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April 11, 2025
 

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RESTAURANTS

Japanese desserts have been turning heads in recent months for a series world-firsts.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 6, 2025
‘Japanese pastry has matured into its own distinct identity’
“There’s been a shift over the years where Japanese pastry chefs are moving away from simply replicating French techniques,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
After getting her career started in Japan, Courney Kaplan has become one of Los Angeles' leading sake evangelists from her base at Ototo.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Apr 6, 2025
In Los Angeles, Courtney Kaplan says sake is having a moment
Los Angeles has no shortage of Japanese restaurants, but Ototo makes the country's national drink an easy sip.
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2025
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
As of the end of 2024, Sukiya operated 1,965 stores in Japan.
Japan's ancient capital is now home to 16 two-Michelin-starred restaurants, while nearby Osaka claims 11.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 28, 2025
Michelin awards stars to 172 restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka
Ten restaurants join the two-starred rank, while Milpa earns Japan’s first-ever star for Mexican cuisine.
At No. 4, three-Michelin-starred Sezanne took home the title of best restaurant in Japan in this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 26, 2025
11 in Japan win Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant honors, but Gaggan is tops
The modern French cuisine of Sezanne was good enough for best in Japan and No. 4 in all of Asia.
The peculiar combo of curry with green tea over rice topped with a pork or chicken cutlet is Haraiso Sparkle's signature dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 23, 2025
At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop
What began as a simple spice curry shop has now morphed into an offbeat, funky eatery.
A kitchenware recycling team collects equipment at a closed hotpot restaurant in Beijing last month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2025
China's restaurants race to the bottom in deflation-hit economy
A restaurant in China has an average lifespan of just about 500 days, analysts say, falling to as low as a year in Beijing.
Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 16, 2025
At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights
A former Italian favorite in Tokyo now enjoys a renaissance in a bucolic village in Gunma Prefecture.
While Google may be the restaurant review medium of choice in other countries, Japan largely prefers Tabelog, where five-star reviews are rare and three-star reviews aren't what they seem.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2025
On Japan's top foodie site, imperfection is gold
Cultural expectations may influence ratings on Tabelog, but reading between the lines might help you find the next hidden gem.
Bar Bota, the 37th-floor watering hole at the Four Seasons Osaka, looks out on a glittering cityscape better known for its cheap eats and drinks.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 9, 2025
Slowly but surely, Osaka emerges from Kyoto’s fine-dining shadow
The majority of tourists go to Osaka with street food on their minds, but the city is rapidly improve its elevated dining options as well.
Chef Kentaro Mura’s favorite way of serving snow crab is as shabu-shabu: The legs are lightly blanched in dashi, then the meat is removed and served with a generous scoop of crab tomalley.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 2, 2025
Toyama’s finest seafood underpins Ebitei Bekkan’s return to greatness
This "kaiseki" restaurant has been making up for lost time with a culinary flair that presents Toyama’s seafood tradition in a contemporary guise.
The government plans to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services, a sector struggling with a labor shortage.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2025
Japan looks to allow foreign nationals to engage in home care services
Non-Japanese would be allowed to work in the sector if they meet certain conditions, such as receiving training.
Ramen with simmered tuna cheek meat and soup made from bluefin tuna bones in Tokyo's Koto Ward
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2025
Novel seafood noodles become flavor of the moment in Tokyo
Noodles served with tuna, yellowtail, whale meat or other ingredients are gaining in popularity.
The Japanese government is considering allowing foreign workers under its specified skilled worker program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants within inns and hotels.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2025
Japan to ease foreign worker rules for hotel restaurants
The government is considering allowing foreign workers under the program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants at inns and hotels.
At several high-end restaurants in Tokyo, tatami is becoming a part of the dining experience — not underfoot but as a tabletop place mat for phones.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 25, 2025
Why tatami is going from the floor to the dining table
As smartphones have become integral to daily life, they are being incorporated into traditional Japanese hospitality.
Katsumi Shinagawa prepares to shred cabbage to serve with pork cutlet dishes at the restaurant Katsukichi in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2025
Climate change cooks up Japanese 'cabbage shock'
It is the latest pain point for shoppers and eateries in Japan already squeezed by inflation.
52.0% of people questioned in a survey said they want to use containers to take leftovers home if they are provided free of charge, and 28.8% showed willingness to use takeout containers whether they are free or not.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2025
Survey finds 80% of people want to take leftover restaurant food home
14.5% of those surveyed answered that they have never left food in restaurants.
The film version of “The Solitary Gourmet” is a directorial debut for Yutaka Matsushige, long known for his leading role as salaryman and gourmand Goro Inogashira.
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2025
‘The Solitary Gourmet’: Palatable movie adaptation may leave you wanting more
Lead actor Yutaka Matsushige’s film directing debut offers ambient pleasure for fans of the long-running TV series.
At the new L'Abysse Osaka, Yannick Alleno both pays homage to and casts aside the tradition around Japan's national dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 5, 2025
Now in Osaka, Yannick Alleno wants ‘flavors people have never experienced’
Opened in late October, Sushi L'Abysse Osaka is the Michelin-starred chef’s first outpost in Asia.
Of the many new openings in Tokyo in 2024, the elegant Sushi Oya run by Yoji Oya stands out from the pack.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 29, 2024
From Michelin stardom to humble meals, Tokyo dining had an eclectic 2024
As traditional pubs close and inbound tourism spurs openings, this year saw plenty of new faces make their mark on the city’s dining landscape.
Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
Trump's tariff gambit leaves Asia stunned and scrambling
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he attends the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington on Tuesday. Trump allowed new tariffs — including a 24% levy on Japan — to go into effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
Tokyo cheers Trump’s tariff U-turn with second-biggest market gain ever
U.S. President Donald Trump looks on after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday in Washington.
Banks freeze withdrawals for foreign nationals upon expiration of visas
Foreign residents who fail to renew their residential statuses before their expiry may find that they won’t be able to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.
Japanese badminton ace Shida blasts 'stalker' Chinese fans
Chiharu Shida of Japan in action during the bronze medal match with Nami Matsuyama against Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah of Malaysia at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France on Aug. 03, 2024
Takayasu’s latest heartbreak makes sumo history
Takayasu during the one-day Annual Sumo Tournament at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Feb 9, 2020
Who is Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's tariffs negotiator?
Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed Japan's tariff negotiator, is one of his closest allies and busiest ministers.
After a tumultuous buildup, a first look at the Osaka Expo
A large statue of Osaka Expo mascot Myaku Myaku sits near the east entrance of the event's venue in Yumeshima island, Osaka, on Wednesday.
Japan gets a new U.S. ambassador — and he has his work cut out for him
George Glass, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to be ambassador to Japan, attends a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington on March 13.
Online art scene eager to go offline, at least for the moment
Digital artist Polygon1993 revels in the physicality of nostalgic technology, making art out of materials such as miniature CDs, holographic prints layered with plexiglass shards and a giant custom-made floppy disk.

Podcast

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

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)
BOARDING & INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DAY 2025 (Sunday, April 20)

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