author

 
 

Meta

Jessica Kozuka
Shiho Hanadate is part of a small yet growing number of young tappers pivotal in securing the future of domestic sap collection used in Japanese lacquerware.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 30, 2024
The young sap collectors underpinning Japanese lacquerware
“You can’t cut into the core, so you have to judge the thickness of the bark,” says tapper Shiho Hanadate. “You have to develop a sense for it.”
Oitomi's decision to send superstar Shohei Ohtani one of the company's traditional ironware tea kettles has paid off with a surge of interest from general consumers.
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 23, 2024
After Shohei Ohtani bump, Iwate ironware maker sees brighter future
Thanks to the Dodgers superstar, the waitlist for Oitomi’s Miyabi Tetsubin kettle now stretches to more than a year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 20, 2022
Merged with surf and jungle, Okinawa’s holiest sites survive
Where Shinto integrates nature into its holy sites, the caves, trees and shoreline sacred to Okinawa's indigenous religion can often seem untouched by human hands.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 13, 2022
Todd Silverstein: ‘Startups are challenging but Naro is like several startups put together’
An experienced producer, Todd Silverstein finds a way to bring the aspects of Japan that he finds most inspiring to your living room.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Nov 20, 2021
Miyazaki distiller sees the potential in hyper-local, sustainable shōchū
The Watanabe Distillery is a small, family-run business that was founded in 1914 and now produces about 50,000 liters of shu014dchu016b per year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 3, 2021
Transforming Tono from hop heartland to boutique beer destination
A community group called Brewing Tono is helping local hop farmers and innovative brewpubs put this Iwate Prefecture town on the craft beer map.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 30, 2019
More zany than Zen: Kyoto hotels paving the way to 2020
Tired of always staying at the same minimalist hotel? Inject some levity into your Kyoto trip by booking a room at one of these avant-garde boutique hotels instead.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Beyond Omotenashi
Apr 15, 2018
Visitors to Okinawa invited to be citizen scientists as tourism takes its toll on coral
Divers equipped with a simple color chart and an app can help keep an eye on the island prefecture's delicate coral ecosystem.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition