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April 28, 2026
 

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Melinda Joe

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Melinda Joe
Melinda Joe is an American journalist in Tokyo. A certified wine and sake professional, she writes about Japanese drinks in her Kanpai Culture column for The Japan Times and blogs at tokyodrinkingglass..
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant¡¯s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga¡¯s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 27, 2026
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
Kyle Connaughton reflects on a career shaped by "kaiseki," California farming and a lifelong pull toward the country that inspired him.
Rooms at Capella Kyoto, a new luxury hotel located steps from one of the city's most historic geisha districts, start from ?394,200 per night for two people.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 24, 2026
Capella Kyoto continues ancient capital¡¯s luxury hotel boom
The newly opened lodging occupies the site of Shinmichi Elementary School between the Kaburenjo Theatre and Kenninji, Kyoto's oldest Zen Buddhist temple.
Rosewood Miyakojima's Choma bar is a stylish beachfront venue.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Feb 23, 2026
At Choma, drinks come with a shot of folklore
Rosewood Miyakojima's new beachfront bar shakes up inventive cocktails inspired by the island's myths and traditions.
Takashi Murakami's collaboration with champagne maker Dom Perignon marks the artist's first-ever foray into wine label design.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 27, 2025
A Champagne with notes of peach, citrus and Takashi Murakami's flowers
The Japanese artist has lent his floral motif to two limited-edition bottles of Dom Perignon ¡ª just the kind of hip bubblies you¡¯ll want to pop at the year-end party.
Bartender and raconteur Shingo Gokan wants his new Tokyo bar, Sangai, to tell the story of Japan's terroir.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Sep 23, 2025
With new Tokyo bar, Shingo Gokan's bartending journey comes full circle
After a nomadic career, a charismatic bartender now finds home to be a vibrant source of tippling inspiration.
At Kuro Mame, baristas customize the coffee according to the guest's preferences.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 29, 2025
Sip a bespoke coffee for ?4,000 at Kuro Mame
Always wanted to have a barista customize your brew? Make a beeline for this premium cafe.
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" ¡ª 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.
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
Located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Fukagawa Distillery wants residents to ¡°think of gin as their local drink."
Milpa's inventive food combines Mexican cooking techniques with Japanese ingredients
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 11, 2025
With fine dining, Milpa frees Mexican food from the grips of the taco
The Michelin-starred restaurant in Osaka wants to show Japanese diners that its cuisine has a creative breadth beyond tortillas.
At modern French restaurant Crony, sommelier Kazutaka Ozawa impresses guests with his thoughtful wine pairings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025
Kazutaka Ozawa: ¡®The best wine is the one that brings you joy'
The oenophile, who recently earned the title of Asia¡¯s Best Sommelier, shares his thoughts on domestic sips and Tokyo¡¯s vino trends.
Canes & Tales' Art Deco-inspired interior is designed by renowned architect Andre Fu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025
Osaka¡¯s Canes & Tales raises a glass to bygone charms
With its creative cocktails and classy air of a gentlemen¡¯s club, Canes & Tales is a sophisticated addition to the city¡¯s thriving drinks scene.
Time Out Market Osaka, located in the basement of Grand Green Osaka's South Building, is the London-based media and hospitality business' first Asian edition of their food market.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 4, 2025
More than a food court: Time Out Market curates Osaka¡¯s best flavors
After whetting appetites in cities like New York and Dubai, Time Out Market, the food event of the eponymous magazine and media group, has opened its first Asian edition in Osaka.
After getting her career started in Japan, Courney Kaplan has become one of Los Angeles' leading sake evangelists from her base at Ototo.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Apr 6, 2025
In Los Angeles, Courtney Kaplan says sake is having a moment
Los Angeles has no shortage of Japanese restaurants, but Ototo makes the country's national drink an easy sip.
At the new L'Abysse Osaka, Yannick Alleno both pays homage to and casts aside the tradition around Japan's national dish.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 5, 2025
Now in Osaka, Yannick Alleno wants ¡®flavors people have never experienced¡¯
Opened in late October, Sushi L'Abysse Osaka is the Michelin-starred chef¡¯s first outpost in Asia.
Gucci¡¯s newest boutique bar is moody, chic and delightfully louche.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 15, 2024
From Florence to Osaka, Gucci¡¯s newest concept bar oozes style
Gucci Giardino Osaka carves out its own identity through a fusion of Italian and Japanese influences set against the backdrop of the city¡¯s fast-paced, urban landscape.
Discovered in the 1930s, the Geisha coffee plant came to worldwide fame in the early 2000s and now represents some of the best coffee on the planet ¡ª Tokyo's top cafes included.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2024
The Geisha bean is the leading lady of Tokyo's coffee scene
Named for a region of Ethiopia (and not Japan¡¯s kimono-clad performers), Geisha has become the crown jewel of Tokyo¡¯s flourishing specialty coffee scene.
The wellness amenities at Six Senses Kyoto are just the latest example of hotels in Japan bolstering their relaxation offerings to attract guests.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 12, 2024
Can't choose a Kansai hotel? Perhaps a wellness screening will help you decide.
The holistic offerings at Six Senses Kyoto and Four Seasons Osaka are part of a growing wellness travel trend sweeping Japan.
Yoshinobu Kimura is not afraid to break the accepted norms when it comes to devising surprising new sips for Sushi M.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Oct 6, 2024
Sake, coffee and fish bones: Anything goes for Sushi M¡¯s cocktails
Yoshinobu Kimura's experiments with coffee, cocktails and sushi are just one facet of his boundary-pushing philosophy.
At Sushi Kadowaki, a full list of New World wines offers a new way to enjoy a classic Japanese meal.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Sep 1, 2024
To accompany your counter sushi, why not try a New World wine?
Chef Takatoshi Kadowaki isn't afraid to recommend a California wine to accompany your premium sushi dinner.
Holly Graham's bartending journey has literally taken her around the world, and her latest stop is Azabu-Juban's Tokyo Confidential.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jul 28, 2024
The star-studded bar ¡®so incoherent that it¡¯s coherent¡¯
Tokyo Confidential is a buzzy new watering hole launched by ascendent bartender Holly Graham in the capital¡¯s upscale Azabu-Juban neighborhood.
Magnitude 6.2 quake shakes Hokkaido
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake, measuring an upper 5 on Japan¡¯s seismic intensity scale, struck Hokkaido before 5:30 a.m. on Monday.
Beyond the hub-and-spoke: Japan quietly emerges as a secondary connector
Commander of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment, Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, and commander of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Amphibious and Mine Warfare Force, Rear Adm. Ikeuchi Izuru, attend the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on April 20.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
The language around Japan¡¯s new bike rules leaves no room for ¡®maybe¡¯
Under the new blue ticket system, cyclists will have one week in which to pay fines for minor traffic violations.
China holds live-fire drills in waters near Luzon as Japan joins military exercises in Philippines
Head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner Jr., speaks during the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on Monday.
Beyond the hub-and-spoke: Japan quietly emerges as a secondary connector
Commander of the Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment, Maj. Gen. Toshikatsu Musha, and commander of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Amphibious and Mine Warfare Force, Rear Adm. Ikeuchi Izuru, attend the opening ceremony of the U.S.-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercises, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on April 20.
The Japanese dietitian who keeps the Blue Jays¡¯ engines running
Sports dietitian Yuka Sanui works behind the scenes to ensure Blue Jays players get the most out of their bodies when they step on the field.
The American chef reconnecting with Japan through a Kyoto restaurant
SoNoMa chef partner Kyle Connaughton (right) and chef de cuisine Keita Tominaga both have ties to Sonoma County in Northern California, the restaurant¡¯s namesake. Connaughton rose to prominence there with SingleThread, while Tominaga¡¯s father ran a Japanese restaurant in the region.
Hokusai¡¯s erotic art on display at a Kabukicho noh theater
¡°The Dream of the Fisherman¡¯s Wife,¡± a rarely exhibited print by Hokusai, will be on display at the Shinjuku Kabukicho Noh Theater for a limited time, from May 1 to 10.?
Inkonbini: Slice-of-life, cozy gaming from Japan¡¯s convenience stores
Alongside the simplified management of a convenience store, Inkonbini asks players to help a small cast of regular shoppers with not only their shopping but problems in their personal lives.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Projects like the BuddhaBot aim to re-create dialogue once lost to time, raising questions about whether AI can extend the teachings of Buddha or merely simulate them.
Can AI replace a priest? Japan¡¯s temples and shrines are testing the limits.
By Alex K.T. Martin

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