Tokyofoodcast

San’in Trip: Day Three-Fished out! And Monsters Too!

After the crabfest at Gyosantei, we started our third day at a hotel which also serves as a dormitory for sailors by the port of Sakaiminato. Although not a soul besides us seemed to be wandering the harbor or the streets on that sunny spring morning, the clear sky at this working port town was filled with the “clang, clang, clang” from the shipyard echoing through an otherwise very peaceful neighborhood.

San’in Trip: Day Two–Follow the crab

“You are lucky, it’s the last day of the crab season…. Where did you come from?” the owner asked as we were leaving. Then the natural flow of question lead to why. “To visit Chiyomusubi Shuzo”, we responded. “Haaa, Chiyomusubi-san????”

Sake of the week #023: Azuma Rikishi Daiginjo Dokutsu Jukusei-shu

As we were sitting at the counter at a cozy bar, Ishii, sipping sake and munching on deep-fried satsuma age the owner made that day, our eyes were set on the series of beautiful pictures of Azuma Rikishi cave on the big screen. After seeing how the bottles are aging in the huge cave where sake and tiny bats co-exit very happily, how can you resist the temptation to try an Azuma Rikishi tasting set?

Tokyofoodcast’s fastfood lunch picks under ¥400

The other day, I was sitting at CoCo Ichi for a quick lunch and realized that ¥400 could can get me a relatively decent lunch around Tokyo. So, I decided to pull together a post with my fast food lunch picks under ¥400. Just because I’m being cheap, doesn’t mean I don’t have some standards…

Ultimate summer food and sake pairing: Part 2

I loved everything that night, but I have such a soft spot for Kochi from my trip to Kami-no-kae. My favorite pairing for the night was a bit of lightly-warmed Tsukasa Continued from my previous post: Ultimate summer food and sake paring – Part 1…

Botan Hacchu Funasaku with katsuo-no-tataki. I was lucky to be sitting next to my sake otaku friend who always has his low-tech portable kan gadget to warm up the brew. Grilled hoya with Urakasumi Junmai Nama was a tie. What’s your favorite?

Ultimate summer food and sake pairing: Part 1

What do the brewers pick for food to match with their sake?
The other day, I was at an event at Takara, Yurakucho, where ten breweries from all around Japan brought their sake and their local food that’s in season. They plan to have similar events every throughout the year in Tokyo.

Dine on shojin ryori in temples near Tokyo

If you are not ready to take the plunge and spend a day or more at a monastery, there are a couple places you can go to more casually enjoy this special meal in a temple environment. I think the whole experience becomes more than just the meal, such as you might get at a restaurant.

Shochumimai

Summer greeting card from Sasano This summer greeting card, or shochumimai, from Sasano brought me some momentary relief from the unbearable summer heat and humidity. I just closed my eyes and pictured the cool counter in front of a big blue tank of fish swimming until they became my dinner. Then I imagined myself standing [...]

Takasakiya Honten: Kamakura Sake Shop and Bar Serves a Tall Glass

Gizaemon Junmai Ginjo Glass ¥500 at Takasakiya Honten. Whether it is the Big Buddha or pursuit of zen that bring you to Kamakura, wouldn’t a glass of sake be a good way to unwind and reflect on the day before you hit the road? Conveniently located just a few minutes from JR Kamakura Station, Takasaki [...]

Ota Wholesale Market: A Great Tsukiji Alternative

Back in the midst of the Norovirus scare that spread across the whole nation, we went ahead and planned an oyster dinner for some friends at home anyway. But during that winter of 2007 it appeared that raw oysters had simply disappeared completely from markets and restaurants because a health report from the government somewhat [...]