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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 30, 2016

Celaravird: Edible works of art from an adventurous chef

Dinner at Celaravird runs to a strict schedule. At 6:30 p.m., guests start to converge on the restaurant. Some climb out of taxis; others make the uphill hike from the nearby train station. By 6:45 they are expected to be at their tables, the buzz of anticipation growing as preprandial drinks are served....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 19, 2016

Chef Massimo Bottura's Kyoto menu is both colorful and daring

When Italian chef Massimo Bottura arrived in Japan in late July to present a series of meals at the elegant Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, it represented quite a coup for the hotel in only its second year of existence. Just six weeks earlier, Bottura's restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Modena, had been voted into...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / G7 Ise-Shima Summit Special
May 25, 2016

Ise area is known for a wide variety of delicious cuisine

According to the Nihon Shoki, the second-oldest book of Japanese history, around 2,000 years ago Princess Yamato-hime was ordered by her father, Emperor Suinin, to find a new, permanent shrine for the most important deity in the land, the great sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami. The princess, taking her...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 13, 2016

Why is Tokyo starting to taste like Portland?

Walking into PDX Taproom, a bar in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, is like wandering into a condensed, alternate version of Portland, Oregon. Everything from the folk-pop hits playing in the background to the craft beers on tap hail from the Pacific Northwest metropolis.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 6, 2016

The Apollo: Modern Greek cuisine descends on Ginza

Taramosalata, dolma, souvlaki, moussaka: Even the briefest roll call of these classic dishes will trigger intense Pavlovian salivation in anyone who has ever visited Greece. For most people in Tokyo, though, these foods have been off the radar. The arrival of The Apollo looks set to change that in a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2016

Ukon: Traditional kaiseki cuisine served in a bento box

The answer: bento box. The question: What Japanese food — or type of meal — would I miss most if I left Japan? And now for some qualifications, before an explanation in the form of a restaurant review.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Apr 21, 2016

Showing gratitude to mothers; tasting the best of traditional cuisine; enjoying a ladies night out

Showing gratitude to mothers
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2016

Godan Miyazawa: Traditional multicourse cuisine unsettled by a wild bear

Regrets? I have a ton. Here's one: I didn't get to eat bear meat at Godan Miyazawa. Perhaps one of the drawbacks of the omakase (chef's selection) here is that there's no actual menu to provide information about what's being served. Trusting your chef is a small price to pay for an elaborate multicourse...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 16, 2015

Le Sputnik: Out-of-this-world French dining lands in Roppongi

With so much great French cuisine in Japan, what can a hot new restaurant do if it wants to stand out from the crowd? Having a catchy name certainly helps, and so does a good location. Le Sputnik qualifies on both counts. More importantly, it also boasts a very talented chef.
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Andaz Tavern offers rustic Euro cuisine

The Andaz Tavern serves European provincial cuisine made with fresh Japanese ingredients. Seeking to redefine the fine dining experience, the chefs offer up rustic fare from around Europe, preparing wholesome and hearty dishes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 15, 2015

Enjoying the fresh flavors of Hokkaido; sampling the best in Peruvian cuisine; sipping sweet tea with honey tea sets

Enjoying the fresh flavors of Hokkaido
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 9, 2015

A cute and cuddly place to stay; low-carb course menu by the bay; fine French cuisine from local fare

A cute and cuddly place to stay
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 / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
May 29, 2015

Traditional halal cuisine from Afghanistan to Iran at Nagoya's Ariana

If you are searching for a more traditional halal meal in Nagoya, but still want variety, Ariana is the spot. Much like Om Nom Nom, everything on their menu is halal, including Afghani rice dishes, Iranian kebabs and Indian curries. Also like Om Nom Nom, the drinks are alcohol-free. Smoking is permitted,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 13, 2015

Is virtual art as nourishing as a set meal?

You have to admit, it's all awfully clever. At "L'art de Rosanjin," which runs at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall until March 24, visitors can sit in a virtual tempura restaurant, and gawp as images of the chef's hands at work are projected on the counter in front of them, accompanied by the sounds of sizzling...
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Feb 22, 2015

Where's the beef? Kyoto looks to carve out global niche

The quintessential tourist image of Kyoto cuisine is one of a refined "bento" (boxed lunch) containing all sorts of small treats, but heavy on fish, tofu and vegetables, with much attention devoted to presentation and tastes that are sublime, but not overpowering. Certain Kyoto vegetables like "kujo...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 17, 2015

Masa's Kitchen 47 defies stereotypes with bold take on Chinese cuisine

Gleaming white tableware, understated decor and not a single dragon or red lantern in sight: Masa's Kitchen 47 boldly defies the stereotype for Chinese restaurants in Tokyo. Which is just as it should be. So does the food.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Oct 14, 2014

Japan's take on the humble burger

There are two dishes that can be translated as "hamburger" in Japan. One is the all-American favorite, a beef patty sandwiched in a bun, which in Japanese is called hanbāgā. The other kind is similar to a Hamburg steak or Salisbury steak, made with chopped onions, breadcrumbs and egg mixed with the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 2, 2014

Westin marks 20 years in Tokyo; unique accommodation offer; celebrating exquisite French cuisine

Westin marks 20 years in Tokyo
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Aug 26, 2014

EO: Top Kansai chef presents French cuisine with a twist

What makes a good restaurant? It's a pretty basic question, and one that I imagine is on most people's minds, even if you aren't actively aware of it. With a new restaurant, such as EO, this question and the search for answers are more to the forefront. What it boils down to, if you'll forgive the cooking...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2014

Pity Moscow's foodies as Putin's sanctions bite

A food writer in Moscow finds President Vladimir Putin's annoying at the best of times, but this month her distaste has blossomed into unbridled loathing after Russia imposed sanctions on food imports from the U.S., EU, Canada and Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Aug 19, 2014

Japan's historic love of corn

The fact that corn or maize has a Japanese name — tōmorokoshi — indicates that it entered the country centuries ago, before it was the norm to import the name of a food as-is and spell it out phonetically (as with tomatoes or asparagus, for instance).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jul 15, 2014

Japanese summer garnishes invigorate the taste buds

In Japanese cooking, garnish is not just added to a dish to make it look pretty. The word to describe the herbs and vegetables that accompany a dish is yakumi, which means "medicinal flavor," and originally referred to the concoctions that practitioners of Chinese medicine made using various ingredients...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 15, 2014

Kazahana: 28th-floor restaurant offers fine food with a view to match

Very few Japanese restaurants in Tokyo can boast a view to rival that from Kazahana. Sitting 28 floors up in the Conrad Hotel, you gaze out over the centuries-old Hamarikyu garden on the waterfront and across to the Rainbow Bridge and the malls of Odaiba in the mid-distance.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jul 8, 2014

Aoi-jaya: Traditional Japanese cuisine without the traditional price tag

A combination of train delays and the restaurant I had intended to eat at closing earlier than advertised meant that I had to find a replacement on the hoof. Fortunately, I was in the Isetan department store in Kyoto Station. The top two floors are given over to restaurants: the 10th floor to mostly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jul 1, 2014

Gunma's 'Brazil Town' offers a carnival of cuisine

This month A Taste of Home is taking a field trip to Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture. Oizumi, an otherwise ordinary town, is home to roughly 4,000 Brazilians — about one-tenth of the local population. Most of them work in nearby factories (Subaru is a big one). But some of them are working to make life a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 1, 2014

Kaiseki Ikku: Stave off the unagi eel crash with this fine alternative

It looks like the end of the line for one of Japan's best-loved summer dining rituals. Unagi (eels) are on the endangered list, with catches plummeting and prices heading skyward. The annual "unagi day" summer feeding frenzy has an uncertain future, and so too the wonderful grill-houses that serve them....

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan