Our guest is Sawako Okochi who is the co-chef and co-owner of Shalom Japan, which she opened in 2013 with her husband and co-chef, Aaron Israel.  Shalom Japan is unique because Sawa and Aaron combine Japanese and Jewish food cultures on one menu. The unique concept has proven successful as they celebrate the 10th year of Shalom Japan.  They also have just published a beautiful book titled “Love Japan – Recipes From Our Japanese American Kitchen”.  In this episode, we will discuss how Sawa and Aaron met and decided to open a restaurant together, the overlapping and contrasting ..read more

Our guest Takashi Sato is the ８th generation family member of Sanjirushi Jozo in Mie Prefecture and the president of San-J International in the U.S.  Sanjirushi Jozo has been making soy sauce and miso since 1804, and in 1978 the company decided to expand its business to the U.S. Now, 45 years later, San-J is one of the most familiar soy sauce brands in the U.S. and you may have seen its labels at Whole Foods Market, for instance.  Soy sauce is a quintessential ingredient of Japanese food, but many of us don’t know the different types and their unique flavors. San-J specializes in T ..read more

Our guest is Marco Moreira who is the chef/owner of 15 EAST @ Tocqueville in New York.  He joined us in Episode #28 and discussed his fascinating background, including how the young Brazilian man came to New York and became a sushi chef, and shared his deep knowledge of Japanese food culture.  Marco has run multiple highly successful restaurants in New York with a wide variety of influences from Japanese, French and Brazilian flavors.  No restaurant was unaffected by COVID but Marco navigated tremendous challenges well and opened a new restaurant called 15 EAST @ Tocqueville ..read more

Our guest is Nori Nakamura who is the owner and winemaker at Noria, a unique winery in California.  When we eat Japanese food, we almost automatically think to pair it with Japanese sake or Japanese beer.  On the other hand, Japanese sake has become so popular globally that you can find it at Michelin-starred, non-Japanese restaurants outside of Japan these days.  Nori decided to break the preconception and now is making beautiful wine that pairs perfectly with Japanese food.  In this episode, we will discuss how Nori, who used to be in the high-end hotel industry in Ja ..read more

Our guest today is Naoko Takei Moore, who is the chef and owner of Toiro Kitchen. She is an expert in Donabe, or Japanese traditional earthen cookware, and through Toiro Kitchen, Naoko introduces global food lovers to the world of Donabe.  She is also the co-author of “Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking”, published by Ten Speed Press.  Donabe has a long history and has been an important part of Japanese food culture. Naoko is a precious figure to learn from all about Donabe.  In this episode, we will discuss what exactly Donabe is, how superior Donabe is com ..read more

Our guest is Elizabeth Andoh, who already joined us 11 times and shared her truly deep insight into traditional Japanese food culture.  Elizabeth is a food writer and Japanese cooking instructor based in Tokyo, and she has lived in Japan for over 50 years. She runs the culinary arts program called A Taste of Culture, which offers a great opportunity for non-Japanese people to explore Japanese culture through its food.  She is also the author of 6 cookbooks, including the award-winning “Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Kitchen”, “Kibo: Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku”, and ..read more

Our guest is Kotaro Hamada who is the 6th generation of Hamada Shuzo in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Hamada Shuzo has been making shochu, the Japanese traditional spirit, since 1868.  Hamada Shuzo’s quality is highly recognized not only in Japan but also abroad and its shochu brands called Daiyame 25 and Daiyame 40 have received multiple prestigious awards, including the Gold Medal for Daiyame 40 at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in 2022.  Japanese sake has once lost its popularity domestically due to various reasons such as declining alcohol consumption among the ..read more

Our guest is Zach Mangan who is the co-founder of Kettl, the Japanese tea importer and distributor based in New York and Fukuoka, Japan. He is also the author of the fantastic book about Japanese tea, “Stories of Japanese tea: The Regions, the Growers, and the Craft”. And in September 2021, he opened a beautiful tea shop and gallery in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which is now one of the coolest sections of New York.  Zach joined us in Episodes 44 and 264 and talked about his fascinating, somewhat accidental path to becoming a tea expert and his love and passion for tea.  Japanese tea is ..read more

Our guest is Craig Mod who is a writer, author, and photographer based in Japan. Also, according to his website, he is a "walker". And we will talk about what it means.  Craig has spent over 20 years in Japan and has produced a lot of valuable work, capturing Japanese daily life objectively as well as being an insider. His insight into Japanese culture is impressive and I have learned a lot from his curious observations.  In this episode, we will discuss how Craig got into Japanese culture, his unique perspective of Japanese daily life, how walking helps him to discover the depth o ..read more

Our guest is Yumi Komatsudaira, who is a recipe developer, food stylist, culinary instructor, and the president of K-Seaweed. Yumi grew up outside Tokyo, playing and snacking in her family’s seaweed factory.  When we hear seaweed, many of us may think of the weeds by the beach that do not look particularly delicious, or even edible. But it is like looking at weeds coming out of the pavements on busy city streets. What we are talking about here about seaweed is the equivalent of plants from well-managed farmlands.  In Japan, seaweeds are quintessential ingredients for their rich uma ..read more