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December 22, 2024
 

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LIFE

Food & Drink

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When chef Yoshihiro Kitagawa returned to his hometown of Matsusaka to open Shibousai Kitagawa in 2015, he chose a tranquil location on the rural fringe of the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Shibousai Kitagawa: Creative Chinese in the home of Matsusaka wagyu
Alongside the superlative array of vegetable appetizers, a focal point at Shibousai Kitagawa is the revered local Matsusaka wagyu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
A brief history of ‘osechi ryōri,' Japan's edible year-end tradition
In addition to wordplay, color and shape often determine the reason why certain foods are part of Japan’s New Year holiday menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Glass half full: Japan’s sake industry celebrates a brighter 2024
Despite a general decline in consumption, new openings and greater awareness gave Japan’s sake lovers reason to cheers this year.
Gucci’s newest boutique bar is moody, chic and delightfully louche.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 15, 2024
From Florence to Osaka, Gucci’s newest concept bar oozes style
By Melinda Joe
Gucci Giardino Osaka carves out its own identity through a fusion of Italian and Japanese influences set against the backdrop of the city’s fast-paced, urban landscape.
The key to cooking these on the stovetop is to keep everything at a very low temperature so that the ingredients slowly steam before setting into a dense, fudge-like texture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Dec 15, 2024
A Christmas miracle? No, just brownies ‘baked’ sans oven.
By Makiko Itoh
With a bit of ingenuity, it’s possible to “bake” your own brownies on a regular stovetop.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024
Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant
By Haru Beaufort
“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Every Tokyo transplant has their favorite comfort food spot, and it seems Kanye West has found his at Good Wood Terrace.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024
Did Kanye West really discover Tokyo’s best jerk chicken spot?
By Patrick St. Michel
Social media in Japan has become fascinated with Good Wood Terrace after Ye’s visit, with many visiting to try it out themselves.
This cakelike dessert is, in fact, not a cake at all and, being flourless, is gluten free.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Dec 1, 2024
For holidays in warm weather, a light, rolled meringue fits best
By Simon Daly
In the topsy-turvy seasons of the antipodes, Christmas is in summer and fresh fruit medleys make sense for this dessert.
Despite a range of backgrounds and culinary traditions, food served as the ultimate lingua franca for chefs touring Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 1, 2024
Putting mountainous Nagano on a plate
By Kyoko Nakayama
Nagano’s natural bounty became the star attraction as chefs from Europe, Southeast Asia and Oceania showed off their chops with local ingredients.
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet — Tokyo's top cafes included.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2024
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
By Melinda Joe
Named for a region of Ethiopia (and not Japan’s kimono-clad performers), Geisha has become the crown jewel of Tokyo’s flourishing specialty coffee scene.

Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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