Steve Trautlein - The Japan Times

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Steve Trautlein

For Steve Trautlein's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Aug 26, 2014

Refuel and refresh at Japan's gourmet motoring rest stops

Whoever said it's better to travel than to arrive must have been traveling in Japan. Just ask the folks who hit the road earlier this month for the o-Bon summer holidays. Sure, the nightly newscasts were filled with horror stories of bumper-to-bumper traffic, but motorists and their families knew that...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Jul 22, 2014

O-chūgen: Hand-picked gourmet gifts courtesy of the postman

Even though the Japanese didn't invent the idea of exchanging gifts, they seem to be doing everything they can to convince themselves that they did. This is a culture, after all, that celebrates Christmas without Jesus, piles White Day on top of Valentine's Day, and has developed a whole species of cloth...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Jun 24, 2014

Yokohama 'museum' marks 20 years curating ramen royalty

Now that ramen has taken its place alongside sushi as the world's favorite Japanese food, it's easy to forget what the noodle landscape was like just a couple of decades ago. Back in the 1990s, foreigners knew ramen — if they knew it at all — as cheap fuel for all-night study sessions or as a belly-filler...

Japan Times

CULTURE

May 31, 2014

Essential summer festivals 2014

A summer without festivals simply wouldn’t be a proper summer in Japan, so now that the humidity has returned, it’s time to slop on an extra layer of sunscreen and line up some outdoor activities.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

May 27, 2014

Japan says 'aloha' to Hawaiian food

I should have realized that my first trip to Cinnamon's would end in tears. Or, at least, in an uncomfortably long wait. This newly opened transplant from Kailua, Hawaii, is on the bucket list of every OL (office lady) in the Kanto area, and its location near Yokohama's waterfront guarantees heavy walk-in...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Apr 22, 2014

Japan's freshest ready meals can be found in the basement

If there's one thing all Japanese guidebooks, concierges and expats can agree on, it's that tourists from overseas should make an effort, at some point during their stay, to visit the basement food floors of a major department store.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Mar 25, 2014

Japanese baseball stadiums hit a B-kyū gourmet home run

Coming off the most exciting season in recent memory, Japanese baseball is flying high — in some cases, literally so. Star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who signed with the New York Yankees in the offseason after leading the Rakuten Eagles to the Japan Series title, traveled to his first Big Apple press...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Feb 25, 2014

Prize-winning local dishes are the real taste of Japan

With memories of the Winter Olympics still fresh and with the Academy Awards just around the corner, Japanese food lovers are saluting some medalists of their own — prize-winning dishes from cooking competitions, public opinion polls and government surveys around the country. Here's a guide to some...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Jan 21, 2014

New book gets to the soul of Japanese home cooking

Like the Denver Broncos, the Nikkei stock index and "Gravity" director Alfonso Cuarón, Japanese food is on a hot streak. Here at home, the revival of interest in classic regional fare known as B-kyū gourmet (B-level cuisine) has spread to supermarket shelves and fast-food menus around the country....

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Dec 19, 2013

A year of pancakes, donuts, flying fish

Japan has reached peak donut.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Nov 21, 2013

Japan's love for curry means endless variety

It's only a slight exaggeration to say that Japanese curry saved my life. After relocating to Japan in the late 1990s, I found myself underemployed, surrounded by unfamiliar foodstuffs and suffering from a near-total lack of cooking skills. Yet I managed to fill up at the cafeteria of a local university,...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Oct 24, 2013

A gourmet tour of Japan in one spot

If you were visiting Japan and wanted to experience the best of the country's dining scene, your itinerary might look something like this:

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Sep 26, 2013

Shopping tips from the Costco queen

Talk about a crazy idea: A big-box American retailer seeks to enter a market where customers value precision and sophistication in their shopping experience.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Aug 22, 2013

The ramen burger that ate New York

It's too early to tell if Aug. 3, 2013, will go down as a landmark date in culinary history, but for the hundreds of people who lined up that morning at a food fair in Brooklyn, New York, the excitement was palpable. The crowds had braved steady rain for a chance to try the ramen burger, an East-meets-West...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Jul 25, 2013

A nostalgic nibble on lasting favorites

As Japanese families return to their hometowns for the traditional summer holidays, cries of 'Atsui!' ('Hot enough for ya?!') give way to feelings of natsukashii — a sense of nostalgia triggered by the sights, sounds and tastes of childhood.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Jun 28, 2013

Cheap or fancy Chinatown feasts

Dining doesn't get more democratic than in Yokohama's Chinatown, where visitors can spend big bucks on a single meal or fill up on steamed buns for a single coin. Here's a personal guide to some notable dishes; in the spirit of the neighborhood, there's a selection to suit all tastes and budgets.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

May 24, 2013

Chomp your way through spring

It's no surprise that the Japanese get serious about eating and drinking come late spring, as yatai food carts roll out, a bevy of fresh vegetables appear on restaurant menus and the annual festival season begins to heat up. This year is no different, with offerings that include a fried-chicken collaboration,...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

May 10, 2013

Chains that bring local dishes to you

Thanks to Japan's comprehensive network of bullet trains and regional airports, it's easy for the culinary adventurer to sample local specialties at their point of origin.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Mar 22, 2013

Running with the ramen hunters

Ramen is to Japanese food as school-girl uniforms are to porn — the animating fetish that sustains an entire industry. Helping to scratch the noodle itch is an army of bloggers whose dispatches are consumed with voyeuristic glee. The numbers are against them — with a ramen shop on nearly...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS

Feb 22, 2013

Foodie Media 101: Eat all about it

Every Monday night at 7, Japanese TV viewers are treated to the sight of comedians being locked inside a fast-food restaurant. Formica tables take the place of iron bars, and instead of three square meals a day the cast is fed a steady diet of the shop's specialties — tonkatsu breaded pork cutlets,...

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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