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April 19, 2024
 

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Philip Harper
For Philip Harper's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 25, 2017
Sake brewer Philip Harper: 'You need to learn humility in the face of nature'
British native on the need for patience during the brewing process.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 30, 2008
Aged sake from distillery in Chiba packs 20 years of flavor
After the period when the aging of sake was rarist, some breweries and retailers rediscovered the genre by accident. Stock that for some reason was left over would sit forgotten or neglected in a dusty corner, only to be later rediscovered after having turned from a remaindered caterpillar to a glorious jukuseishu butterfly.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 30, 2008
Good drinks for those who wait
In most sake breweries, the brewing season is over by May, a month marked by the announcement of the National New Sake Awards, the biggest public prize to which a brewer can aspire. (Those interested can taste some of the prizewinners at the National Sake Fair in Tokyo's Ikebukuro on June 11th.)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 29, 2008
Sampling an aromatic sake great
The prizewinning Eikun: Kinsho-shu sake comes from Kyoto-based Saito Shuzo, the only brewery to bag the gold prize at the annual National New Sake Awards an astounding 10 years in succession. Ichigin won the accolade in 2007.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 29, 2008
Daiginjo — the peak of the brewing season
Look at the labels of pricier sake and you will almost certainly find the word ginjo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 18, 2008
Brewing sake amid a cacophony of miracles
Being a 41-year-old male puts me at the end of my yakudoshi, a period when Japanese believe all kinds of calamity are due to befall me and mine. Running to form, a family crisis meant I had to fly home to Britain on Dec. 23. I was back at work before the new year, but these few days off were still more than the total in my preceding 16 winters as a sake brewer. So, for the first time since joining the bottom rung of an old-fashioned brewing team in 1991, I found myself coming into a sake brewery in winter from the outside, so to speak.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 30, 2007
Winter's the season for sake nouveau
Sake breweries are mostly dead quiet over the summer, and are just now getting into full swing as the chilly weather makes for more brewing-friendly conditions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Oct 12, 2007
Britain is finally waking up to the unmistakable smell of sake
I recently returned from Britain, where I took part in some events sponsored by the Japan Central Brewers' Association and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. I was impressed by the quality and the sheer variety of sake offered by Japanese brewers and enthusiastic local distributors such as Tazaki Foods.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Jun 29, 2007
Taste receptors bow to flavor god
It used to be said that the human tongue perceived flavor in the form of four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Then a Japanese scientist, Ikeda Kikunae (1864-1936), detected a rich, satisfying taste common to meat, cheese and Japanese dashi (stock) — among other things — which couldn't be placed among the traditional four. He called it umami.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
May 11, 2007
Different regions, different sake
Sake has gone global in recent years and, as might be expected, drinkers new to Japan's signature beverage often look for parallels with more familiar tipples when choosing what to imbibe.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

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