Tag - restaurants

 
 

RESTAURANTS

Zensho Holdings, the operator of Sukiya and other restaurant chains, will raise salaries of regular employees by 12.2% on average.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 12, 2024
Japan firms across sectors offer pay hikes of up to 12% in spring talks
Early wage deals with unions reflect a recovery in earnings from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a sense of crisis over labor shortages.
Chef Harutomo Hagi's self-named restaurant in Iwaki was selected as the 2023 Japan Times Destination Restaurant of the Year.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 10, 2024
Hagi: French restaurant leads Fukushima revival
The Japan Times’ 2023 Restaurant of the Year is a sterling example of Fukushima’s slow and steady post-disaster revival.
The pandemic forced Rene Redzepi and Noma to adjust their 2023 pop-up from autumn to spring. Later this year, the restaurant will be returning to Kyoto to execute its preferred fall menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 6, 2024
Rene Redzepi is bringing Noma back to Kyoto this fall
One of the world's best chefs just can't seem to stay away from Japan's ancient capital.
Michelin-starred tempura experiences abound in Tokyo, but some of the best of the genre can be found in the city's more down-to-earth eateries.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Mar 3, 2024
Go old school with these affordable tempura spots
Once a plentiful dish for the poor, tempura has been dragged upward through the classes to become a dish beloved by all.
An employee at the Apita Kisarazu shopping mall in Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture. Pan Pacific International Holdings, the parent company of the firm that operates Apita, abolished its rules on hair color in 2022 following requests by its employees.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Japan's retailers and restaurants ease dress codes amid labor shortage
More and more companies have abolished in-house rules prohibiting colored hair and piercings to help with hiring and retain staff.
Yakitori chain Torikizoku will open outlets in Taiwan and Hong Kong as part of its planned expansion into the Asian market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2024
Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong
Specific details regarding the number of restaurants and finalized opening dates in Hong Kong and Taiwan are yet to be determined.
Being invited as a guest chef to luxury hotels provides me with an opportunity to showcase my cooking to as many customers in a single day.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 25, 2024
Grace Choy: A few thoughts on being a guest chef
The key as a guest chef is standardization — how to maintain the quality of the food while serving hundreds of diners a day.
The Japan Tourism Agency plans to offer subsidies to develop travel products combining culinary and traditional cultural experiences in rural areas.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2024
Japan tourism agency to promote gastronomy tourism
As foreign tourists numbers spike post-pandemic, culinary travel has grown increasingly popular, especially among wealthy travelers.
Virgilio Martinez (left) and Santiago Fernandez, head chef at Tokyo's Maz, are finding massive success bringing elevated Latin American cuisine to Japanese diners.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 18, 2024
At two-starred Maz, ‘the experience extends beyond the meal’
“We see Maz as a kind of ‘culture house’ for Latin America in Japan,” says head chef Santiago Fernandez.
Motenashi Kuroki's smart new premises boast an eye-catching window display, aptly enough featuring a colorful display of ramen bowls.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 18, 2024
Motenashi Kuroki finally has a place worthy of its premium ramen
Naohito Kuroki has finally found a worthy location for his ever-popular, self-named ramen shop.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki opened Naz in the fall of 2020 on the rural fringe of the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 11, 2024
Naz: Bounty from landlocked Nagano's rivers and pastures
Dining at Naz is like sitting down at a bespoke dinner club for a meal catered exclusively for you. And what a meal it is.
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto are the executive chef and head patissier chef at Mimi’s Restaurant and Bar in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 10, 2024
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto: 'When you make things you love, you naturally just get better at it'
A culinary couple share their thoughts on a career in the kitchen and how they approach life in one of Japan's major tourist towns.
Michelin guides are published yearly, but there are only a handful of Black chefs whose restaurants have been awarded Michelin stars.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2024
Black chefs are scoring with new Michelin stars; but they deserve more
Michelin stars were recently announced for restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland: The number of Black chefs increased, but the pace is still too slow.
A native of Seoul who grew up in Shanghai, Hana Yoon moved to New York to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America when she was 20 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2024
In Japan’s age-old capital, a young head chef stirs the pot
Upon her arrival in Kyoto, Yoon spent four months delving into the distinctive varieties of “kyōyasai,” vegetables grown in Kyoto and its suburbs.
The Kissa Mitikusa cafe in front of JR Kagaonsen Station in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, is facing a plunge in visitors.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2024
Dining sector in quake-hit Ishikawa facing difficulties
The industry had just begun to overcome a slump brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Toshiya Ikehata (center) helps prepare rice balls at a community kitchen in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 7. Ikehata runs a fine-dining restaurant in the city, which was among the hardest-hit areas in the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2024
Shattered lives, unbroken spirits: Chefs step up to serve Noto communities
Fine-dining chefs rise to the challenge of feeding disaster victims in the hardest-hit areas of Ishikawa Prefecture.
As Kura has grown, so has the hype, with diners sometimes enduring seven-hour waits to try its automated sushi-serving machines and dishes under plastic domes brought to the table on a revolving belt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 13, 2024
Kura Sushi must live up to high hopes after wowing Wall Street
Kura shares have surged more than sixfold since their 2019 debut, climbing from an initial public offering price of $14 to $88.55.
A snack bar tour guide typically escorts three to four people, taking them to two different snacks in one evening and quizzing the group on Japanese language and snack culture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 7, 2024
‘Snack bars' the target of Tokyo’s newest tour push
The English-language tours began in December last year and are currently conducted two to three times a week in Tokyo.
The Shimbashi area of Tokyo's Minato Ward is crowded with office workers on Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2023
Pubs in Japan thriving again as year-end parties return
On Friday night, many drinking places in the Shimbashi district of Tokyo's Minato Ward were packed with customers.
A pint is poured inside the Grapes public house in Limehouse, south London, on Dec. 14. Pubs have served Roman soldiers, knights and poets, and have been a gathering place for communities to enjoy a brew beside a crackling fire for centuries.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 20, 2023
Last orders? British pubs hit by rising costs and changing tastes
High inflation, energy bills and business rates are cutting into increasingly stretched earnings, as many find other ways to spend time and money.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?