Journey to Discover Tokyo’s Heart Through its Diverse Cuisine

Photos: A Journey to Discover Tokyo’s Heart Through Its Diverse Cuisine.

Global media and diplomats experienced food culture from 400 years ago to the present day at a gourmet tasting to discover the origins of Tokyo’s diverse cuisine, presented by popular actress Sahel Rosa on December 16. 

I asked the organizers, “Why Tokyo?” Along with the growing number of inbound tourists to Japan, they explained, there are growing expectations for Tokyo’s food. “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, 170 restaurants were awarded stars, making Tokyo the most-starred city in the world for the 18th consecutive year. Tokyo was also ranked top in Food & Wine magazine’s 2024 edition of ‘12 Top International Cities for Food and Drinks, According to the Experts.’”

The event, organised by the Tokyo Food Promotion 2024 Executive Committee and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, was held at Kitchen Studio BAX in Koto-ku and Daigo restaurant in Minato-ku.   

“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,” said the host, which invited several journalists. 

Three famous Tokyo chefs presented dishes representing the past, present and future in an open kitchen. General supervisor was Yusuke Nomura, a Tokyo Ambassador and 4th generation owner-chef of Daigo, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025 and received its first Michelin Green Star in 2024. Nomura makes plant-based food by promoting new healthy diets, including shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine), using seasonal ingredients to serve 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,” he said.

The event also included Akihiko Murata, owner-chef of Suzunari, and Yahei Suzuki, owner-chef of Piatto Suzuki.

Murata creates new washoku (Japanese cuisine) using ingredients such as wine and cheese, and is active in promoting washoku as a member of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Washoku School Lunch Project. 

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. 

The event began with a video and talk session by chefs explaining the history and psychological background behind Tokyo’s diverse food culture today. Murata and Suzuki then cooked and explained a menu of five dishes, each representing the variety of Edo period food culture for participants to taste. The venue then shifted to Daigo, where Nomura presented and explained four dishes representing the variety of future food culture. 

Murata said: “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.” 

Guests learned about condiments vital to the flavors of Edo, such as dark soy sauce and bonito broth, and tasted Edo food culture while learning about how white rice was eaten at the time. White rice, the staple food of modern Japanese people, was a valuable ingredient before it became a more common meal for the masses in Edo as well. Dishes to accompany white rice became popular at the same time, nurturing an ample food culture.

Hachihai Tofu was a popular side dish of broth, sake and soy sauce made into thick, rectangular noodles. Toza Buri Iriyaki, meanwhile, 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 became popular among commoners in the Edo period, to make a sweet and salty dish similar to modern buri teriyaki. To make soup, Murata pounded straw-wrapped natto using a pestle, and made into a miso soup along with komatsuna, abura-age (fried tofu), and yuzu.

Suzuki said that after the Edo period, foreign cultures gathered in Japan, and Japan and overseas food cultures began to harmonize. Japanese cuisine has evolved by incorporating elements of overseas food cultures while undergoing uniquely Japanese transformations. It is deeply appreciated by people and closely connected to local communities, contributing to Tokyo’s reputation as a global food capital. “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.” 

He prepared 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.” He made a terrine 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,” he said. 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!”

Italian carpaccio usually uses beef, but Suzuki made it with raw sea bream fish. Then he showed us how to prepare chilled capellini (pasta with thin noodles) with foam made from horsehair crab and kombu broth. “Consumption of locally-grown ingredients is a traditional food culture shared between Italy and Japan.”

Finally, Nomura asked: “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. You can taste dishes representing this idea for the final chapter of this event.”

He then prepared for us Shojin Ryori, “which can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of nationality, religion or age.”

Tokyo Tourism Ambassador Yusuke Nomura

Yusuke Nomura is the 4th generation owner-chef of Daigo, a Japanese restaurant in Atago, Minato-ku that serves shojin ryori kaiseki style. Nomura trained at a French restaurant, worked as a bartender and certified as a sommelier. Daigo has been in the Michelin Guide Tokyo annually since 2007, and in 2025 also received a Michelin Green Star.

Suzunari Owner-chef Akihiko Murata

After training at the long-standing Japanese restaurant Nadaman for 13 years, Akihiko Murata opened Suzunari in Arakicho, Shinjuku in 2005, and has received a Michelin Star for seven consecutive years. 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

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. Suzuki has received a Michelin Star for 14 consecutive years, and has won multiple awards for his panettone, a type of Italian bread with dried fruits, nuts or chocolate. 

Actress Sahel Rosa

Born in Iran in 1985, Sahel Rosa lived in an orphanage until age 7, and came to Japan one year later. 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. She is also a goodwill ambassador for an international human rights NGO, and in 2020 received an award as a human rights activist.