"Simply Donabe: Japanese One-Pot Recipes" is the latest cookbook from Naoko Takei Moore, an evangelist of the traditional clay pots who now runs a dedicated kitchen-supply store full of the cookware in Los Angeles.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 21, 2026
Can a single clay pot really elevate everything you cook?
In “Simply Donabe,” clay pot evangelist Naoko Takei Moore pushes for cooks everywhere to embrace this traditional implement in every part of their kitchens.
Kodaiji Wakuden, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Kyoto, has found a new side dish for its cuisine: "waka" poems.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 21, 2026
‘Kaiseki’ fine dining with a side of classical poetry
Kyoto fine dining restaurant Kodaiji Wakuden’s experiment with traditional poems is an interesting, if uneven, experiment in aesthetics.
Opened in March, Bar Trench Kyoto is the first Kansai outpost of the Ebisu cocktail institution.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 14, 2026
A Tokyo cocktail institution sets its sights on Kyoto
Opened in March, Bar Trench Kyoto is the first non-Tokyo outpost of the Ebisu cocktail institution.
Tomomi Duquette is the owner of Snow Satoyama Sake, one of just three breweries that have opened in Niigata Prefecture since 1953.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 14, 2026
Newcomer to hallowed Niigata sake scene is already winning awards
Sake evangelist Tomomi Duquette is breathing new life into the heartland of sake brewing.
The signature piece in chef Koji Takahira’s "nigiri" selection is "shiro-amadai" (white tilefish) — one of the most prized species from the Seto Inland Sea on account of its sweetness, rich umami and firm texture.
In Matsuyama, sushi more than worth the pilgrimage
When chef Koji Takahira took over Kurumasushi from his father, he also transitioned to serving Edomae-style “nigiri” sushi — a move that has paid dividends.
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.

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival