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July 28, 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
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2016
Distilling the mysteries of shōchū
From my seat on the second floor of Shochu Zanmai, a bar specializing in Japan's indigenous distilled liquor, I can see directly into the building across the street. The bar is located down a narrow alley a 10-minute walk from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station, and the close proximity of the surrounding buildings...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2016
A toast to the arranged marriage of Champagne and 'kaiseki'
I didn't protest when my friend Katrine suggested — apropos of nothing — that we order a bottle of Champagne one afternoon last week. The marvelously warm and sunny weather, combined with the fact that I had finally begun to recover from a debilitating cold, provided justification for the extravagance....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 23, 2016
Janice Wong: 'To really achieve success, you have to stay focused'
Singaporean chef on the role nostalgia plays in modern desserts.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 8, 2016
Tokyo bartender revives a 19th-century cocktail ingredient
The unsung hero of traditional Japanese cuisine is mirin, a deliciously sweet liquor made from sticky rice. Mirin is an essential cooking ingredient, used to balance the salty sharpness of soy sauce and to add luster to glazes. But prior to becoming a common fixture in the kitchen, the sugary beverage...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 11, 2016
The search for Tokyo's best gimlet leads to Daisuke Ito
I have a particular fondness for the gimlet, that simple but elegant concoction of gin, fresh lime juice and sweetened lime cordial. For many, the drink conjures images of dames and detectives from noir films, but mine is a more nostalgic affection. The gimlet was my cocktail of choice during my early...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 18, 2016
Chef Rodolfo Guzman rediscovers his roots
On a cloudless afternoon a little over a year ago, chef Rodolfo Guzman contemplated a plant he had discovered while wandering up to the Salar de Tara salt flats, which lie 4,860 meters above sea level, in the middle of northern Chile's Atacama Desert.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 18, 2016
Would you like a Chilean wine with your meal? Many Japanese do
Chilean wine is big in Japan. Last month, the Finance Ministry announced that the country's wine is now No. 1 in terms of imports. Import volumes have been growing rapidly since 2005 — reaching a high of 51.59 million liters in 2015 — thanks in large part to the 2007 Economic Partnership between...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 12, 2016
For the goodness of sake: international sommeliers test their senses
Early one morning in Japan last month, Taipei sake educator Michael Ou took a deep breath as he prepared to deliver a presentation about the stages of fermentation before a panel of experts from the U.K.'s Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). It was the last day of an elite sake instructors' training...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 15, 2016
Sake workshops in Tokyo spotlight Japan's lesser known regional breweries
On a recent chilly evening, I found myself in the heart of Tokyo's touristy Asakusa district for the first time in many years. I came to visit Kurand Sake Market, a popular standing bar that specializes in the offerings of local brewers, where Chris Hughes, a U.K. sake expert who is helping Kurand reach...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 11, 2015
Sushi is evolving but Japan still wears the crown
"A sushi chef's hands are always clean," Kazutoshi Endo, the head sushi chef of London's Zuma, once told me during dinner at an izakaya (pub). This comment came after he suddenly used his fingers to place a piece of fishcake on my plate, in lieu of chopsticks. It elicited a round of guffaws at our table,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Dec 11, 2015
The art of pairing wild game and sake
My friend Kanako is an ambitious home chef, the kind of person who frequently cooks using clay pots heated over charcoal embers — she would roast a whole pig in a pit if she had the space. On a recent evening, she prepared an astounding feast that included delicacies such as boar, fresh oysters and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 13, 2015
Desserts and paired sake at Tokyo's Tirpse
Last month, I surprised myself by polishing off a six-course lunch consisting entirely of desserts. As anyone who knows me can attest, I was born without a sweet tooth. However, when Naotaka Ohashi, owner of the contemporary French restaurant Tirpse, told me that he had started offering dessert-focused...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 30, 2015
Testing the culinary limits of Arita Pottery
For a few weeks in August and September, Yoshiyasu Harada hardly slept a wink. The young master potter of Kichiemon Porcelain Co. Ltd., in Saga Prefecture, had been immersed in making dozens of intricate ceramic plates.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 9, 2015
The future for aged Japanese whisky and traditional kaiseki
'This will surprise you," says chef Kenichi Hashimoto as he hands me a glass of what appears to be beer. This serious-faced chef — who leads the kitchen at Kyoto's Ryozanpaku, a two-Michelin-starred kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine) restaurant — waits for me to take a sip. He then explains that this...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 11, 2015
Denmark's Mikkeller hits Tokyo, leaves strange brews
Mikkel Borg Bjergso, co-founder of the Danish microbrewery Mikkeller, is a man who likes a challenge. At the opening of the new Mikkeller bar in Shibuya, Bjergso tells me that his next goal is to finish the Berlin Marathon next September in two hours and 45 minutes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Aug 7, 2015
Experts assess the future of sake at Milan conference
On a sweltering summer afternoon in Milan, Japanese food enthusiasts meandered through the marble-lined halls of the Palazzo delle Stelline, a 17th-century landmark that faces the church that houses Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Inside, a group of Italians dressed in yukata (summer kimono) stopped...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 12, 2015
Tasting the many shades of Japan's regional sake
At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, I have to confess that drinks festivals rarely excite me. These events are often promoted as learning opportunities that can help you improve your tasting skills and discover new brands. While the lure of convenience (the chance to sample hundreds of varieties...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 29, 2015
Shōjin ryōri chefs offer vegetarian cooking classes in English
I had to do a double take when I arrived for my lesson with Tokyo Cook, a company offering Japanese cooking classes in English that launched in March. Although the website mentions that the kitchen studio is "hidden inside the newly opened restaurant Sougo" — the less-formal sibling of Daigo, Daisuke...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 8, 2015
Californian flavor conference explores green tea's versatility
Making the perfect cup of matcha — the frothy green tea served during Japanese tea ceremonies — requires skill. The trick is to use a bamboo whisk to whip the brew swiftly with a smooth back-and-forth motion of the wrist.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 10, 2015
Jimbocho Den brings hot sake and hanami to Shizuoka
On an evening in late March, a group of well-heeled guests arrive at the Nippondaira Hotel, on a high plateau in the center of Shizuoka City, for the fifth edition of Dining Out, a series of creative pop-up dinners held at various locations around the country. The theme this time was hanami — the tradition...
Japan's population continues to fall even as foreign resident count rises
The number of residents in Tokyo as of Jan. 1 rose by 0.03% from a year before, data shows, marking a year-on-year increase for the first time in three years, while the country's other 46 prefectures saw their populations continue to decline.
Ahead of the Olympics, Japan is still talking about the gymnast who won't be there
Japan's Shoko Miyata withdrew from the gymnastics team herself over her drinking and smoking, although it had already appeared as though the association was prepared to send her home from the team’s training camp in Monaco.
Yen melt-up nudges Japanese stocks into correction territory
Japanese stocks are down 10% from their July peak as the yen strengthens.
‘Crazy’ yen rally is at risk of shattering as soon as Wednesday
Some investors are warning that a yen rally is fragile, as was on show this week when the yen rapidly retraced an advance after Thursday’s stronger-than-expected U.S. economic growth figures.
Japan's average life expectancy rises for first time in three years
A decline in COVID-19-caused deaths likely helped boost the average life expectancy for Japanese men and women to rise for the first time in three years in 2023.
The Japanese Olympians looking to shine in Paris
Rim Nakamura, who is attempting to win Japan's first Olympic gold medal in cycling, will be one of the top Japanese athletes to watch at the Paris Games.
Japan’s minimum wage set for record ¥50 hike in major boost
Demonstrators rally to demand a big hike in minimum wages in Tokyo last week.
Japan loses top spot on strongest passport list to Singapore
Japan had the strongest passport for six years running from 2018, before being dethroned by Singapore on the 2024 list.
Why Japan's mysterious stash of classified funds escapes scrutiny
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (right) during a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals
By Alex K.T. Martin

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