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September 01, 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
May 11, 2019
Phoenix Sake Collection: A tribute to music 'n' sake
In collaboration with brewery Tatenokawa, Inc., rock band Phoenix has released the Phoenix Sake Collection to celebrate the group's 20th anniversary.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 13, 2019
Sushi M: Shaking up the world of sushi through sake pairings
Ever since he was a young chef in his early 20s, Michimasa Nakamura has wanted to shake things up in the world of sushi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2019
Tokyo-based pastry chef named Asia's best
Patissier Fabrizio Fiorani was named Asia's Best Pastry Chef at the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Macau on March 26.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 9, 2019
Are native grape varieties the key to Japan's burgeoning wine industry?
Thanks to improved technology, greater winemaking know-how and an increased focus on native grape varieties, local wines have gone from sickly sweet to sophisticated and mature.
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.
Top Japan trade negotiator canceled U.S. trip over rice, report says
Ryosei Akazawa
‘Mount Fuji Lawson’ becomes a symbol of Japan’s overtourism problem
A couple poses for a wedding photo in front of a Lawson in the town of Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, on Aug. 25.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
The Nobel Prize and a testy phone call: How the Trump-Modi relationship unraveled
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greet one another at the start of a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington in February.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Sip a bespoke coffee for ¥4,000
At Kuro Mame, baristas customize the coffee according to the guest's preferences.
Japan is warming up to tattoos — just not permanent ones
Tattoos have a complex history in Japan, but new types of temporary ink are letting locals curious about body art experiment without the commitment.
YouTube Music Weekend is where Japan’s internet-born performers go global
Headlining the second day of YouTube Music Weekend is Vocaloid artist Kikuo, who, with 1.46 million YouTube subscribers, is one of the most popular artists in the genre.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.

Podcast

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

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From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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