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LIFE

Food & Drink

Brooklyn Kura's Catskills, a "junmai daiginjō" (sake with rice polished down to at least 50%), is made with water from the New York region of the same name.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Mar 28, 2025

New York's Brooklyn Kura becomes first U.S. sake exporter to Japan

By Weiwen Lin

The brewer’s initial exports are “relatively small,” but it hopes drinkers in Japan are "open to trying" American-made sake.

At No. 4, three-Michelin-starred Sezanne took home the title of best restaurant in Japan in this year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants rankings.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Mar 26, 2025

11 in Japan win Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant honors, but Gaggan is tops

By Robbie Swinnerton

The modern French cuisine of Sezanne was good enough for best in Japan and No. 4 in all of Asia.

"Udo" (Japanese spikenard) is one of the many vegetables that reach their peak of flavor right as spring comes around.

LIFE / Food & Drink / Washoku Essentials

Mar 23, 2025

Now is the time to discover this Japanese mountain vegetable

By Elizabeth Andoh

At its most flavorful now, the oddly shaped Japanese spikenard adds a juicy and crisp element to salads.

The peculiar combo of curry with green tea over rice topped with a pork or chicken cutlet is Haraiso Sparkle's signature dish.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Mar 23, 2025

At Osaka's Haraiso Sparkle, curry with a side of city pop

By Eric Millman

What began as a simple spice curry shop has now morphed into an offbeat, funky eatery.

Tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, Ventinove's location and sleek, angular architecture make for impressive destination dining.

LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants

Mar 16, 2025

At Ventinove, Tuscan specialties taken to new heights

By Robbie Swinnerton

A former Italian favorite in Tokyo now enjoys a renaissance in a bucolic village in Gunma Prefecture.

These two wild vegetables combine well to create a simple yet tantalizing side dish to any Japanese meal.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Mar 16, 2025

After a long winter, wild veggies can brighten up any dish

By Makiko Itoh

Edible vegetables foraged in Japan's countryside can be an easy way to add texture and freshness.

Air Canada has collaborated with chef Masaki Hashimoto (center) of Toronto's one-Michelin-starred restaurant Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto to create its new in-flight menu for its Signature Class.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Mar 12, 2025

Air Canada has a new 'kaiseki'-inspired menu

By Zoria Petkoska

The airline wants to give its customers ‘a real Japanese experience’ before they land in Japan.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.

The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan

By Johan Brooks

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment

Supporting women’s social participation is Cartier’s commitment

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