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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Feb 18, 2014

You'll either love or hate those stinky, sticky beans

Soybeans have long been an important part of the Japanese diet. They are enjoyed in many forms — as edamame, tofu or yuba; boiled or roasted; ground up as flour; and so on. Soybeans also have religious significance, as we've seen this month during Setsubun, when roasted soybeans are thrown to signify...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014

Vegan metalheads go to the Extreme

A little-known part of the music scene will be celebrated next week at Tokyo's Asakusa Kurawood venue, far from the candy-pop quirk of Harajuku. Obscene Extreme Festival (OEF) promises to be confrontational and dark and — yes, the capital letters are insisted upon — "UNLEASH HELL."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 18, 2014

Bettei: Duck shabu-shabu you'd be quackers to miss

Even a lingering winter has its upsides. The longer and harsher the conditions, the more appealing it is to sit down to a bubbling, warming nabe hot-pot — especially if it comes with a dash of contemporary style, as it does at Bettei.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 18, 2014

Bistro Aligot: French pie and mash at its best

Aligot: a traditional dish from central-south France, made from mashed potatoes blended with melted cheese, butter, cream and garlic. Aligot: one of Tokyo's tastiest, most unusual and atmospheric little bistros.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Feb 15, 2014

Hot stuff

Vietnamese food can be quite hot when it's cold.
Japan Times
LIFE / Japan Showcase / GREAT TAMBA AREA
Feb 14, 2014

Ancient hilltop shrine, venison highlight trip to Kaibara

The path to the top of the hill in Kaibara town is shaded by maple trees, still fiery in their demise so late in the season. The smooth stone steps turn once, twice, before petering out just before a large torii gate. Beyond this wooden marker lies the Kaibara Hachimangu Shrine, the oldest shrine in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 13, 2014

Feed desire with our seductive Valentine's pairings

When I was a student at the University of California at Berkeley, I taught a class called Female Sexuality with some of my fellow schoolmates (yes, everything you've heard about Berkeley is true). As my work with food and drinks seldom crosses into the realm of sex education, few people know this about...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 11, 2014

All-female wine award targets girls of the grape

Before the tasting commenced at the inaugural Sakura Japan Women's Wine Awards in Tokyo, the judges were reminded to remove their lipstick. The competition, organized by the Wine and Spirits Culture Association (WSCA), is the first in Japan to feature an all-female panel of assessors. Over the course...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 11, 2014

Unleash your inner Cookie Monster

For the cookie lovers out there, New Zealand-based Cookie Time opened its first cookie bar in Tokyo's Harajuku in December. At ¥240 apiece, each cookie is warm and chewy on the inside, and each bite guarantees plenty of half-melted chocolate chunks. The brand uses only organic ingredients and claims...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 11, 2014

Greenhouse CoLLabo: A peaceful retreat in Umekoji Park

Umekoji Park, near Kyoto Station, has in recent years been through more makeovers than a beauty queen. The park is already home to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum and Kyoto Aquarium, and now the builders are working on an enormous playground. Occupying a quiet corner of the park, Greenhouse CoLLabo...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 6, 2014

Sapporo Snow Festival is off to a cool start

The 65th annual Sapporo Snow Festival is a winter wonderland of special events and elaborate snow and ice sculptures.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 4, 2014

Gogyo: Where there's smoke, there's kogashi ramen

All ramen is good ramen when you're craving warmth in your belly. But you won't find a noodle shop in town that fights the cold in more dramatic style than Gogyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Feb 4, 2014

Eating Hawaiian in Japan, with or without the pancakes

Something newsworthy has happened (well, newsworthy if you follow dining micro-trends): A new restaurant from Hawaii has opened in Tokyo and it doesn't serve pancakes.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 30, 2014

Film provides some food for thought

New documentary 'Drops of Heaven' focuses on Yoshiko Tasumi, the woman whose 'soup of life' made her culinary efforts famous.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Jan 28, 2014

Local pioneers of natural farming strong after 60 years

"Soil is a living thing" is almost a mantra for Sakae Suka, wife of Kazuo Suka, who has practiced shizen nōhō (natural farming) in Kamisato-machi, Saitama Prefecture, for more than 60 years. Truly the father of natural farming in our Kanto area, Kazuo has quietly and gently mentored most of the organic...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 28, 2014

The logistics of a luxury Valentine's

Advances in technology have made it possible for people as far away as Japan to enjoy the best of France's chocolate delights.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Jan 28, 2014

Nagoya staples at popular national chain Yamachan

If you are visiting friends in Nagoya and they are treating you to dinner, it would be a safe bet to assume they are taking you to one of the many branches of Yamachan that are scattered around the city. Although there are now 72 stores nationwide, a staggering 38 of those are in Aichi Prefecture, the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Jan 28, 2014

Kishiya: Nagoya's flatter noodles boast a local flavor

Many enjoy kishimen on the go, standing at a crowded platform while waiting for their bullet train to arrive. But to slurp this Nagoya specialty in style, Kishiya is a sophisticated but affordable option.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 28, 2014

Playful choux creams by Nicolas Charles

Earlier this month, French chef Nicolas Charles took cream puffs to another level with the opening of his self-named store in Ginza, Tokyo. Charles fills his light, crispy choux cream pastries with various mousses and creams rather than the standard custard: Flavors include rose jelly and raspberries...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 27, 2014

Have your say on English education

Letters and online responses to the Jan. 6, 13 and 20 Learning Curve columns by Teru Clavel on English education.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 25, 2014

History and humor lap Hamamatsucho's shores

Tokyo hosts plenty of pint-size public sculptures, but none so "wee" as the brazen boy standing on the platform between lines 3 and 4 at Hamamatsucho Station in Minato Ward. Just back from a trip to Brussels, I am stunned to glimpse there a bronze replica of the Belgian capital's most cheeky landmark,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Jan 21, 2014

A long, thin start to a meat-free new year

A new year is well underway, but for a vegetarian in Japan, the memories of all those bōnenkai (yearend parties) linger, with their share of mistaken meat dishes, unwanted fish flakes and perhaps a questionable dipping sauce or two.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Jan 21, 2014

At Ikkaku, it's fine to ask a chicken its age

Ikkaku is located in a 12-story building with more bars and restaurants than I imagine there are in most towns in West Texas or West Cork. And the building is in Shinsaibashi, which probably has more places to eat and drink than all of Wyoming. This is, after all, Osaka, the city that celebrates over-indulgence...
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 21, 2014

Have a break at the world's first KitKat store

Nestle has taken its brand to the next level with the opening of the world's first KitKat shop on Jan. 17. Opening day brought a long line of people hoping to get their hands on Sublime Bitter, Sakura Green Tea and Chili — special Kit Kat creations by renowned Japanese chocolatier Yasumasa Takagi....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2014

Hit Hokkaido's slopes for tasty seasonal fare

Kutchan, near Niseko, is probably the only town in Japan where convenience stores stock pinto beans and Vegemite. In fact, Hokkaido's ski paradise, internationally known for its powder snow, is steadily forging a new reputation, one bite at a time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 12, 2014

The way we were, or reflections for the new year

In the dusky light of ōmisoka (大晦日, Dec. 31), I spotted something that's become a rarity on Tokyo streets: a dead animal. Actually it was a yamabato (山鳩, turtle dove) — and its feathers were tragically strewn among the blood and gore like a terrible crime scene. Some tsūkōnin (通行人,...

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.