In Tokyo, the modest dining budget goes far. The city's soul food, served by B-kyū gurume (B-grade gourmet) establishments, provides unparalleled cost performance: yakisoba, okonomiyaki, kushiage, udon. The pre-packaged meals of convenience stores and supermarkets frequently surpass the offerings of typical Japanese restaurants abroad. Meanwhile, a culinary-focused trip with a generous budget for eating out can transport you to some of the globe's most exquisite restaurants, leading to blissful, taste-driven states of euphoria—a kind of gastronomic drugging.

Time spent in Tokyo is bound to be accompanied by a range of Japanese cuisine. The choice is overwhelming, so understandably, we might overlook the mastery of other world culinary styles that quietly takes place in small restaurants throughout the city. Among these, I often single out Japanese-Italian cuisine as an essential non-Japanese meal for friends to experience. I say “non-Japanese”, but Japanese chefs with their command of delicate, simple tomato sauces, and the fusion of Japanese flavours with pasta, cousin to the noodle, is the main attraction. It's a suggestion that slips off the tongue, but if you truly only make room for one European-style meal, that sadly means neglecting the equally impressive French cuisine in Japan.

While Tokyo offers a mosaic of everything everywhere, there are also particular streets and neighbourhoods where groupings of specialist establishments have clustered over time. A concentration of a particular subset of outlet, service, or cuisine gathers, leading to reliable footfall and competitive quality. By locating the right area for that which you seek, you're almost guaranteed to find it, and in its highest form, no less. Comparable areas exist in other cities worldwide. Take Paris' mini-Japanese enclave along Rue Sainte-Anne in Opera, for example, or the antique dealers of West London and the wholesale clothing markets of Bangkok. Yet, Tokyo’s specialised commercial areas operate on a different plane. Consider Kappabashi-dōri: it transcends being merely a shopping area for cookware to become the zenith of cookware shopping experiences globally. There is no kitchen equipment or restaurant industry paraphernalia that the outlets of Kappabashi cannot furnish you with.

In addressing the zenith of French cuisine in Tokyo, I've struggled to concisely compose a newsletter that captures the atmosphere, history, and offerings of the area at hand. Thus, this week's edition is a lengthy one, so settle in. Our exploration takes us to Shinjuku City, via the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line, exiting from the West exit of Iidabashi JR station and proceeding to Ushigome Bridge. It's worth spending a moment here—during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) this bridge was a crucial crossing over the outer moat of Edo Castle, the residence of the Tokugawa Shoguns, thereby positioning it at the centre of Japan's political sphere. At the Southeast foot of the bridge, the remnants of the watchtower Ushigome Mitsuke, which once overlooked the outer moat and served as a gateway to Edo Castle, still stand. The Iidabashi area developed around this historic route.