National
Researchers hurt at Ibaraki nuclear facility
At least four researchers suffer internal radiation exposure after an experiment on elementary particles goes awry at a Japan Atomic Energy Agency facility.
Food & Drink | SWEET INSPIRATIONS Oct 5, 2012
Tasty twists on tradition at Tokyo Station
by Robbie Swinnerton
Great fanfare accompanied the reopening of Tokyo Station’s redbrick building in Marunouchi this week. And, just like any major new (or in this case 98-year-old) landmark, it’s a bonanza for tie-in marketing, including plenty of sweets — all limited-edition items that can only be ...
Food & Drink | JAPANESE KITCHEN Sep 28, 2012
Fall harvest means it's time for new rice
by Makiko Itoh
Fall is in the air! With the return of cooler weather, your appetite may be making a comeback too. Luckily, fall is a great time for gourmets to indulge in Japan. There’s an abundance of fresh produce in season, and some of the tastiest ...
Food & Drink | EVERYMAN EATS Sep 28, 2012
Diversifying Japan's biggest food festival
by Steve Trautlein
From its origins as a regional festival in the backwaters of Aomori Prefecture, the B-1 Grand Prix has attained a status of Fuji Rock-like proportions. The seven-year-old event, which attracts enthusiasts of local cooking from around Japan, almost single-handedly kick-started the country’s obsession with ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Sep 21, 2012
Michelin-starred food tastes better by the bottle
by Robbie Swinnerton
The entrance to Yorozuya Okagesan is, to put it mildly, discreet. The modest sign is set back so far from the sidewalk you’d never spot the steps unless you knew to look. And you’d never go down them anyway unless you had a reservation ...
Food & Drink | DRINK Sep 21, 2012
Sake tastings mark the arrival of fall
by Melinda Joe
Sake lovers eagerly await the coming of autumn, when spring’s brash young brews begin to mellow and develop complexity. Unsurprisingly, this season is prime time for tastings, and October means sake events all over Japan. The wave of festivities kicks off on Oct. 1, ...
Food & Drink | KANPAI CULTURE Sep 14, 2012
Sake brewers turn their hand to beer
by Melinda Joe
Taro Ishikawa, president of Ishikawa Shuzo in Fussa City, Tokyo, knows a thing or two about brewing beer. This comes as no surprise: In addition to producing Tamajiman sake, his company has been making Japanese jibīru (craft beer) for 14 years. The Ishikawa family’s ...
Food & Drink Sep 14, 2012
Recipes and more from the farmer's kitchen
by Kris Kosaka
When Nancy Singleton Hachisu was growing up in California, vegetables came from a can and organic meant “grungy” produce in scattered, dusty shops, part of a tofu and tie-dyed universe. Now a food-education leader for Slow Food Japan, a supporter of “more than organic,” ...
Food & Drink | TOKYO FOOD FILE Sep 7, 2012
Foodies will grow to love Beard's brilliant brunch
by Robbie Swinnerton
Beard. What sort of name is that for a restaurant, least of all one serving French-inflected food? And what chef would have the word daubed in orange paint across his front door, on the diagonal no less? One with a quirky sense of humor, ...
Food & Drink | SWEET INSPIRATIONS Sep 7, 2012
It's never too late for more ice cream
by Robbie Swinnerton
The heat wave may be past its punishing peak, but there are still lots of ice-cream days left this late summer — and plenty of premium outlets to discover in Tokyo. When it comes to multi-flavored cups and sugar cones, the arrival of Ben ...
Food & Drink Sep 1, 2012
Welcome to ramen land
by Steve Trautlein
When I heard that ramen had become popular in my hometown a few years ago, I can’t say I was surprised. We New Yorkers, after all, consider ourselves aficionados of down-home, stick-to-the-ribs cooking. Hot-dog carts, takeout Chinese joints, 24-hour delis and hole-in-the-wall falafel shops ...
Food & Drink | FOOD MATTERS Aug 31, 2012
Farmers markets on the rise in Tokyo
by Robbie Swinnerton
In a city the size of Tokyo, it’s all too easy to be unaware of where your food comes from. Most of what we eat is shipped in from far away, not just the extremities of the country but from all around the world. ...
Food & Drink | EVERYMAN EATS Aug 24, 2012
The chow-down tour of Kanto's local dishes
by Steve Trautlein
This month’s Everyman Eats column brings you popular culinary affordable oddities from Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures — served with a dash of local culture. Tokyo Any food-inspired map of Kanto will have a big fat star over Tokyo’s Tsukishima district, an enclave of ...