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May 04, 2024
 

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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.
For Melinda Joe's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
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 down bowls of noodle soup with fish balls. Amid stalls pungently redolent of fermented stinky tofu — an iconic Taiwanese snack — hawkers sell local versions of Japanese dishes such as tempura, kushiage (breaded, fried morsels on skewers), and takoyaki (octopus dumplings) made with baby octopus, their curled tentacles peeking out of the dough like fleshy, purple chrysanthemums.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jan 20, 2018
Sake company Aramasa Shuzo seeks new edge with techno partnership
Last month, techno DJ Richie Hawtin — who came to fame in the 1990s under the alias Plastikman — threw a party at The Hangar, a cavernous sake den in Tokyo's hipster Nakameguro neighborhood.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 31, 2017
20 Questions: The best answers of 2017
What brought you to Japan? I came here for the magic. Osaka is home to some of the best close-up magicians in the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2017
With its tachinomiya tradition, is Tokyo ripe for a pintxos revolution?
Enjoy these treats the Basque way — with a drink or two, a chat with strangers, and then move on to the next bar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2017
Vladimir Mukhin offers Japan a culinary reminder that Russia is just next door
Chef Vladimir Mukhin, who is spearheading a culinary revolution in Russia, speaks about the relationship between the two countries and the future of Russian cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Nov 11, 2017
Whirlwind wine romance led to a brand of her own
Early in her career, winemaker Atsuko Radcliffe aspired to brew sake. Fate, however, had other plans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 28, 2017
Top Philippines chef Margarita Fores chows down like a local in Tokyo
Margarita Fores was recently in Japan to give Tokyoites a taste of her Italian-inflected Philippine cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Oct 7, 2017
'Doburoku': Reviving a rustic sake tradition
Sachio Egawa is a Renaissance man of sorts.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 7, 2017
Spanish chef Eneko Atxa: 'You have to break a lot of plates before you can dance with them'
Eco-friendly Basque chef on the opening of his new Tokyo eatery.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 30, 2017
Slovenia's Ana Ros on Japanese cuisine and gender equality among chefs
Early one September morning, Ana Ros, Slovenia's most famous chef, is receiving a crash course in Japanese seafood at Tsukiji fish market.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Sep 9, 2017
Tokuyoshi adds some creative cocktails to the mix
Japanese chef Yoji Tokuyoshi has been pushing boundaries with cuisine that reflects his philosophy of intercultural cross-pollination since 2015 — the year he opened his eponymous restaurant, Tokuyoshi, in Milan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 5, 2017
Suhring twins bring new German cuisine to Tokyo
Few had heard of new German cuisine when twin chefs Thomas and Mathias Suhring began serving elevated takes on kazespatle (Bavarian pasta made with cheese) and smoked trout at their restaurant, Suhring, in Bangkok, at the start of last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2017
Enterprising Aomori apple farmer pivots to boutique hard cider
On a steamy June afternoon, the apple trees in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture are laden with fruit. Now, the young apples are hard green spheres the size of golf balls, but come autumn they will be plump, sweet and ready for harvest.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 24, 2017
Entertainment entrepreneur Steve Plotnicki: 'Learn how to analyze what you're eating'
Opinionated About Dining founder on his musical background, algorithms and what makes a decent restaurant critic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2017
Association aims to raise the profile of sparkling sake
Around the world, the sound of popping corks brings just one thing to mind — Champagne. However, a new organization of sake producers is working to tweak that image.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
Don’t worry about global population collapse
Most projections show the world will hit peak humanity in the 21st century as people choose to have smaller families and women gain power over their own reproduction.
Japan pharma startup developing world-first drug to grow new teeth
A new tooth is seen in a ferret's mouth after it was administered a drug to stimulate the growth of tooth buds.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.

Podcast

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

Longform

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

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle
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