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November 22, 2024
 

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David Chester
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Apr 1, 2001
Tea fit for royalty glows at L'Epicier
For the last three months, I have been inexplicably drawn to tea shops with yellow color schemes. Is there a magical connection? Maybe only in a subliminal desire for the very best.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Feb 28, 2001
Copying without an original
In the movie "Mr. Baseball," Tom Selleck's character complains to his Japanese girlfriend that Japan copies everything. She quickly replies, "We may copy it, but we make it better." After a visit to Ashbys of London, located near Akasaka-Mitsuke Station, one would have to agree.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Jan 24, 2001
Mariage Freres: A Ginza tea party
They haven't had to advertise in over 140 years. Of course, when your product is of the highest quality, word travels -- even to distant shores.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Dec 27, 2000
Brewing up a winning formula: Starbucks hits it big in Japan
I admit it: I had a breakdown. It probably happened sometime after Starbucks Store No. 100 opened in the cavernous Tameike-Sanno subway station. My first reaction was: What, another one? How many more of these places, full of smiling, happy crowds, nursing "bold expressions" and munching on brownies...
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 21, 2000
Celebrating France-Japan relations with a toast
The peaceful town of Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture might not be Japan's most international city, but Jean-Pascal Noirault, 30, and Mikiko Kurumada, 29, are determined to change that.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Nov 23, 2000
The orthodox way of milk tea
In my search for a pleasant place to enjoy a coffee or tea, I often feel like a detective. Wandering Tokyo's nooks and crannies, I diligently try to track down havens where weary souls can rejuvenate from harried schedules and the din that seems to accompany us wherever we go.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Oct 25, 2000
A Thrush perches between two worlds
One foot in the past, one foot in the present.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 24, 2000
Creating soundtracks for modern pop culture
Dodgeville, Mich. Ever heard of it? Perhaps not. It's just another small Midwestern town you pass through on your way to the big city. It certainly wouldn't occur to you it's where one of America's most talented and hardworking composers was born.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Sep 27, 2000
Reading relaxation in tea leaves
Tokyo is a city of surprises. Take a walk down any side street, and you can be sure you'll find an interesting shop or restaurant. Such is the case with Mother Leaf, a pleasant discovery moments away from the Kabuki-za in Ginza.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Aug 23, 2000
Boiled and baked, the real thing: New York bagels at Little Tribeca
As the song goes, "Everything Must Change." Nowhere is that clearer than in the world of the Japanese kissaten. Remember the half cups of coffee (no refills, thank you), high prices and limited choices? Nowadays we have filled-to-the-brim short, tall or grande, the cheap and the cheaper (Doutor and Pronto...
COMMUNITY
Aug 9, 2000
A lifetime spent selling pearls to the stars
Today's pop quiz: What do Jodie Foster, Harrison Ford and Brooke Shields have in common? Hint: They are all happy customers of the Wally Yonamine Company. No, they did not purchase autographed baseballs (although Yonamine, former ace slugger for the Yomiuri Giants, is still known as "the Jackie Robinson...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Jul 26, 2000
Seattles's Best has just joined the rest
It must be something in the water. What else could account for the fact that three of the most popular gourmet coffee chains in Japan originate in Seattle, Wash.? First there was Starbucks, then Tully's and now Seattle's Best Coffee has brought its "pleasing to the palate" brew to Shinjuku, minutes from...
COMMUNITY
Jul 6, 2000
Young women take to life at sea
It's common knowledge that a large proportion of Japanese traveling abroad these days are young single women. They usually have decent-paying jobs, live rent-free with their parents and spend their salaries as they please. Well aware of this phenomenon, the travel industry has geared some advertisements...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Jun 28, 2000
Star cafe keeps the customers beaming
Catwoman is back. This time, though, she isn't wearing a black spandex body suit. No mask, no whip and no sexy purr in her voice. In fact, at 67, she's not quite as lithe as she used to be.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
May 24, 2000
Fresh or aged, the coffee is kicking at Satei Hato
On a nondescript side street, a short walk from Shibuya Station's jangling cell phones and glaring white lipstick, Satei Hato first catches your eye with the dramatic vases and fresh flowers that grace its entrance. Intrigued, you discover a space much larger than you anticipated, filled with the warmth...
LIFE / Food & Drink / KISSA KULTUR
Apr 26, 2000
Stirring up the dust of a Classic era
This column marks the one-year anniversary of Kissa Kultur. What started as a way to help freelancers find interesting spots to enjoy a coffee between jobs has now become a fascinating historical dig through postwar Tokyo.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 22, 2000
Chinois chic in Tokyo's 'experimental' cyber cafe
Can't be bothered with waitresses? Not in the mood for a menu? Just want to grab a hot beverage and snack, plug in and kick back?
CULTURE / Music
Mar 10, 2000
Still much to savor in PPM
Take three vintage bottles of wine. Ignore every rule about proper storage. Open them about 40 times a year and serve them to whomever you meet. Within moments of tasting them, everyone is certain to experience the same thing: a deep, warm glow guaranteed to last a lifetime.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2000
Adventures in global dining with Tokyo's restaurant king
From stand-and-slurp ramen shops to authentic French cuisine, Tokyo is a diner's paradise. Certainly, finding places that appeal to your palate isn't a problem; hoping they'll be there the next time around is. Tokyo restaurants go out of business faster than Shibuya girls change their nail colors.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 23, 2000
Tsukiji or not, nothing fishy about Bellini's Bar
One usually doesn't go to Tsukiji to get a fine cappuccino or a poppy-seed sponge cake soaked in liqueur. Yet just a few minutes away from "Tokyo's Kitchen," where pricy cuts of maguro are noisily auctioned off to the highest bidder, Bellini's Italian Bar offers businesspeople and tourists alike a pleasant...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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