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August 16, 2026
 

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Weiwen Lin
What once was a summertime treat you could get for a few coins is becoming a luxury item worth several thousand yen.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 9, 2026
?6,000 for shaved ice: Is luxury ¡®kakigš­ri¡¯ worth it?
The summer staple is being elevated into an extravagant treat by dessert purveyors ¡ª with varying results.
Japan's cocktail scene underperformed at the Asia's 50 Best Bars awards, announced Tuesday from Macau.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 29, 2026
Japan shut out of Asia¡¯s 50 Best Bars top 10 for first time
Japan¡¯s reduced showing reflects Asia¡¯s rapidly expanding cocktail scene, as standout bars emerge well beyond the region¡¯s traditional hubs.
Originally created as a sweeter improvement on existing traditional Japanese confectioneries, "anmitsu" has since become a symbol for the arrival of scorching summer days.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 26, 2026
A symbol of summer, this Japanese dessert brings sweet relief
Not even 100 years old, ¡°anmitsu¡± has nonetheless become a symbol of Japan¡¯s oppressive summers ¡ª and the sweet relief that a spoonful of the dessert provides.
Miki Tanaka says that a key part of her service as a sommelier is keeping a close eye on how her customers peruse and engage with the wine list when they first sit down at her restaurant.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 19, 2026
Kansai¡¯s first Michelin-selected sommelier knows how to read a room
In April, Miki Tanaka was given the Michelin Guide¡¯s first-ever sommelier award for Kyoto and Osaka.
La & Le, a new Parisian-style cafe in the posh Minamiaoyama neighborhood, includes two oversized lamps meant to evoke the iconic streetlights of the French capital.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
After 20 years at the French capital¡¯s iconic Cafe de Flore, Tetsuya Yamashita returned to Tokyo to open a restaurant that captures the spirit of traditional Parisian cafes.
With a golden-brown broth and a host of classic toppings, Rairaiken's shoyu ramen carries on a legacy dating back to 1910.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Japan¡¯s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
Fifty years after it closed its doors, Asakusa Rairaiken is now back to court a new generation of ramen lovers with the shoyu-seasoned broth it created in 1910.
A new global ranking puts Osaka Itami Airport as not only best in Japan but Asia's top travel hub in terms of punctuality, passenger experience and facilities.
LIFE / Travel
Jun 19, 2026
Osaka Itami Airport named Asia¡¯s best in new travel rankings
Fukuoka Airport and Nagoya¡¯s Chubu Centrair International Airport rounded out Japan¡¯s top three airports graded on punctuality, passenger experience and facilities.
A single bottle of Yamazaki 50 Year Old (right) has set a new high-water mark in the secondary market for Japanese whisky.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 2, 2026
Rare Yamazaki whisky sells for record $1 million
Bottled exclusively for a club in Nagoya and autographed by Suntory¡¯s chief blender, the 50-year-old Japanese whisky sold for almost twice its estimate.
Assemblage, a blending technique foundational to Champagne, is almost never used in sake but serves as the core of Heavensake.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 31, 2026
The Frenchmen who gave sake a Champagne soul
Carl Hirschmann and former Champagne cellar master Regis Camus lean on techniques from the wine world to produce a sake that has a foot in both Europe and Japan.
With six three-starred restaurants in this year's Michelin guide, Kyoto continues to build on its reputation as a gourmet destination.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 28, 2026
Gourmet capital Kyoto now has six three-Michelin-starred restaurants
The latest edition of the Michelin Guide Kyoto & Osaka sees Miyamaso earn three stars ¡ª the first time since 2020 that Kyoto has a new three-starred entry.
At Park Hyatt Tokyo's revamped Girandole, chef Kojiro Tsutsumi (left) is tasked with executing Alain Ducasse's vision of a French brasserie.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2026
Girandole by Alain Ducasse is a stunning ode to brasserie fare
The renowned French chef and restaurateur¡¯s latest venture in Tokyo hits all the right notes, thanks to the deft skills of chef de cuisine Kojiro Tsutsumi.
This year's Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list spans 17 cities across Asia, with Penang, Ubud and Kasauli appearing among the entries for the first time.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 26, 2026
Tokyo earns seven spots on Asia¡¯s 50 Best Restaurants list
Sazenka and Maz climb ranks, but Osaka¡¯s La Cime stole the show as Japan¡¯s highest-ranked restaurant.
Anzu Kojima (right) and Francois Proust of Three Grapes wine bar want guests to keep an open mind when they try Japanese wines.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 25, 2026
¡®For Japanese wine, you must forget everything you know about wine¡¯
Leave your preconceived notions of vino at the door of Three Grapes, a new bar offering in-depth, guided tastings of domestic wine.
Expect beautiful latte art, such as this bonsai drawn by barista Pietro Vannelli, at Vannelli Coffee.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 3, 2026
From Italy to Japan: Vannelli Coffee opens in Tokyo
With fancy gadgets and fragrant brews, the Italian specialty coffee brand brings some pizzazz to an already sophisticated java scene in the Japanese capital.
At Peter, The Peninsula Tokyo's revamped flagship restaurant, chef Yohan Da Costa balances French and Japanese elements in his modern French cuisine.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 15, 2026
How Yohan Da Costa is redefining Peter at The Peninsula Tokyo
After 12 years, The Peninsula Tokyo¡¯s flagship restaurant has swapped its steak-and-grill theme for a French concept led by up-and-coming chef Yohan Da Costa.
Bacha Coffee's outlet in Tokyo is the Singapore-based upscale coffee chain's first shop in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2026
With a dose of old-world charm, Bacha Coffee brews its way to Tokyo
The boutique coffee chain¡¯s first outlet in Japan offers all the trademarks of the brand: fragrant javas, stylish interiors and delicious croissants.
Driftwood Bar & Grill, part of Fairmont Tokyo's trio of bars on its 43rd floor, offers creative cocktails and panoramic views of Tokyo's Minato Ward.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 13, 2026
At Driftwood, cocktails flow to the sounds of city pop
Fairmont Tokyo¡¯s new bar concept is an open space of three sky-high bars, including a classy area serving cross-cultural sips and a listening bar playing retro hits.
Juzo Itami¡¯s ¡°Tampopo¡± was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn¡¯t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
CULTURE / Film / Longform
Nov 22, 2025
Eat, slurp, love: ¡®Tampopo¡¯ turns 40
Four decades on, Juzo Itami¡¯s film remains unsurpassed as a wicked and delicious social commentary on Japanese society told through the lens of food.
Tatsuya Nakadai
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 11, 2025
Renowned Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakadai dies at 92
The actor was best known for his role as an aging warlord in Akira Kurosawa¡¯s ¡°Ran.¡±
The Onodera Food Service group, which manages Sushi Ginza Onodera and "kaiseki" specialist Nadaman, has merged a sushi "omakase" (chef's choice) into a kaiseki to create a new dining experience.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 7, 2025
At Nadaman, a traditional Japanese multicourse meal gets a new format
The Onodera group has taken a bold step in merging two of its dining concepts ¡ª sushi and ¡°kaiseki¡± haute cuisine.
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Authorities urge continued caution after heavy rain in Chiba leaves eight dead
A local resident walks past a 7-Eleven convenience store in a flooded area after heavy rain in the city of Oamishirasato, Chiba Prefecture, on Friday.
Takaichi drops ¡®remorse¡¯ in her first war memorial address
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks onstage during a memorial service ceremony marking the 81st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Saturday.
U.S. to tell partners they must pick sides in AI race with China?
People march as they protest against Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative, in Manila on Thursday.
Japan¡¯s inflation paradox is creating winners and losers
Chieko Sugai at her home in Murakami, Niigata Prefecture
Forty-five meters down, a diver races to record a fleeting moment of WWII history
Kingo Wakasa photographs the kamikaze plane wing section he discovered at the USS Emmons wreck site.
Takaichi needs Aso on her side to solidify position in LDP
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends a Liberal Democratic Party meeting alongside LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Vice President Taro Aso in Tokyo earlier this month
Ikarigata closer to emulating older brother Fujinokawa than many think
The future Fujinokawa (third from left) and Ikarigata (right) compete against each other at ages 5 and 3, respectively.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Japan¡¯s changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.

Podcast

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

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Japan¡¯s earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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