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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Nov 13, 2015

Hashinaga: Delicious and relaxed kaiseki cooked by a formidable chef

I am almost certain that I wouldn't survive a day working under chef Noriyuki Hashinaga. I am, however, certain that I could eat his food every day.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 7, 2015

Cheers to Hirosaki's latest use of its apples

If you ask someone about Aomori Prefecture, it is likely that the subject of apples would pop up in conversation sooner or later. The city of Hirosaki boasts the title of holding the highest apple crop yields in Japan, producing 160,000 tons of apples per year, and being home to more than 6,000 orchards...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 5, 2015

Plan offers an exciting holiday stay; Latvian chef serves global creations; enjoying a tasty Thanksgiving meal

Plan offers an exciting holiday stay
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Oct 30, 2015

Kangoku in Shoku: A prison-themed restaurant where every day is Halloween

Halloween is fast becoming a fixture on the Nagoya calendar — it's a great excuse to put on a costume and dance the night away. But though every bar in town will be themed for the night, there are some establishments that are in character all year round.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 30, 2015

Testing the culinary limits of Arita Pottery

For a few weeks in August and September, Yoshiyasu Harada hardly slept a wink. The young master potter of Kichiemon Porcelain Co. Ltd., in Saga Prefecture, had been immersed in making dozens of intricate ceramic plates.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Oct 30, 2015

Gattenn: An izakaya camouflaged as a Shinto shrine

Try Gattenn if you're looking for a more tranquil restaurant. Located near Nagoya Station, it takes its interior-design cues from traditional Shinto shrines, with a set of red torii gates, staff dressed as shrine workers and even a machine that dispenses omikuji (fortunes) for ¥100 a pop.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 23, 2015

Rolling out the red carpet for the 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival

Overseas and domestic stars did the red carpet stroll near Roppongi Hills on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony of the 28th Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs until Oct. 31.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Oct 21, 2015

Tokyo can feel less than welcoming to food allergy sufferers

Japan needs to improve labeling and education surrounding food allergies, and increase allergen-safe options.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 20, 2015

Abe eroding Japan's soft power

Japan's considerable soft power is being undermined by political insensitivity, provocative policies and a reluctance or inability to explain and justify.
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Grand Hyatt serves best of autumn harvest

Grand Hyatt Tokyo is offering autumn menus at all of its restaurants, featuring a colorful lineup of dishes for guests to enjoy the harvest season with family and friends.
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Prince Park Tower offers taste of tradition

The Prince Park Tower Tokyo's Japanese traditional restaurant Shiba Zakura is offering two course menus to give diners a taste of authentic Japan through March 31.
JAPAN / HOTEL SPECIAL 2015
Oct 16, 2015

Westin serves up authentic Chinese fare

The Cantonese restaurant Ryutenmon at the Westin Tokyo in Ebisu has welcomed back Keimei Chin as its executive Chinese chef.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2015

Survey ranks Hakodate as Japan's top tourist site for second year in a row

Hokkaido's Hakodate stands out as the nation's most attractive tourist destination for the second year in a row, according to a recent survey by a private think tank.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 30, 2015

Tokyo International Film Festival showcases classic anime, J-horror and yakuza films

The Tokyo International Film Festival, Japan's biggest film fest and a showcase for foreign movies that otherwise might never see the light of day here, will run from Oct. 22 to 31 this year. Opening the festival is Robert Zemekis' "The Walk," and the closer is local tearjerker "Kishuten Eki Taminaru"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 27, 2015

Can art bring people back to Japan's depopulated islands?

I've seen island revitalization projects come and go, but the idea of an NPO riding on the coattails of a successful art trend in the area strikes me as having some promise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Sep 25, 2015

Kagaman makes lunch a personal experience

Although I frequently dine alone while reviewing, I'm rarely alone, in the true sense. Especially at kappō, or counter-style restaurants, where there's a miscellany of worthwhile distractions and on occasion small talk.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Sep 18, 2015

The rejuvenating power of cycad miso

Tears well up in 88-year-old Izue Hamada's eyes as she holds up a halved nari (cycad) nut for me to see.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2015

Ubuka: Where seafood chefs eat seafood

Is there anywhere in the world that consumes as much fish as Japan? And is there a city with as many specialist seafood restaurants as Tokyo? In such a crowded field, how can one small eatery hope to make its mark? In the case of Ubuka, by keeping things simple, flying under the radar — and serving...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 11, 2015

Abundant autumn sanma are a symbol of sustainable fishing

Autumn's silvery little fish, the sanma, has arrived. To officially mark the beginning of the season, the annual Meguro Sanma Festival — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year — was held last weekend in Tokyo, where sanma were grilled and offered to a crowd of over 30,000.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 11, 2015

September 12, 2015

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Sep 11, 2015

Sasaya Iori: Kyoto's 300-year-old sweets shop

The area around Kyoto Station seems to lack the cultural and culinary charms found elsewhere in the city, but this might be changing. A massive restoration of the nearby Higashi Honganji Temple complex will soon be completed and Umekoji Locomotive Museum will be combined into the new Kyoto Railway Museum,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2015

Michelin star chef Murata plans London restaurant with farm co-op backing

Chef Yoshihiro Murata, who holds seven Michelin stars across three establishments in Kyoto and Tokyo, plans to open a restaurant in London's Mayfair serving modern dishes based on traditional Japanese cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 5, 2015

Feast from the forest: foraging for edible plants in Japan

In the opening poem of "Kokin Wakashu" ("Collection of Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times"), the Emperor writes about harvesting sansai (wild plants). The emperors of the Heian and Nara periods made it a rule to seek sansai in the forests in order to collect food and predict the harvest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Aug 21, 2015

Olivier le Francois: Kitsch French interiors saved by unpretentious home cooking

There's no mistaking where Olivier le Francois takes its inspiration from. One step inside will transport you to what feels like a bistro beside the Seine, replete with tables covered by checkered tablecloths, posters of European movie stars on the walls, wine glasses hanging in rows over the bar and,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 15, 2015

Dewa Sanzan: The arduous journey from ascetic to aesthetic

The traditional pilgrimage to Dewa Sanzan, or the Three Mountains of Dewa, begins with the smallest and northernmost Mount Haguro. The plaque at the beginning of the path through Zuishin Gate tells of 33 carvings of "gourds, sake cups and the like" scattered along the 2,446 steps to the top of the mountain,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Aug 7, 2015

Gion Sasaki: Where eel is served in tiny shrines and speaking on phones is banned

On the wall at Gion Sasaki there are two signs depicting mobile phones with lines through them. Bringing your phone with you is allowed, but speaking on it is a no-no. When I visited for lunch, an Asian tourist dining on his own nearby barely put his phone down during the entire nine-course kaiseki meal....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Aug 7, 2015

Experts assess the future of sake at Milan conference

On a sweltering summer afternoon in Milan, Japanese food enthusiasts meandered through the marble-lined halls of the Palazzo delle Stelline, a 17th-century landmark that faces the church that houses Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." Inside, a group of Italians dressed in yukata (summer kimono) stopped...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 1, 2015

Arita fires up a love of pottery, both historical and contemporary

The streets of Arita's Uchiyama porcelain district are mostly deserted this overcast Sunday, a boon for me as I am looking anywhere but at the sidewalk in front of me. My eyes are drawn instead to the parade of restored buildings that front the street, a veritable "name that era" of architectural styles....

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?