everyone can enjoy. One possibility for the future of Tokyo food is to consider sustainability and diversity and use plant-based food that everyone can enjoy, from children to adults, regardless of nationality or religion, and you can taste dishes representing this idea for the final chapter of this event. 

Theme: Sustainability & Diversity

0. Welcome Drink: An alcohol pairing selected by the chef, or mineral water/carbonated water

1. Shojin Ryori Mini Course Meal

●Food Details
A three or four dish mini course meal of shojin ryori (a type of Buddhist cuisine) made using plant-based foods, which can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of nationality, religion, or age.

*Be aware that the program may change due to various circumstances.

*For food restrictions due to reasons such as allergies or religion, due to the dishes being cooked according to themes and concepts, no changes will be made for individuals. Be sure to check the list of ingredients yourself when provided with the menu. 

*This event includes transport to the second venue by bus. Please participate for the entire event.

*Group interviews with the cast are planned for the event. If you would like to participate in the interviews, please indicate so on your application form.

*We intend to provide official media, included photos and videos.

*Please be aware that the sponsors will be filming and photographing the event for future promotional purposes.<--NEW! (Updated on Dec. 4)

*Please only use the videos, photos, and information from this event for relevant reporting. 

*In principle, only one participant will be allowed from each organization. Multiple people from the same organization may attend together, but we may not accept all applicants. Even with multiple participants, only food for one person will be provided per organization. 

If you are interested in participating, please apply using the form linked below by noon, Thursday Monday, December 12 9, 2024. (If there are more applications than spaces available, applications may be closed early.) 

Application Form: https://forms.gle/dVnZRnxpLsFi5Pbs5

15 participants for each event, for a total of 30 participants 

*If there are more applicants than spaces available, applicants may be asked to wait for cancellations or to participate the next time (planned for late January 2025). 

[Contact Information]

Foreign Press Center Japan

Ms. Ayako Sato, Ms. Megumi Ishida 

Tel: 03-3501-5251　Email: sc@fpcjpn.or.jp