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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants 2021
Aug 21, 2021

Uozen: Where hunting, fishing and nature find harmony

Swapping the concrete jungle of Tokyo for rural Niigata Prefecture, chef Kazuhiro Inoue has created inventive menus starring locally sourced produce, seafood and game meat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Feb 8, 2020

Rococo Tokyo White: Japan's fine dining finally has a luxury beer

Keith Martinez and Jerrel Brantley, co-founders of the boutique beer company Maison Rococo, fell in love with Japan during a trip to Tokyo in 2015. Enchanted by the country's culture of hospitality and cuisine, the two friends, who had met at the University of Chicago, sensed an opportunity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 1, 2020

'Untangling my Chopsticks': Searching for the origins of Japanese fine dining

Engagingly written and well-researched, Victoria Abbott Riccardi's culinary memoir, 'Untangling My Chopsticks,' traces her year immersed in Kyoto's kaiseki culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 23, 2019

Japan's unviable whaling nationalism

The cultural nationalist project to re-imagine whaling as a national culinary culture will likely fail since it appears unlikely that whaling can become a viable commercial enterprise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Sep 14, 2019

Tenshinhan: A made-in-Japan omelette with Chinese influences

Tenshinhan — a crabmeat-filled omelette over rice covered in a sweet-and-savory sauce — is a flavorful Chinese-influenced Japanese dish that will soon become a weeknight staple.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 13, 2019

Chef Rachel Dow's fresh take on 'new American' fare at Tableaux

Tableaux, a Daikanyama restaurant of over two decades, is revitalizing itself with American chef Rachel Dow and her refined take on 'new American' cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 18, 2018

58 years and 140,000 students: The art of the Tsuji Culinary Institute

Over the course of nearly 60 years, the Tsuji Culinary Institute has turned out 140,000 chefs and patissiers, in the process becoming the largest culinary school in Japan.
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...
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
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2017

Michelin dishes out new stars in 2018 Tokyo guide

The new edition includes 82 new restaurants, including five new two-star establishments and 23 entities garnering single stars, Michelin said on Tuesday.
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 / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 2, 2017

Sougo: A next-generation take on temple cooking

It's a dilemma faced by all practitioners of traditional arts and crafts. To keep their heritage alive, should they rigorously adhere to time-honored practices? Or bend a few rules and innovate? Chef Daisuke Nomura chose the second route. Sougo, his excellent restaurant in the heart of Roppongi, is the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Gourmet Trails
Jul 22, 2017

The Kumano Kodo: Hot spring-boiled eggs and ancient bento along the trail

I alighted at Kii Tanabe Station to hike the Kumano Kodo, a wooded trail through Japan's spiritual heartland in Wakayama Prefecture that leads to the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano: Hongu Taisha, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 3, 2017

Japan's culinary professionals rank high at Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards

On the evening of Feb. 21, chefs from nine of Japan's top restaurants ascended the stage to receive honors at the fifth Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony in Bangkok.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 8, 2016

The herb diet of Okinawa's long-living elders

Young and middle-aged Okinawans are among the most enthusiastic consumers of junk and processed food in Japan. American fast food and a sugar-rich diet have burdened islanders — who once lived staggeringly long lives — with the highest body-mass index rates in the country. Middle-aged men, in particular,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 12, 2015

Food for thought: A traditional Okinawan diet may help prolong life

The view that, if there is a Garden of Eternal Life, it is likely located in Okinawa, may be a touch exaggerated but few places offer better models for the correlation between food, health and longevity than Japan's southern islands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2014
Sep 10, 2014

Ranking restaurants, food a centuries-old tradition

When it was announced some years ago that the Michelin Guide had awarded more stars to restaurants in Tokyo than any other city it covered, it made international headlines. But rating and ranking restaurants in Japan is nothing new. In Tokyo and in Japan in general, people have been writing about and...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2014

A rational conversation on whaling

On both sides of the Japanese whaling debate, there is a pressing need for critical reflection on the logic used and the realities presumed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 16, 2014

Luxury dining at the Imperial Hotel

The Imperial Hotel Tokyo has invited Laurent André, executive chef at Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, one of the most renowned luxury hotels in Paris, to prepare a special fair from Jan. 20-26 at the hotel's traditional French restaurant, La Brasserie.
Of the many new openings in Tokyo in 2024, the elegant Sushi Oya run by Yoji Oya stands out from the pack.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 29, 2024

From Michelin stardom to humble meals, Tokyo dining had an eclectic 2024

As traditional pubs close and inbound tourism spurs openings, this year saw plenty of new faces make their mark on the city’s dining landscape.
With abundant rains and formidable humidity in summer, Japan does not seem to be an ideal land for wine, but winegrowers in Yamanashi Prefecture have gradually been able to adapt.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 26, 2025

Of sake and spirits: Indulging in Yamanashi’s best

Visits to Grace Wine’s vineyard and the Suntory Hakushu Distillery turn a tour of the mountainous prefecture into a gourmet treat.
"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

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.
Heavy traffic on the nation's highways is just as much a part of the Bon holiday period as visiting ancestral graves.
LIFE / Bilingual
Aug 7, 2025

Brave the Bon holiday traffic to discover tourism gems off the beaten path

Learn how to ask about secret spots, regional dishes and specialty gifts using natural Japanese structures on your summer travels.
Beniya Mukayu, a traditional "ryokan" inn located in Ishikawa Prefecture, considers itself at "the heart of onsen towns, local residents, farmers, fishermen, sake brewers and artisans" — all of which need new, sustainable methods of serving visitors to survive into the future.
LIFE / Travel
Aug 16, 2025

In preserving Japanese hospitality, ‘details are everything’

As part of a new UNESCO initiative, the elite Relais & Chateau hospitality group will empower its Japan-based members to preserve the country’s “omotenashi” culture.
An Okinawan stir-fry, "sōmen champurū" is your answer to a quick and easy lunch.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Aug 31, 2025

A fuss-free Okinawan stir-fry to boost your energy in the heat

While they are usually eaten cold this season, thin “sōmen” noodles offer a delicious, savory alternative when fried with a pork and vegetable mixture.
Rice farmer Toru Wakui in his rice paddies in Ogata, Akita Prefecture, in August
JAPAN / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2025

For Japan's rice growers, postwar policy shifts yet to deliver stable future

Amid renewed tightness in supply and a spike in prices, officials have been urging farmers to plant more, marking yet another reversal in Japan's 80 years of agricultural policy.
Participants sample sake at an event in London on Friday.
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2025

Sake industry steps up promotion in Britain

The Times newspaper has published a feature on sake, and local supermarkets have begun selling the drink.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.