J.J. O'Donoghue - The Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Jan 13, 2015

Eat Osaka teaches you how to cook like a local

Here's a joke unlikely to be endorsed by the Osaka Government Tourism Bureau: "There are three great reasons to visit Osaka: great people, great food and because Kyoto doesn't have an airport." The truth hurts, even if it's also mildly humorous.

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Jan 13, 2015

Jiki Miyazawa keeps the focus on the food

After the excess of the holidays, the exactitude and temperance of lunch at Jiki Miyazawa was a welcome treat.

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Jan 13, 2015

The peculiarties of pizza aren't an issue at Mercato in Kyoto

I once heard that Japan is the land of milk and honey . . . on pizzas. Thankfully, this is not the case at Mercato. The only unwanted topping to feature on chef Chihiro Togo's pizzas is sweet corn, which is best served where it began — on the cob. You can't blame the Japanese for sweet corn on pizza,...

CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES

Jan 3, 2015

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan

"Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan," first published in 2000, is a comprehensive and convincing biography of the wartime Emperor Hirohito and one which set out to shatter the myth that he was merely a figurehead, isolated from the power play that saw Japan militarize on a massive scale.

CULTURE / Books

Jan 3, 2015

Fu-go

At the same time as the U.S. Air Force was reducing Japanese cities to rubble in the final year of World War II, mainland America was also being threatened by aerial attack. Free-floating balloons, loaded with bombs, were launched from Japan's Pacific coast aimed at the U.S. mainland more than 10,000...

LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS

Dec 24, 2014

Early morning sushi in Osaka that's a cut above the rest

If someone were to ask me where the best place in Osaka to go for sushi at 5 a.m. is, I would answer — immediately and unequivocally — that it's Endo's. Of course, it might also be the only place open at such an ungodly hour, owing to its location at the Osaka central market.

CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES

Dec 20, 2014

Japanese Things: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan

"Japanese Things," originally titled "Things Japanese" when it was published in 1890, is the book that launched a branch of publishing: explaining Japan and the Japanese to everyone, including themselves. You could draw a line connecting Alice Gordenker's excellent "So, What the Heck is That?" column...

LIFE / Travel

Dec 18, 2014

Navigating Japan with a family at New Year's

Let's be honest. We're adults. New Year's in Japan can be a bit hectic. And then static. It's one of the longest, if not the longest, holiday periods in the year.

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Dec 9, 2014

Aji-Zen's noodle sets are worth getting 'sauced'

'Tis the season for Christmas analogies. On the first day of December I wound my way round downtown Kyoto, hoisting and reining in my umbrella because the weather couldn't make up its mind. At the first inn I called upon there was no room; I went to a second inn and was met with the same response. I...

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Dec 9, 2014

Enjoy the warmth of a soup and sandwich at Mina_Mina

I started my year of reviews in Nishioji, a suburb west of Kyoto Station, which might not stand out but for a few notable cafes. One of these is Hagi and another is Mina_Mina, where owner and baker Jiro Yamaguchi transformed an old home into a cozy cafe and bakery. The bakery is located to the back of...

LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS

Nov 25, 2014

Tackle a mountain of tempura at Tottuan

Is there ever a good time to be under a train? Well, yes. If it happens to be in Tottuan, which is directly under the loop line in Osaka. Every time a train rolls by you hear it, feel it — but not in a startling way — it's just another part of the rhythm and ambience of a great little izakaya (Japanese...

LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS

Nov 25, 2014

Ramen under the tracks

Usually I'm three sheets to the wind when I slurp down ramen, but the ramen at Fusama ni Kakero is worth staying sober for.

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Nov 23, 2014

Teaching quality, not lesson quantity, may be key to Japan's top math marks

Japan spends less on education than most OECD countries, so why do its students continue to outperform their Western counterparts in math?

CULTURE / Books

Nov 22, 2014

Blood & Guts

"Blood & Guts" by Australian journalist Sam Vincent is a behind-the-scenes investigation into whaling and a tale of two countries. Australia is on one side, united in its love of whales and its condemnation of Japan, which has refused to stop killing whales in the Antarctic despite (or perhaps in...

CULTURE / Books

Nov 22, 2014

Gender and Nation in Meiji Japan

Recently the "London Review of Books" described the Khrushchev Thaw — the period, beginning during the mid-1950s, when Russia became a little more open and less draconian — as "expansive and repressive."

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Nov 11, 2014

Kyo no Okazu: Fresh from the vegetable garden to the plate

If you had to learn only one pair of Japanese words pertaining to food (you should probably learn more, but...), I would advocate for oishii (delicious) and okawari (a second helping).

LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS

Nov 11, 2014

Nishitomiya Croquette Store: Crunchy snacks that are perfect for pairing

When you think of eating croquettes you don't usually picture yourself doing so over a wine cask with a glass of red, Camembert cheese, thinly sliced salted ham, figs and olives. At Nishitomiya croquettes have been gentrified, but thankfully not in the pejorative sense. Price-wise they're only a little...

CULTURE / Books

Nov 8, 2014

Finding Murakami in his own weird worlds

Consider this hypothetical conundrum: Haruki Murakami is (finally) awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, but what does the author have to say for himself on Japanese television?

COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET

Oct 29, 2014

Kansai: Who would you like to see replace the scandal-hit female ministers who quit?

Views from Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo Prefecture about who, in an ideal world, should have been given the jobs vacated by two female ministers on Oct. 20.

LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS

Oct 21, 2014

Mantenya: Eccentric food for eccentric people

Where would a journalist be without his or her contacts? Most likely not in Mantenya, a pocket-sized tempura restaurant near Tenma in Osaka. I am based in Kyoto, so Osaka is a bit of a known unknown. Luckily I have two contacts who have yet to set me wrong.

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