For Nancy Singleton Hachisu's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
As the snow melts and spring approaches, sansai (mountain vegetables) start to flourish. These greens are the true harbingers of Japanese spring, offering a refreshingly bitter counterpart to the typically mild vegetality of other spring vegetables such as peas and asparagus. Without exception, when ...
Japan's vegan temple food, shōjin ryōri, is rooted in hundreds of years of tradition. What keeps the practice alive and relevant today?
With the end of Japan's decades-long government salt monopoly, the country's artisanal salt-makers are once again thriving.
Thanks to a few key producers who make yuzu koshō responsibly and ethically, Japan's yuzu koshō boom shows no signs of letting up.
According to Katsuyasu Ito, chef and owner of L'Aureole Tanohata, Hidemitsu Kikuchi, is the last person producing imo no kona (potato flour) commercially in Japan. Working in Tanohata, a tiny village on the Sanriku coast of northeastern Iwate Prefecture, Kikuchi should be heartily applauded for ...
Shottsuru is a fish sauce made from sandfish in Akita Prefecture. When its commercial production plummeted in the early 1990s, one man made it his mission to revive the local product.
For five generations, family-owned Wadaman sesame has used their exceptional roasting process to produce top-notch sesame oils and products.
Nattō aficionados embrace its fermented nose and are addicted to its nutty, yet sharply complex flavors. But the fermented beans are not loved by everyone.
Masashi Matsuda, who died in September, became a folk hero and media darling for his fight to maintain the integrity of his product.
A free-range turkey supplier in Ishikawa Prefecture offers nostalgic North Americans a taste of home.
