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November 22, 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
Dec 7, 2019
Faro: High-end plant-based fare with alcohol pairings to match
Increasing numbers of high-end restaurants in Tokyo offer vegetarian and vegan tasting menus. But it's a surprising challenge to find drink pairings to accompany them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2019
Gelinaz! Shuffle 2019: Creativity thrives when chefs stay at home
The Grand Gelinaz! Shuffle 2019: Stay In Tour critiques the relentless travel chefs have come to view as necessary, while still maximizing global culinary exchange and creativity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 9, 2019
Sanbun: The simple joy of sipping a midday sake
It's trickier than you might expect to find a good sake bar where you can order a glass or two before sundown. Luckily, there's standing bar Sanbun to fill that gap.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 12, 2019
An unexpected synergy of sake and wagyu
Innovative sake company Nihonshu Oendan has teamed up with Yakiniku Yazawa to pair its junmai daiginju014d sake with wagyu beef.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2019
Cook Japan Project: Discovering Brazil and Japan with Alex Atala
Brazilian chef Alex Atala's six-day pop-up menu for the Cook Japan Project is an innovative example of Brazilian-Japanese culinary harmony.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 7, 2019
Cook Japan Project: World-class chefs flock to Japan for a year of pop-up dinners
Cook Japan Project is a 10-month rotating chef's residency program, hosting over 30 culinary stars from around the world to foster cultural exchange and expose Japanese diners to the wider culinary world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 10, 2019
Chef Sergio Meza brings a taste of Mexico to Tokyo
For two months, chef Sergio Meza will be running Bar Art-Stand out of Artless Craft Tea & Coffee, serving an ever-evolving menu of small bites and cocktails.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 13, 2019
Yamagata sake shines on the international stage
On a recent balmy evening, representatives from nine sake breweries in Yamagata Prefecture, clad in understated kimono, bow modestly onstage amid the glow of pink and lavender lights. The bling-drenched ballroom also boasts gold-covered walls and a bold red carpet adorned with a dizzying pattern of colorful...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 8, 2019
Yummy Sake Collective: A new pairing of blind tasting and AI tech
Yummy Sake Collective has a solution for people who struggle to identify what sake they like: An AI-powered app, used in conjunction with a blind tasting, to help determine flavor preferences.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 11, 2019
Phoenix Sake Collection: A tribute to music 'n' sake
In collaboration with brewery Tatenokawa, Inc., rock band Phoenix has released the Phoenix Sake Collection to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 13, 2019
Sushi M: Shaking up the world of sushi through sake pairings
Ever since he was a young chef in his early 20s, Michimasa Nakamura has wanted to shake things up in the world of sushi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2019
Tokyo-based pastry chef named Asia's best
Patissier Fabrizio Fiorani was named Asia's Best Pastry Chef at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Macau on March 26.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 9, 2019
Are native grape varieties the key to Japan's burgeoning wine industry?
Thanks to improved technology, greater winemaking know-how and an increased focus on native grape varieties, local wines have gone from sickly sweet to sophisticated and mature.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 16, 2019
Cacao: Sensory infusions of chocolate and alcohol
Journey Company, the first international brand to carry Colombia's official mark of approval for their chocolates, collaborates with Japanese artisans to release limited-edition sweets infused with flavors like matcha green tea and umeshu (plum wine). To further the sensory experience, at their Chocolate Bank in Kamakura they offer after-hours chocolate and alcohol pairings at a tiny bar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 9, 2019
Cacao Hunters knows where the best chocolate is: Colombia
Cacao Hunters Japan partners with indigenous communities in Colombia to source heirloom varieties of cacao — and provide farmers with stable, high incomes — for the Cacao Hunters line of premium chocolates.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 12, 2019
A new year taste for Tokyo's best speciality sake bars
With the start of a new year comes a new set of resolutions. An increasingly popular choice is Dry January, a campaign led by the British charity Alcohol Change UK, in which participants vow to abstain from drinking for 31 days. Millions of people around the world have been documenting their virtuous...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 1, 2018
At Ikoyi, Philosopher-chef Jeremy Chan gets to the core of deliciousness
The word 'intense' is frequently used by friends and colleagues to describe Jeremy Chan, the 31-year-old philosopher-chef behind restaurant Ikoyi, which serves global interpretations of West African cuisine in the center of London.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 24, 2018
Pheasant's Tears: Preserving Georgia's wine tradition
On Dec. 1 and 2, John Wurdeman will visit Japan with a group of Georgian wine producers to participate in the first Tokyo edition of Rootstock, Sydney's popular natural wine festival. He's not sure if they will sing, but one thing is certain: There will be no shortage of viniferous magic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 10, 2018
The SG Club: Cocktail history in the making
Shingo Gokan's new bar in Tokyo's Shibuya ward, The SG Club, is a living piece of historical fiction that delights in cross-cultural references. The initials 'SG' stand for Sip and Guzzle, and the space is divided into two bars, each with a different vibe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 13, 2018
Sake embeds itself abroad with new U.K. brewery
Dojima Sake Brewery, which opened this past September on the grounds of Fordham Abbey, about an hour outside of London, is brewing quality Japanese sake in a chic, contemporary setting.
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.

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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