WINNER OF THE JOHN AVERY AWARD 2019 at the André Simon Awards Tokyo is rightfully known around the world as one of the most exciting places to eat on the planet. From subterranean department store food halls to luxurious top-floor hotel restaurants, and all the noodle shops, sushi bars, and yakitori shacks in between, there may be no other city so thoroughly saturated with delicious food. Tokyo Stories is a journey through the boulevards and backstreets of Tokyo via recipes both iconic and unexpected. Chef Tim Anderson takes inspiration from the chefs, shopkeepers, and home cooks of Tokyo to showcase both traditional and cutting-edge takes on classic dishes like sushi, ramen, yakitori, and tempura. Also included are dishes that Tokyoites love to eat with origins from abroad, like Japanese interpretations of Korean barbecue, Italian pizza and pasta, American burgers and more. Tim tackles his food tour of Tokyo from the ground up, with chapters broken down into: LOWER GROUND FLOOR: Tokyo on the Go (Department Store Basements, Subway Stations, and Convenience Stores); FIRST FLOOR: Tokyo Local (food traditional to Tokyo); SECOND FLOOR: Tokyo National (food traditional to Japan); THIRD FLOOR: Tokyo Global (Japanese food with an international twist) FOURTH FLOOR: Tokyo at Home (Japanese home cooking); and, FIFTH FLOOR: Tokyo Modern (experimental Japanese food found in high-end hotel bars). With Tim’s easy-to-follow recipes, this is make-at-home Japanese food, authentic yet achievable for the home chef – without cutting corners. The real thrill of eating in Tokyo is in the sense of discovery – of adventurous curiosity rewarded. And that may come in the form of an unexpectedly good convenience store sandwich, an ‘oh my god’ sushi moment, or just the best damn bowl of ramen you’ve ever had. With Tokyo Stories you can explore Tokyo and discover its incredible food without leaving your home kitchen. Featuring over 90 recipes, all set to the backdrop of Tokyo location shots, this is essential for the Japanophile in your life.

A collection of translated stories about life in Tokyo throughout most of the twentieth century.

A shape-shifter arrives at Tokyo harbour in human form, set to embark on an unstoppable rampage through the city’s train network… A young woman is accompanied home one night by a reclusive student, and finds herself lured into a flat full of eerie Egyptian artefacts… A man suspects his young wife’s obsession with picnicking every weekend in the city’s parks hides a darker motive… At first, Tokyo appears in these stories as it does to many outsiders: a city of bewildering scale, awe-inspiring modernity, peculiar rules, unknowable secrets and, to some extent, danger. Characters observe their fellow citizens from afar, hesitant to stray from their daily routines to engage with them. But Tokyo being the city it is, random encounters inevitably take place – a naïve book collector, mistaken for a French speaker, is drawn into a world he never knew existed; a woman seeking psychiatric help finds herself in a taxi with an older man wanting to share his own peculiar revelations; a depressed divorcee accepts an unexpected lunch invitation to try Thai food for the very first time… The result in each story is a small but crucial change in perspective, a sampling of the unexpected yet simple pleasure of other people’s company. As one character puts it, ‘The world is full of delicious things, you know.’

A collection of translated stories about life in Tokyo throughout most of the twentieth century.

Of all the world's great cities, Tokyo remains one of the least well known. Paul Waley calls forth the stories sleeping behind the glass and chrome of today's fast-paced metropolis and conjures the traces of Tokyo past overlapping Tokyo present.

Many people are intimidated at the idea of cooking Japanese food at home. But in JapanEasy, Tim Anderson reveals that many Japanese recipes require no specialist ingredients at all, and can in fact be whipped up with products found at your local supermarket. In fact, there are only seven essential ingredients required for the whole book: soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, dashi, sake, miso and rice. You don't need any special equipment, either. No sushi mat? No problem - use just cling film and a tea towel! JapanEasy is designed to be an introduction to the world of Japanese cooking via some of its most accessible (but authentic) dishes. The recipes here do not ‘cheat’ in any way; there are no inadequate substitutions for obscure ingredients: this is the real deal. Tim starts with some basic sauces and marinades that any will easily 'Japanify' any meal, then moves onto favourites such as gyoza, sushi, yakitori, ramen and tempura, and introduces readers to new dishes they will love. Try your hand at a range of croquettas, sukiyaki and a Japanese 'carbonara' that will change your life. Recipes are clearly explained and rated according to difficulty, making them easy to follow and even easier to get right. If you are looking for fun, simple, relatively quick yet delicious Japanese dishes that you can actually make on a regular basis – the search stops here.

On the 100th anniversary of the great director's birth, a book celebrating his greatest film.