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July 16, 2024
 

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KANPAI CULTURE

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2017
Association aims to raise the profile of sparkling sake
Around the world, the sound of popping corks brings just one thing to mind — Champagne. However, a new organization of sake producers is working to tweak that image.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2017
Brut Wine Bar pop-up brings taste of Israel to Tokyo
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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 8, 2017
Japanese sake startup finds way to float in sinking industry
Entrepreneur Nao Kohara sits at a table in his favorite neighborhood bar, checking emails on his laptop computer and sipping a glass of sake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 10, 2017
Hidehiko Ishizuka takes his love of sake on tour in streaming TV series
Gourmandizing television personality Hidehiko Ishizuka has a famously large appetite. Apparently, the portly comedian also has a taste for Japanese sake. On a clear February afternoon in the sake-producing region of Fushimi, just south of Kyoto, a camera crew forms a tight circle around Ishizuka as he...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 10, 2017
Sake sommelier unlocks the fun of 'nihonshu' for visitors from abroad
Every week, sake sommelier Satoko Utsugi leads groups of overseas visitors past the Fukagawa Fudosan Temple and along a shopping street in Tokyo's downtown neighborhood of Monzen-Nakacho.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 13, 2017
Ginza sushi restaurant tests Champagne pairing
Nothing says "festive" like Champagne, that most elegant of elixirs. The drink's life-affirming effervescence makes it a natural choice for New Year's celebrations, but Champagne pairs so well with many of my favorite foods that I drink it far more often than once a year — with everything from raw...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Dec 9, 2016
Tokyo's progressive French restaurants are developing a taste for sake
The first time I drank sake at a non-Japanese restaurant was nearly seven years ago at Coi, a Michelin-starred establishment in San Francisco that serves modern Californian cuisine. I had opted for the beverage-pairing course, and the drink came with a dish of tofu mousseline in a thickened mushroom...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 11, 2016
The Kyoto Distillery: home of Japan's first artisanal gin
It's a mild Kyoto evening, and a group of spirits enthusiasts are gathering at a handsomely restored machiya (traditional townhouse) to celebrate the launch of Ki No Bi, a boutique gin produced by The Kyoto Distillery, Japan's first craft gin specialist. Guests spill onto the machiya's moss-covered courtyard,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 7, 2016
Rating, ranking — and ruining? — Japanese sake
On Aug. 31, the Wine Advocate, a publication started by the influential U.S.-based wine critic Robert Parker, released its first "official" ratings guide to sake with reviews written by Chinese critic Liwen Hao. Parker, who gained fame for creating the 100-point scoring system widely used to rate wines,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 9, 2016
Japanese wine is no longer a novelty
Five years ago, Japanese wine was still considered a novelty, and finding it in Tokyo required a fair amount of searching. These days, most shops carry at least a few varieties and some have entire shelves dedicated to domestic wine. Popular magazines now run features on local producers and ways to match...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Aug 12, 2016
Sake Competition sets the standard for new enthusiasts
On July 29, Iwao Niizawa, the fifth-generation president of Niizawa Jozoten in Miyagi Prefecture, was one of six brewers to claim prizes at the 2016 Sake Competition awards ceremony that took place at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Tokyo. His Atago no Matsu Tokubetsu Junmai topped the list in the contest's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2016
In search of 'natsuzake,' Japan's summer sake
Summer is my least favorite season in Japan. Stepping outside, the heat and humidity hits with startling force: the hot air weighs heavy on my limbs, enveloping me in a stifling and unwelcome embrace. The thought of spending the height of summer in Tokyo fills me with existential dread.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2016
Distilling the mysteries of shōchū
From my seat on the second floor of Shochu Zanmai, a bar specializing in Japan's indigenous distilled liquor, I can see directly into the building across the street. The bar is located down a narrow alley a 10-minute walk from Tokyo's Ikebukuro Station, and the close proximity of the surrounding buildings...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2016
A toast to the arranged marriage of Champagne and 'kaiseki'
I didn't protest when my friend Katrine suggested — apropos of nothing — that we order a bottle of Champagne one afternoon last week. The marvelously warm and sunny weather, combined with the fact that I had finally begun to recover from a debilitating cold, provided justification for the extravagance....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 8, 2016
Tokyo bartender revives a 19th-century cocktail ingredient
The unsung hero of traditional Japanese cuisine is mirin, a deliciously sweet liquor made from sticky rice. Mirin is an essential cooking ingredient, used to balance the salty sharpness of soy sauce and to add luster to glazes. But prior to becoming a common fixture in the kitchen, the sugary beverage...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 11, 2016
The search for Tokyo's best gimlet leads to Daisuke Ito
I have a particular fondness for the gimlet, that simple but elegant concoction of gin, fresh lime juice and sweetened lime cordial. For many, the drink conjures images of dames and detectives from noir films, but mine is a more nostalgic affection. The gimlet was my cocktail of choice during my early...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 12, 2016
For the goodness of sake: international sommeliers test their senses
Early one morning in Japan last month, Taipei sake educator Michael Ou took a deep breath as he prepared to deliver a presentation about the stages of fermentation before a panel of experts from the U.K.'s Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). It was the last day of an elite sake instructors' training...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 15, 2016
Sake workshops in Tokyo spotlight Japan's lesser known regional breweries
On a recent chilly evening, I found myself in the heart of Tokyo's touristy Asakusa district for the first time in many years. I came to visit Kurand Sake Market, a popular standing bar that specializes in the offerings of local brewers, where Chris Hughes, a U.K. sake expert who is helping Kurand reach...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Dec 11, 2015
The art of pairing wild game and sake
My friend Kanako is an ambitious home chef, the kind of person who frequently cooks using clay pots heated over charcoal embers — she would roast a whole pig in a pit if she had the space. On a recent evening, she prepared an astounding feast that included delicacies such as boar, fresh oysters and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 13, 2015
Desserts and paired sake at Tokyo's Tirpse
Last month, I surprised myself by polishing off a six-course lunch consisting entirely of desserts. As anyone who knows me can attest, I was born without a sweet tooth. However, when Naotaka Ohashi, owner of the contemporary French restaurant Tirpse, told me that he had started offering dessert-focused...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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