Shows / Japan Eats!
Japan Eats!
What is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!
Episodes
Japan Eats!Proving Them Wrong with Precision: A Woman in Sushi
Our guest is Nikki Zheng, the chef at Sushi Akira https://sushiakiranyc.com/, an intimate 12-seat omakase restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Nikki…
Japan Eats!From Vietnam to New York: The Story Behind Pizza 4P’s
Our guest is Kazuya Kubota, who is the Global Brand Director of Pizza 4P’s https://pizza4ps.com/. Pizza 4P's is truly a unique concept. It goes far beyond…
Japan Eats!Dokidoki: Innovative Sake & Shochu Cocktails In Japanese Tachinomi Vibes
Our guests are A-K Hada and Christian Suzuki-Orellana, who opened a fascinating cocktail bar Dokidoki https://www.dokidokinyc.com/ in Brooklyn, New York in…
Japan Eats!Palate Project: Making Japanese Sake More Accessible to Americans
Our guest is Genki Ito, who founded the unique online sake shop Tippsy Sake in 2018. He joined us in Episode #254 in February 2022 and discussed its innovative…
Japan Eats!Why Is Japanese Wine So Hot Right Now?
Our guest is Nick Rowan, author of Japanese Wine, a fantastic, comprehensive book on Japanese wine. The Japanese wine industry and culture have been developing…
Japan Eats!Making Waves in the Latte-Driven Matcha Boom: An Italian Woman Introduces Authentic Japanese Tea Culture
Our guest is Silvia Mella who is the owner of Sorate in New York. Sorate is a unique Japanese green tea company, which sells premium Japanese tea through…
Japan Eats!Food Is The Foundation Of Our Mindfulness: Zen Monk Masaki Matsubara
Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara, who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and impressive…
Japan Eats!Crafting Shogun-Selected Barrel Aged Soy Sauce For Over 330 Years
Our guest is Hideatsu Shibanuma who is the 18th-generation president of Shibanuma Soy Sauce, which was founded in 1688. Shibanuma Soy Sauce has specialized in…
Japan Eats!Discovering Real Japan: The Oldest Izakaya, Fermentation Lab And Singing With Japanese Bluegrass Musicians
Our guest is George Padilla who plays a key role in multiple exciting Japanese restaurant and hospitality businesses in New York, including Rule of Thirds…
Japan Eats!Konbini Culture: Unwrapping Japan’s Unique Convenience Stores
Our guest is Gavin Whitelaw https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/gavin-h-whitelaw who is the Executive Director of Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at…
Japan Eats!Discover America’s Largest Japanese Whisky Collection at Teruko
Our guest is Brian Evans who is the Director of Bars at Sunday Hospitality Group https://www.sundayhg.com/, which operates 12 popular hospitality concepts in…
Japan Eats!Chef Tadashi Ono: Serving The Essence of Japanese Cuisine For Three Decades
Our guest is Tadashi Ono who is the executive chef at Teruko https://hotelchelsea.com/dining-and-bar/teruko at The Hotel Chelsea in New York. Tadashi's career…
Japan Eats!An American Winemaker's 35-Year Journey Helping To Shape Japanese Wine Culture
Our guest is Bruce Gutlove, who is an American-born winemaker based in Hokkaido, Japan. The Japanese wine industry has been flourishing, particularly in the…
Japan Eats!What Makes a Michelin Star Sushi Restaurant?
Our guest is Cheng Lin who is the chef/owner of Shota Omakase https://shotaomakase.com/ in Brooklyn, New York. After nearly three decades of studying and…
Japan Eats!Teaching Kids How To Cook And Eat Healthy Food (With Fun!)
Our guests are Mayumi Uejima-Carr and Debra Samuels. Mayumi is the President of TABLE FOR TWO USA https://usa.tablefor2.org/ and Debra leads the program…
Japan Eats!A Humane Catch: How Ikejime Benefits Fish, Flavor And The Planet
Our guest is Andrew Tsui who is the founder and president of The Ike Jime Federation https://ikejimefederation.com/ based in Maryland. Ikejime is a unique…
Japan Eats!Nozomi Mori: A Female Sushi Chef Breaks New Ground In L.A.
Our guest is Nozomi Mori who is the chef/owner of the sushi bar Mori Nozomi https://www.morinozomi.com/ in Los Angeles, which opened in 2024. She got into the…
Japan Eats!Global Kura: Japanese-American Sake Collaborations
Our guest is Timothy Sullivan who has over 17 years of experience teaching about sake. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai by the…
Japan Eats!What Is The Difference Between Japanese Restaurants In Japan And The U.S.?
Our guests are Yusuke Fukuzaki and Ryo Yamazaki, co-owners of SSAW www.ssawbrooklyn.com/ in Brooklyn, New York. The duo opened SSAW in November 2024 to serve…
Japan Eats!Ask The 18th Generation Priest: What Is Zen And How Do You Practice It Daily?
Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and impressive…
Japan Eats!‘Read The Room’ Mindset: What Makes Japanese Culture Unique?
Our guest is Joshua Walker who is the President and CEO of Japan Society https://japansociety.org/ in New York. Joshua has a very intriguing background. He was…
Japan Eats!Waltz: Japanese Cocktail Culture Expressed in Seasonality
Our guest is Gento Torigata https://gentotorigata.com/ who is the owner and mixologist of Waltz https://waltzbar.uk/ in East London. After diverse culinary and…
Japan Eats!Pioneering Sustainable Plant-Based Protein With Koji
My guest today is Tim Fronzek who is a co-founder of Nosh.bio https://www.nosh.bio/ based in Berlin, Germany. Plant-based protein has been gaining attention…
Japan Eats!Inspiring The World With Japanese Fermentation Culture And Traditions
Our guest is Takashi Sato who is the 8th generation family member of Sanjirushi Jozo in Mie Prefecture and the president of San-J International…
Japan Eats!The Spirit of Japan: Passing Down The Tradition Of Shochu In The Modern Era
https://yamatozakura.com/ https://www.thespiritofjapan.com/ Our guests are Stephen Lyman and Joseph Overbey who have produced the documentary The Spirit of…
Japan Eats!SingleThread: Weaving Japanese And Californian Ethos Together
Our guest is Kyle Connaughton, who is the chef/owner of SingleThread https://singlethreadfarms.com/ in California. SingleThread is a very unique farm…
Japan Eats!From Masa To Nami Nori: A Culinary Journey of Chef Taka Sakaeda
Our guest is Takahiro Sakaeda who is the chef/partner of Nami Nori https://www.naminori.us/. Nami Nori is a unique concept of temaki sushi bar that serves…
Japan Eats!A Japanese Toji Dedicated to Making Sake In America For Over 20 Years
Our guest is Takumi Kuwabara who is the toji or brewmaster at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon. SakéOne (https://www.sakeone.com/) is a unique sake brewery. It…
Japan Eats!After Two Michelin Stars In London, A Chef Returns To Japan To Reimagine Kaiseki
Our guest is Yoshinori Ishi who is the executive chef and producer of Auberge TOKITO https://www.aubergetokito.com/en/ in Tachikawa, Tokyo. Chef Ishii’s…
Japan Eats!Cooking Authentic Kaiseki Cuisine in New York For Two Decades
Our guest is Isao Yamada who is the chef-owner of Yamada https://www.yamadanewyork.com/ in New York. He was classically trained in Kyoto as a Kaiseki chef and…
Japan Eats!Merging French And Japanese Cuisines In Harmony
Our guests are Rahul Saito and Mitsu Nagae. Rahul is the owner and Mitsu is the co-owner and executive chef at l’abeille https://www.labeille.nyc and l’abeille…
Japan Eats!A Ginza Sushi Chef Who Connects Authenticity And Evolution
Our guest is Takatoshi Kadowaki who is the chef-owner of Sushi Kadowaki https://sushi-kadowaki.jp/eng/ in Tokyo. He started his sushi-chef training at 17 and…
Japan Eats!A Career In Sake: Curating Sake Lists, Collaborating With Breweries And Educating Future Professionals
Our guest is Daniel Bennett who is the sake sommelier at Sushi-san www.sushisanrestaurant.com and The Omakase Room at Sushi-san www.theomakaseroom.com in…
Japan Eats!Heavensake: Traditional Sake Made In The Style of Champagne
Our guests are Régis Camus and Carl Hirschmann, co-founders of Heavensake https://www.heavensake.com/, which was founded in 2016. Heavensake is truly unique…
Japan Eats!Hilo Beverly Hills: Earnest Pursuit Of Deliciousness With Hawaiian Hospitality
Our guest is Hilo Mahelona who is the chef and founder of Hilo Beverly Hills https://www.hilobh.com/ in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in Hawaii under…
Japan Eats!Noma Kyoto 2024 Recap And The Future Of Noma
Our guest is Thomas Frebel who is the creative director at Noma https://noma.dk/. Noma is the famed restaurant in Copenhagen with numerous accolades, including…
Japan Eats!How A Bowl Of Ramen Changed The Whole Life Of An American
Our guest today is Tim Anderson who is a chef and food writer based in London. Tim’s early interest in Japanese food led him to global adventures in L.A…
Japan Eats!The First Sake Brewery In The U.K. Promotes The True Market Value of Japanese Traditions
Our guest is Kumiko Hashimoto who grew up in the family of the 200-year-old sake brewery in Osaka. She now plays a key role at Dojima Sake Brewery…
Japan Eats!Mandaracha In Kyoto: A Frenchman’s Quest For Japanese Tea
Our guest is Alexander Nicolau who is the founder of Mandaracha https://www.mandaracha.com/ in Kyoto, which opened in 2019. Originally from France, Alex fell…
Japan Eats!The Joy Of Making Soy Sauce With A Winery Partner in Bordeaux
And my guest today is Toshio Shinko who is the fifth-generation owner of Marushin Honke in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1881 and…
Japan Eats!Merging Michelin-style French Cuisine And Japanese Home Cooking Seamlessly
Our guest is Emily Yuen who is the executive chef at Lingo https://www.lingobk.com/, a unique Japanese American restaurant in Brooklyn, New York. Emily has an…
Japan Eats!The First Japanese Culinary School Opened In London
Our guest today is Yoshihiko Shida who is the chief Instructor of Tokyo College of Sushi & Washoku London www.sushicollege.uk, which opened in September 2024…
Japan Eats!What Is Ikigai? Restaurant Ikigai Exemplifies The Idea
Our guest is Rafal Maslankiewicz who is the chef at Ikigai www.ikigai.nyc in New York, which opened in July 2024. Ikigai is a very unique concept. First of…
Japan Eats!Shojin Ryori: Healthy, Sustainable Japanese Plant-based Diet
Our guest is Kakuho Aoe https://www.instagram.com/kakuhoaoe_nakamichi0316/ who is the chief Buddhist priest of the Ryokusenji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Kakuho…
Japan Eats!Japanese Rice: A Culinary Delight And A Symbol Of Spirituality
Our guest is Jun Mattison who is the assistant manager at The Rice Factory New York https://trf-ny.com/. The Rice Factory New York is an importer, wholesaler…
Japan Eats!Sushi by Scratch: America’s Own Omakase Sushi
Our guest is Phillip Frankland Lee who is the chef/owner of Sushi by Scratch. Sushi by Scratch Restaurants began in Los Angeles and New York marks its tenth…
Japan Eats!Boken Adventures: Connecting Centuries-Old Sake Breweries And American Tables
Our guest is George Kao who is the head of sales at Boken Sake https://www.drinkboken.com/ based in New York. Boken Sake is a unique concept. The company…
Japan Eats!What Is Anko: The Key Ingredient of Japanese Sweets
Our guest is Ririko Tatsumi who is the founder of Annn based in New York. Annn is truly a unique concept. Traditional Japanese sweets are called Wagashi. One…
Japan Eats!Tips For Pairing Sake And Non-Japanese Food
Our guest is John Gauntner who is one of the world’s leading non-Japanese sake experts and educators. He has been writing and lecturing about sake since 1994…
Japan Eats!Yama Seafood: Forward-minded Authentic Japanese Seafood Purveyor In America
Our guest is Nobu Yamanashi who is the president of Yama Seafood based in New Jersey. Founded in 1980 by his father Kengo Yamanashi, Yama Seafood has been one…
Japan Eats!A Delicate California Wine Made To Be Paired with Japanese Food
Our guest today Xander Soren who is the founder of Xander Soren Wines https://xandersorenwines.com/ . Xander Soren Wines is a unique boutique California Pinot…
Japan Eats!Bringing Japanese Premium Ingredients To Non-Japanese Chefs In The U.K.
Our guest is Stuart Turner who is the Founder & CEO of SushiSushi https://www.sushisushi.co.uk/ based in Sheffield in the United Kingdom. Stu founded…
Japan Eats!Former Chez Panisse Chef Inspires (And Is Inspired by) Food Communities in Japan
Our guest is Jerome Waag who is the former chef at the legendary farm-to-table restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. Jerome moved to Tokyo in 2016…
Japan Eats!Japanese Wine Is Getting Exciting!
Our guest is Shiho Tanaka who is the head sommelier at Tsukimi, the Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant in the East Village, Manhattan. The restaurant offers…
Japan Eats!Trained By Masters From Age 15: A Japanese Chef Shares the Tradition on the Global Stage
Our guest is Makoto Okuwa, who is the chef/partner of multiple, highly popular Japanese restaurants in the U.S. and other major cities in the world, including…
- Japan Eats!
Mouthfeel: The Key To Understanding Japanese Food Culture
Our guest is Elizabeth Andoh, who joined us 14 times and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture. Elizabeth is a food writer and…
Japan Eats!I Bought A Kominka (Vintage House) In Japan
Our guest is Hannah Kirshner who is a food stylist and author of Water, Wood, and Wild Things published in 2021. She joined us in Episode #223 to discuss her…
Japan Eats!Takoyaki: Another Addictive Japanese Comfort Food
Our guest is Karl Palma, who is the chef and owner of Karl’s Balls based in New York City. His mission is to introduce the soul of takoyaki, which is one of…
Japan Eats!The Inspiring Nordic Restaurant Noma Evolves With Japanese Food Culture
Our guest today is Thomas Frebel, the creative director at Noma. Noma is the famed restaurant in Copenhagen with numerous accolades, including three Michelin…
Japan Eats!Ask Sake Samurai Tim Sullivan: What Sake To Drink Now
Our guest is Timothy Sullivan who is the Director of Education and lead instructor at the Sake Studies Center at Brooklyn Kura. He has over 16 years of…