May 2014

mirin-in-glass1.jpg

Did you know that mirin used to a a high class, expensive beverage rather than a cooking ingredient?

Filed under:  japanese ingredients washoku writing elsewhere japan times

goryo_hamaguchi.jpg

The life of a remarkable man, who used his wealth to help people in many meaningful ways.

Filed under:  japan earthquake japanese culture history
IMG: Lining up for ramen (lamen) in Paris.

There's an article in Food and Wine called 7 Reasons Why Tokyo Is the New Paris, and a post that follows up on that on the Wall Street Journal's Japan RealTime blog titled Paris vs. Tokyo: Which Has Better Food and Drink?. As a Tokyo native who currently lives in France (although not in Paris), I thought I have some qualifications for adding my 2 cents on the subject. While the focus of both articles is on which city is "better" for an American tourist who is interested in food to visit, I'll like to expand on that a bit.

Filed under:  food travel france japan travel