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August 28, 2025
 

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LIFE

Food & Drink

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Shinji Mizutani opened Tanikoretani in August 2024, after converting a dilapidated shophouse in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa into a retro-look "izakaya" tavern.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Behind Tanikoretani’s quiet facade, a lively world of sake-fueled food
A chance encounter with a two-story rental space led Shinji Mizutani to set up a vibrant tavern in Tokyo’s Kiyosumi-Shirakawa neighborhood.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Germany's first sakemaker offers a bold brew of ideas
Yellowish and high in acidity, German sake won't please the purists, but open-minded consumers, especially wine drinkers, may find something appealing.
LIFE / Food & Drink
From a piquant paste to a crisp crust, sesame shines in many forms
Packed with historical nuggets and inspirational recipes, Rachel Simons' debut cookbook offers a rich, entertaining dive into the Japanese kitchen staple.
Chef Kei Kobayashi is France's only Japanese chef with three Michelin stars.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 15, 2025
In Paris, chefs Chizuko Kimura and Kei Kobayashi make their mark
By Kyoko Nakayama
One is the world’s first Michelin-starred female sushi chef, while the other is France’s only three-Michelin-starred Japanese chef.
Fukagawa Distillery's bar offers a view of the distillation still behind its walls.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Aug 10, 2025
In a coffee-mad neighborhood, a gin distillery is a clear alternative
By Melinda Joe
Located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Fukagawa Distillery wants residents to “think of gin as their local drink."
At Himawari Shokudo 2, chef Hozumi Tanaka serves Italian-inspired fare with a focus on Toyama produce, such as this appetizer of lightly blanched "hotaru ika" (firefly squid) served atop mixed wild plants and a crepe prepared from "yamato-imo" yam.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 8, 2025
At Himawari Shokudo 2, Italian food with a Japanese soul
By Robbie Swinnerton
Punching above its own weight, the intimate restaurant is one of the growing number of quality establishments that are helping to cement Toyama's status as a dining destination.
A staff inspects a distillation pot still at Suntory's new Osaka Spirits & Liqueurs Craft Distillery, which will focus on gin production and help Suntory capture a bigger slice of the fast-growing gin market.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 3, 2025
With a new distillery, Suntory makes a spirited move on gin market
By Weiwen Lin
Currently in operation, the high-tech facility in Osaka will open to the public next year with a focus on its popular Roku gin variants.
Meguro Hiiragi's fish-shaped "taiyaki" pastry comes with a thin and crisp batter that sheaths a piquant adzuki bean paste.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Top 5
Aug 1, 2025
In Tokyo, fish-shaped ‘taiyaki’ treats offer a sea of options
By Russell Thomas
Part waffle, part pancake, the iconic pastries showcase the creativity of their bakers by flaunting a variety of fillings that range from adzuki bean paste to cream cheese.
"Simit," a Turkish bagel, is one of the Turkish-style breads found at Pide, a small bakery that also specializes in sourdough.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 27, 2025
Communal knead: A Turkish baker in Kamakura draws queues
By Alex Michael Dwyer
Encouraged by the warmth of the local community, Burcu Alkurt opened Pide, a bakery that specializes in sourdough and a variety of Turkish and Nordic-style breads.
Juicy and refreshing, marinated tomatoes make the perfect side dish to cool you down this summer.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Jul 27, 2025
As summer soars, the tomato offers a lesson in staying bright and cool
By Makiko Itoh
Peel them, soak them, chill them. Juicy, marinated tomatoes make the perfect side dish to bring down the heat this season.

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 Post to stop accepting some parcels for shipment to the U.S.
Japan Post's UGX will still be available for many rejected packages.
Japan aims to tighten rules for business manager visas from October
The number of foreign residents with business management residency status had reached a record 41,615 as of the end of 2024.
Tokyo releases AI-generated video of Mount Fuji erupting
A screenshot from an AI-generated video showing what could happen to Tokyo if Mount Fuji erupted
Character-crazed Japan has little appetite for Labubu
A pop-up advertisement for the newly opened Chiikawa Park in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood demonstrates how the country is chockful of cute characters — to the detriment of trends like Labubu.
Koshien’s dark summer forces reckoning for high school baseball
Koryo High School players greet their cheering section after beating Hokkaido’s Asahikawa Shiho in the first round of Summer Koshien on Aug. 7. The school withdrew three days later as a bullying scandal enveloped the team.
Is Kishida plotting a return of the king? Or would he rather stay a kingmaker?
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida chairs a plenary session at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama on Aug. 21.
Japanese prefectures break with labor ministry on minimum wage
The ministry of labor has suggested a 6% minimum wage increase, but most prefectures reporting so far are opting to go slightly higher.
Philippines quietly deepening ‘unofficial’ defense ties with Taiwan
Filipino soldiers take part in a flag-raising ceremony on Mavulis Island during a visit by the Philippines' Armed Forces chief of staff, in Batanes, the Philippines, in June 2023. Batanes, a group of idyllic islands at the country’s northernmost tip, sits about 160 kilometers from Taiwan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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