Food
Travel back in time to Showa Era at Grand Hyatt Tokyo beer garden
Grand Hyatt Tokyo will hold a series of summer beer garden events inspired by Japan’s Showa Era, beginning on July 3. The beer garden will be held on the spacious outdoor garden and Thyme banquet room located on the hotel’s 4th floor. The Showa Era was an important post-war period… Read
Samurai chef serves ramen with a side of history at Sapporo restaurant
Ramen has seen its prestige soar over the past few years. Once strictly salty sustenance for salarymen and starving students, it’s now widely considered one of Japan’s tastiest dining options by locals and international foodies alike, with even the Michelin guide recognizing its potential for sublime deliciousness. But even with all their newfound… Read
Drunk on choice: UK beers, ciders, wine and spirits take on Japan
Despite the rising popularity of home-grown craft beers and some impressive new innovations when it comes to sake and other spirits, Japanese drinkers have a reputation for being a fairly conservative bunch. They will still usually buy one of the ubiquitous big four brands of domestic beer, they largely believe… Read
Greek tabbouleh salad a versatile summer dish
This is a Mediterranean twist on a classic Middle Eastern bulgur wheat salad, with very approachable flavors. It can be served as a side dish or a main course, and even as part of a creative appetizer or meze spread. It's also a great portable dish, perfect for bringing to… Read
Hamburger chain replaces buns with beef patties for sandwich
Long ago, before moving across the Pacific, I heard someone say “In Japan, they use rice instead of bread for hamburger buns.” However, this turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration about life in Japan, much like the tales of orange juice costing 10 dollars a glass or… Read
Japanese diners pick their 8 favorite types of sushi
Not long ago, I read somewhere on the English-language Internet that people in Japan don’t really eat raw salmon. This struck me as weird, since literally every sushi restaurant I’ve eaten in during the last 14 years living in Japan has had salmon on the menu, and there’s no way… Read
Try green beans as main dish for dinner
Sometimes I just crave a big serving of green beans. You too, right? Hear me out. Green beans make one of my favorite veggie-based meals. They are loaded with vitamins, particularly C, A and harder-to-get K, and have only 30 calories a serving. But here is the real reason why… Read
Yuba: Japan's most nutritious and versatile food skin
It’s not a secret to anyone who knows me that I came to Japan for one reason and one reason only: tofu. But after some years, my love for it has expanded to “soybeans,” (which tofu is based on), because these miracle beans are somehow connected to most Japanese delicacies — including… Read
Calling all shellfish enthusiasts! No off-season for oysters at Emit Fishbar
Aimed at shellfish lovers, there’s an age-old adage that attests, “Only eat oysters in months that contain the letter ‘R’ in the name.” While this pearl of wisdom advises connoisseurs to steer clear of raw oysters in the summer, one game-changing restaurant is swimming against the tide. Emit Fishbar, the… Read
Grilled ratatouille a worthy summer side dish
Ratatouille is a classic vegetable dish starring eggplant, zucchini, peppers and tomato that is deeply steeped in the culture of Mediterranean France. When I married a man from the heart of Provence, one of the first lessons I received from my new mother-in-law Muriel was how to make a proper… Read
