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July 16, 2024
 

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Rebecca Milner
Rebecca Milner is a freelance writer living in Tokyo since 2002. She writes for A Taste of Home and Japan Pulse, and she is the co-author of Lonely Planet's travel guides to Tokyo and Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 7, 2015
Wagyu: Processing pampered cows at Tokyo's last major slaughterhouse
Wagyu literally translates as "Japanese beef," but that translation doesn't quite do it justice. It's a word that calls to mind images of rural Japanese cows being fed beer and massaged daily, and richly marbled ruby-red steaks, shot through with fine ribbons of glistening white fat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Aug 5, 2014
Bowing out with a San Diego favorite — fish tacos
As a native of southern California, I have long lamented the dearth of good Mexican food in Japan. It's too heavy to take off here, people say. To which I have to wonder, then why not fish tacos?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 19, 2014
Lost Tokyo ... rediscovered
People who have lived in the capital for more than a few years generally claim to know Tokyo pretty well. We discover a forgotten side to the city that suggests they may not know it quite as well as they think.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jul 1, 2014
Gunma's 'Brazil Town' offers a carnival of cuisine
This month A Taste of Home is taking a field trip to Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture. Oizumi, an otherwise ordinary town, is home to roughly 4,000 Brazilians — about one-tenth of the local population. Most of them work in nearby factories (Subaru is a big one). But some of them are working to make life a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 14, 2014
Ghostly footprints of the 'modern girl' along Kamakura's coastline
There's a scene in Junichiro Tanizaki's serialized novel "Naomi" (originally titled "A Fool's Love") from 1924 where the besotted protagonist, Joji, watches his wife, Naomi — part Lolita, part Madame Bovary, all trouble — through the pine trees. Having just emerged from a seaside villa, she is sashaying...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 13, 2014
Guide to Tokyo burgers returns with a new edition
When it comes to Tokyo food trends, four years is almost a lifetime. Back in 2010, when Yoshihide Matsubara wrote "The Burger Map," the definitive guide to burgers in the capital area, hamburgers were still generating a fair amount of buzz. Then came pancakes and then, in an unlikely 180-degree twist,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jun 3, 2014
Tokyoites needn't be sheepish about New Zealand cuisine
New Zealand is famous for its lamb, pasture-fed on the country's rolling green hills. Lamb being hard to come by in Japan, a New Zealand restaurant is a good bet if you're craving lamb chops. There are two big ones in Tokyo: Wakanui (B1F, 2-23-14 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03-3568-3466; www.wakanui.jp)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 25, 2014
Bill Granger's reciprocal love affair with Tokyo eating
Over the past few years, several American-style pancake joints — Eggs n' Things and Cafe Kaila, for example — have washed up on Tokyo's shores. Now, the tide is going the other direction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Apr 1, 2014
Pining for the communal flavor of Israeli cuisine
I thought I missed hummus. By which I mean: I missed being able to pick up a tub at the supermarket. But to hear an Israeli acquaintance talk of it is to learn that there is so much more to miss.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Mar 4, 2014
Where German-sausage fans can find the best of the wurst
"After 11 years I finally found it," a German colleague told me over lunch the other day. He wasn't talking about the perfect job. He was talking about currywurst, sliced sausage smothered in ketchup and curry powder. It's a diner or street-food dish, most popular in Berlin. To understand the popularity...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Feb 4, 2014
Eating Hawaiian in Japan, with or without the pancakes
Something newsworthy has happened (well, newsworthy if you follow dining micro-trends): A new restaurant from Hawaii has opened in Tokyo and it doesn't serve pancakes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Dec 31, 2013
Juicy Chinese dumplings will Shanghai your taste buds
People have opinions about xiao long bao. And for good reason: xiao long bao (or XLB, or soup dumplings, or shoronpo as they're called in Japanese) are enchanting: semi-translucent satchels of dough encasing balls of minced pork suspended in, curiously, soup. In that magnificent way that the Chinese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Dec 19, 2013
Where would Santa find Finnish flavors in Japan?
Dear readers, I have made a wonderful discovery: Finnish cinnamon rolls, korvapuusti, are not just cinnamon rolls. They are cinnamon and cardamom rolls and they are delicious. Also, korvapuusti translates to "slapped ear" — perhaps because the dough is rolled rather than coiled — which is...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Nov 14, 2013
Dig into 400 years of local history with a roast beef dinner
A peculiar culinary milestone took place last month: the 400th anniversary of the first English roast beef dinner served in Japan. You're forgiven for missing the fanfare; there wasn't any, save for a commemorative meal at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Sep 19, 2013
Korean treats that predate the Wave
...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Aug 15, 2013
Barbecue like they do it in the South
"Hamburger shops are a dime a dozen in Tokyo these days, but there are very few places doing barbecue," said Lauren Shannon, owner of Bulldog Barbeque (www.bulldogbbq.jp).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jul 18, 2013
A delicious Caribbean vacation for your taste buds
"There are no palm trees. It looks like a typical Caribbean restaurant. Like home, not the beach," says Petra Laptiste, a Canadian of Caribbean descent, describing her favorite Caribbean restaurant in Tokyo, JamRock (1-21-15 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-3478-2364; www.jamrockcafeonline.com).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jun 21, 2013
In search of a steamed morsel or two of Hong Kong fare
Bamboo baskets of steaming dumplings, fluffy buns stuffed with sweet-and-savory barbecued pork, crisp spring rolls and endless pots of jasmine tea ... Dim sum (or yum cha), that Hong Kong tradition, is a staple of Chinatowns the world over. Except, it seems, in Japan. However, if (like many people I...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
May 17, 2013
Where to find brunch in Tokyo, and just the way you like it
...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Apr 19, 2013
There's more to British food in Japan than fish and chips
Authentic British food is hard to come by in Japan, and the food at the theme-pub chains isn't often great. However, there are a handful of expat-run places that get it right — and should hit the spot for homesick Brits.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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