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November 21, 2024
 

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Melinda Joe

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Melinda Joe
Melinda Joe is an American journalist in Tokyo. A certified wine and sake professional, she writes about Japanese drinks in her Kanpai Culture column for The Japan Times and blogs at tokyodrinkingglass.blogspot.com.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 7, 2017
Spanish chef Eneko Atxa: 'You have to break a lot of plates before you can dance with them'
Eco-friendly Basque chef on the opening of his new Tokyo eatery.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 30, 2017
Slovenia's Ana Ros on Japanese cuisine and gender equality among chefs
Early one September morning, Ana Ros, Slovenia's most famous chef, is receiving a crash course in Japanese seafood at Tsukiji fish market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 9, 2017
Tokuyoshi adds some creative cocktails to the mix
Japanese chef Yoji Tokuyoshi has been pushing boundaries with cuisine that reflects his philosophy of intercultural cross-pollination since 2015 — the year he opened his eponymous restaurant, Tokuyoshi, in Milan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 5, 2017
Suhring twins bring new German cuisine to Tokyo
Few had heard of new German cuisine when twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Suhring began serving elevated takes on kazespatle (Bavarian pasta made with cheese) and smoked trout at their restaurant, Suhring, in Bangkok, at the start of last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2017
Enterprising Aomori apple farmer pivots to boutique hard cider
On a steamy June afternoon, the apple trees in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture are laden with fruit. Now, the young apples are hard green spheres the size of golf balls, but come autumn they will be plump, sweet and ready for harvest.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 24, 2017
Entertainment entrepreneur Steve Plotnicki: 'Learn how to analyze what you're eating'
Opinionated About Dining founder on his musical background, algorithms and what makes a decent restaurant critic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2017
Association aims to raise the profile of sparkling sake
Around the world, the sound of popping corks brings just one thing to mind — Champagne. However, a new organization of sake producers is working to tweak that image.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2017
Brut Wine Bar pop-up brings taste of Israel to Tokyo
On a cool afternoon in mid-April, Israeli chefs Yair Yosefi and Omer Ben-Gal, co-founders of Brut Wine Bar in Tel Aviv, examine a shipment of fresh silver-skinned sawara (Spanish mackerel) from Tottori Prefecture in a tiny kitchen on Cat Street — in the middle of Tokyo's bustling Harajuku neighborhood....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 8, 2017
Japanese sake startup finds way to float in sinking industry
Entrepreneur Nao Kohara sits at a table in his favorite neighborhood bar, checking emails on his laptop computer and sipping a glass of sake.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 11, 2017
Restaurateur Danny Meyer: ‘Hospitality is a dialog; service is a monologue’
American restaurateur on tipping and the rise of fast-dining establishments.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 10, 2017
Hidehiko Ishizuka takes his love of sake on tour in streaming TV series
Gourmandizing television personality Hidehiko Ishizuka has a famously large appetite. Apparently, the portly comedian also has a taste for Japanese sake. On a clear February afternoon in the sake-producing region of Fushimi, just south of Kyoto, a camera crew forms a tight circle around Ishizuka as he...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 3, 2017
Japan's culinary professionals rank high at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards
On the evening of Feb. 21, chefs from nine of Japan's top restaurants ascended the stage to receive honors at the fifth Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Bangkok.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 10, 2017
Sake sommelier unlocks the fun of 'nihonshu' for visitors from abroad
Every week, sake sommelier Satoko Utsugi leads groups of overseas visitors past the Fukagawa Fudosan Temple and along a shopping street in Tokyo's downtown neighborhood of Monzen-Nakacho.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 13, 2017
Ginza sushi restaurant tests Champagne pairing
Nothing says "festive" like Champagne, that most elegant of elixirs. The drink's life-affirming effervescence makes it a natural choice for New Year's celebrations, but Champagne pairs so well with many of my favorite foods that I drink it far more often than once a year — with everything from raw...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Dec 9, 2016
Tokyo's progressive French restaurants are developing a taste for sake
The first time I drank sake at a non-Japanese restaurant was nearly seven years ago at Coi, a Michelin-starred establishment in San Francisco that serves modern Californian cuisine. I had opted for the beverage-pairing course, and the drink came with a dish of tofu mousseline in a thickened mushroom...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 11, 2016
The Kyoto Distillery: home of Japan's first artisanal gin
It's a mild Kyoto evening, and a group of spirits enthusiasts are gathering at a handsomely restored machiya (traditional townhouse) to celebrate the launch of Ki No Bi, a boutique gin produced by The Kyoto Distillery, Japan's first craft gin specialist. Guests spill onto the machiya's moss-covered courtyard,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 10, 2016
A short walk from the garden: Belgian chef Gert De Mangeleer is succeeding in self-sufficiency
During the mild months of early summer, the garden at the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Hertog Jan — located 20 minutes outside of the Belgian city of Bruges — is in full bloom. The pale orange outlines of butternut squash peek out from beneath a thick cover of wide, flat leaves. Radishes grow...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 10, 2016
Belgian beer is a 'perfect partner' when it comes to these food pairings
The Belgians take their beer seriously. With a brewing history that dates back to the 12th century, Belgium is one of Europe's most prolific producers, turning out 1.8 billion liters per year, according to industry statistics. Scattered around the country, Belgium's roughly 180 breweries produce an impressive...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 7, 2016
Rating, ranking — and ruining? — Japanese sake
On Aug. 31, the Wine Advocate, a publication started by the influential U.S.-based wine critic Robert Parker, released its first "official" ratings guide to sake with reviews written by Chinese critic Liwen Hao. Parker, who gained fame for creating the 100-point scoring system widely used to rate wines,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 9, 2016
Japanese wine is no longer a novelty
Five years ago, Japanese wine was still considered a novelty, and finding it in Tokyo required a fair amount of searching. These days, most shops carry at least a few varieties and some have entire shelves dedicated to domestic wine. Popular magazines now run features on local producers and ways to match...
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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