Angela Erika Kubo - The Japan Times

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Angela Erika Kubo

For Angela Erika Kubo's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE

Jan 14, 2014

Latin bars offer a change of tempo in Tokyo

Tokyo's smattering of Latin bars and restaurants offer a change of pace (literally) from the usual drinking spot, with booming Latin music and sometimes even salsa dancing.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Jan 7, 2014

SunnyHills Taiwanese pineapple cakes

Taiwanese hospitality came to Japanese shores last month with the opening of a branch of pineapple-cake brand SunnyHills in Tokyo's ritzy Minami-Aoyama district. The store, designed by architect Kengo Kuma, is a beehive-like structure made out of hinoki (Japanese cypress) that gives off a relaxing lemon fragrance. You can sit and enjoy a complimentary piece of pineapple cake, with a light, flaky crust and a gooey pineapple jam filling, and a cup of oolong tea. A box of five cakes will set you back ¥1,500. 3-10-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03-3408-7778; www.sunnyhills.co.jp.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE

Dec 31, 2013

On a pub crawl, every drink is one for the road

For newcomers or current residents in Tokyo, where people are known to sometimes come off as cold and distant, attempting to chat up a complete stranger on the street or in a bar can make even the biggest social butterfly feel shy.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Dec 31, 2013

Colonel Crispy Chicken Strips flavored Calbee potato chips

With the Christmas spirit and chicken sales dying down after the holiday season, Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, in collaboration with Calbee, is hoping to tempt chicken lovers back with a snack version of its long-selling Colonel Crispy Chicken Strips. Representatives from Calbee and KFC insist that the chips will re-create the flavor of those famous chicken strips, though there's no way to know if they have managed to nail that famous secret recipe until Jan. 6, when the product is released in convenience stores all over Japan for a limited time, and comes with a discount coupon for the real thing that can be used at any branch of KFC.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Dec 12, 2013

Ice-cream businesses fight the winter chill

With temperatures this year that peaked in the mid-30s, made only worse by Tokyo's hair plastering humidity, there were two major topics that were featured prominently on television: how hot it was and what could be done to beat the heat. Cameras showed long lines of people wearing sandals and cooling themselves down with paper fans as they waited to get their hands on cold treats. In particular, kakigōri — large bowls full of paper-thin slivers of ice with sticky syrup and fresh fruit, the perfect antidote for the summer heat — were a big hit this year.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Nov 28, 2013

Tasty hot cocktails arrive in time for winter

On finding refuge from the fall and winter cold in a warm bar, there's no need to endure a chilled beer: Recently hot cocktails are becoming more common, in Tokyo at least, and make for a comforting start to a night on the town.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Nov 7, 2013

'Abenomics' means a special holiday spread

Before anyone had a chance to shrug off their beach sandals and pack away their tank tops to make room for long-sleeved shirts and jackets, the Seibu flagship department store in Ikebukuro Station announced that it would start taking reservations for osechi ryōri — traditional Japanese New Year's Day food — on Sept. 21.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Oct 10, 2013

Farmers bring a slice of country life to Tokyo

With Tokyo Tower as a backdrop and being home to some of Tokyo's most famous nightclubs, several foreign embassies and upscale clothing stores, Roppongi has all the flash and glamor missing from slow-paced, rustic country life. Fields and farms have no place in the steel-and-concrete labyrinth of Roppongi Hills or the nightclub-lined streets congested with partygoers. Instead of the chirping of birds or the growl of tractors at work harvesting fields, visitors to this area in central Tokyo are more likely to hear the thump of club music or the screech of sports cars.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Sep 12, 2013

East-West sweets are a favorite fusion feast

In Japan, single-flavored foods are sometimes just too monotonous to attract new customers, and so snack companies are constantly going back to the planning board to come up with a hot new flavor of potato chips and chocolate. Often their inspiration comes not only from the Western origins of those snacks but also from Japanese cuisine, and so convenience-store and supermarket shelves in this country are filled with fusion treats: bites that bring together the best flavors of East and West.

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

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

Students ‘study abroad’ on island of Suo Oshima

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