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July 05, 2025
 

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Melinda Joe

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Melinda Joe
Melinda Joe is an American journalist in Tokyo. A certified wine and sake professional, she writes about Japanese drinks in her Kanpai Culture column for The Japan Times and blogs at tokyodrinkingglass.blogspot.com.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 16, 2019
Cacao: Sensory infusions of chocolate and alcohol
Journey Company, the first international brand to carry Colombia's official mark of approval for their chocolates, collaborates with Japanese artisans to release limited-edition sweets infused with flavors like matcha green tea and umeshu (plum wine). To further the sensory experience, at their Chocolate Bank in Kamakura they offer after-hours chocolate and alcohol pairings at a tiny bar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 9, 2019
Cacao Hunters knows where the best chocolate is: Colombia
Cacao Hunters Japan partners with indigenous communities in Colombia to source heirloom varieties of cacao — and provide farmers with stable, high incomes — for the Cacao Hunters line of premium chocolates.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 12, 2019
A new year taste for Tokyo's best speciality sake bars
With the start of a new year comes a new set of resolutions. An increasingly popular choice is Dry January, a campaign led by the British charity Alcohol Change UK, in which participants vow to abstain from drinking for 31 days. Millions of people around the world have been documenting their virtuous...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 1, 2018
At Ikoyi, Philosopher-chef Jeremy Chan gets to the core of deliciousness
The word 'intense' is frequently used by friends and colleagues to describe Jeremy Chan, the 31-year-old philosopher-chef behind restaurant Ikoyi, which serves global interpretations of West African cuisine in the center of London.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 24, 2018
Pheasant's Tears: Preserving Georgia's wine tradition
On Dec. 1 and 2, John Wurdeman will visit Japan with a group of Georgian wine producers to participate in the first Tokyo edition of Rootstock, Sydney's popular natural wine festival. He's not sure if they will sing, but one thing is certain: There will be no shortage of viniferous magic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 10, 2018
The SG Club: Cocktail history in the making
Shingo Gokan's new bar in Tokyo's Shibuya ward, The SG Club, is a living piece of historical fiction that delights in cross-cultural references. The initials 'SG' stand for Sip and Guzzle, and the space is divided into two bars, each with a different vibe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 13, 2018
Sake embeds itself abroad with new U.K. brewery
Dojima Sake Brewery, which opened this past September on the grounds of Fordham Abbey, about an hour outside of London, is brewing quality Japanese sake in a chic, contemporary setting.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 22, 2018
For Tohru Nakamura, fusion is in the blood, not just the food
At Geisels Werneckhof in Munich, Tohru Nakamura — whose father is from Japan and mother is from Germany — displays his bicultural heritage to winning effect, in a style that combines Japanese and German traditions in subtle yet surprising ways.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 8, 2018
Cheers to beers connecting northern Europe and Japan
J.L.S. Trading imports an eclectic range of craft beers from various microbreweries in the Baltics and Scandinavia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 18, 2018
Belon chef to showcase his cooking in Tokyo collab
Known for his precise, classically French approach to cooking, Daniel Calvert will join Yusuke Namai of restaurant Ode in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward for a collaboration dinner on August 29.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Aug 11, 2018
New brews from old Tokyo
Tokyo-area craft sake breweries gather to celebrate local specialties at the Greater Tokyo Sake Festival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
Jul 21, 2018
For chef Shinobu Namae, cutting waste is priority
At cafe Bricolage Bread & Co. and restaurant L'Effervescence, chef Shinobu Namae is finding creative ways to reduce and repurpose food waste.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 7, 2018
At Mugaritz, sommelier Guillermo Cruz pairs sake and the avant-garde
Although Basque Country in Spain might not be your first thought when it comes to Japanese brews, two-Michelin-star Mugaritz is helping diners fall in love with sake by offering multiple pairings with each imaginative dish.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 9, 2018
It's not what's in the glass of sake, it's the glass itself
Riedel's new Junmai Glass elevates drinking junmai, or 'pure rice,' sake to a multisensory experience.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Food Sustainability in Japan
May 26, 2018
Calling on chefs to lead the charge against overfishing
Chefs for the Blue and its partners, NGO Sailors for the Sea Japan and consulting firm Seafood Legacy, are part of a small but growing movement to promote sustainable seafood in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 12, 2018
Put the sake down, warm weather means craft beer
Although Yona Yona Beer Works is a staple for great craft beer in Tokyo, there are plenty of other hidden gems. Global beer-drinking afficionados share some of their favorites.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 7, 2018
Hong Kong and Macau, the sake gateways to China
With tastes for premium Japanese sake on the rise, new opportunities to drink sake abound in Hong Kong and Macau.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 10, 2018
Celebrating the Tokyo weekend with a glass of natural wine
Jose Moya (a.k.a. "the Spanish Hipster," a moniker that refers to both his country of birth as well as the name of his food blog) is, to put it mildly, a natural wine snob. As a purveyor of natural wine, he has a professional interest in the topic (as well as high standards).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2018
In Taiwan, top chefs are building on a long history of culinary exchange with Japan
At 9 p.m. on a Saturday night, the Raohe Street Night Market in downtown Taipei is heaving. A line snakes in front of a stand selling caramelized pork buns near the grand, red gate that marks the entrance, and groups wander through the rows of vendors, munching on skewers of grilled squid and slurping...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 10, 2018
At high-end restaurants, sake is the sommelier's new best friend
At restaurants around the world, sake is increasingly becoming the beverage of choice for challenging pairings. Ingredients such as artichoke, asparagus and fermented foods are kryptonite to most wines.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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