Japan Eats!

Our guest is Kazuhiro Sakurai, the 4th generation and CEO of Asahi Shuzo, which is the maker of Dassai sake.    You may have heard of Dassai, because you can find it in many bars and restaurants worldwide.  Also, Dassai has appeared at important events.  For example, when Barak Obama visited Japan in 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gifted Dassai sake to the US president.  Dassai’s success did not happen overnight.  Kazuhiro and his father/the third generation Hiroshi Sakurai shifted the corporate philosophy drastically and since then, their innovative approach to sake production has inspired the entire industry.  In this episode, we will discuss why Kazuhiro decided to join his family business despite his earlier decision not to, the unique philosophy behind Dassai sake, Dassai’s upcoming sake brewery in New York, why Kazuhiro opened a Dassai tasting space with the late famous French chef Joel Robuchon in Paris and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Su

Our guest is Yoshi Tezuka, the 4th generation sushi chef at Matsunozushi in Tokyo, which was founded in 1910.  Yoshi is not just a great sushi chef, but also a global thinker.  Before he became a sushi chef, Yoshi spent years abroad as a professional ski guide as well as a backpacker and traveled to over 50 countries.  Now he cooks for a global audience worldwide on a whole variety of occasions, including the World Expo and the first lady luncheon at the G20 Summit.  He was invited by the British Royal family to cook for them as well.  Also, Yoshi actively educates students and tourists about sushi and Japanese culture through various programs.    In this episode, we will discuss why Yoshi decided to make sushi for an international audience, the challenges he faces in making sushi outside Japan, his philosophy of sustainability, how to pair fish with wine (Yoshi is a certified wine sommelier too) and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eat

Our guests are Stephen Lyman & Christopher Pellegrini who are the co-hosts of Japan Distilled, the fantastic new podcast about Japanese spirits.Japan Distilled started in December 2020.  The duo's conversations are fun and truly informative.  Stephen and Chris always tell the audience not just the basics but also in-depth history and background of Japanese spirits, which even most Japanese people wouldn’t know about.In this episode, we will discuss why Chris and Stephen started the Japanese spirit-themed podcast, what you should know about Japanese spirits beyond Japanese whisky, tips for buying and drinking Japanese spirits and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Michael Gerard who is the founder and president of Wildwood Ovens & BBQ (Instagram) based in California.  Michael manufactures various wood-fired cooking equipment including yakitori grills.  Yakitori is grilled chicken on skewers and its simplicity demands tremendous skills and experience of the cook, not to mention great equipment.  Michael is one of the very few yakitori grill manufacturers in the U.S. In this episode, we will discuss how Michael got into producing wood-fired cooking equipment, where his passion for high quality food comes from, what exactly yakitori is, a unique and powerful fuel used to make yakitori called binchotan and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Jon Broida who is the owner of Japanese Knife Imports based in California.  Before Jon founded Japanese Knife Imports in 2010, he had a successful career as a fine-dining chef and great knives were essential for his job.  He got so into Japanese knives that eventually he started the company and now offers outstanding products along with essential services such as knife sharpening and repairs.  In this episode, we will discuss how the American chef became interested in Japanese knives, how Japanese knives are different from western-style knives, Jon’s unique relationships with Japanese knife craftsmen, what Japanese knives you should have and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Philip Harper, the brewmaster and managing director of Kinoshita Shuzo in Kyoto, which was founded in 1842. Philip has been working in the sake industry for the last 30 years.  In 2007, he became the very first non-Japanese brewmaster at Kinoshita Shuzo.  Nowadays there are more non-Japanese workers in the sake industry but back then, it was a shockingly novel event! Philip has proven his remarkable talent and his outstanding products have won many awards.  Also, he has been inspiring the sake industry with refreshing new ideas like sake that is made to be drunk on the rocks. In this episode, we will discuss how Philip ended up living in Japan and eventually becoming a brewmaster, his unique style of sake making, the future of the sake industry and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at

Our guest is Don Mei who is the Director of Mei Leaf, an awesome tea company based in London.  Don also has a wonderful YouTube Channel called “Mei Leaf”, which has 80,000 subscribers.  His videos are extremely educational and uniquely fun based on his extensive knowledge of both Chinese and Japanese tea.  His global and analytical perspective helps viewers to appreciate tea even more.  In this episode, we will discuss various aspects of Japanese tea such as production, flavor and terroir in comparison with Chinese tea, Don’s intriguing path to become a tea specialist and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Kazumasa Nishikawa who is the 4th generation head master of the Nishikawa school of Japanese dancing, which has a history of 170 years. He is a dancer, producer, and director, creating numerous performances, teaching at 4 colleges. He is also a manager of the Nihon Odori Sports Science, a health program from the perspective of Japanese dance.Kaz is based in Aichi Prefecture, which is known for its distinctive food culture. Located between Tokyo and Osaka, its capital Nagoya may sound familiar to some of our listeners, but Aichi has not been discovered enough by most of us. In this episode, we will discuss Kaz’s interesting international background, why Japanese dance is good for your health, Aichi’s fascinating food products such as umami-rich miso and soy sauce, popular free breakfast programs in Nagoya and much, much more!!! Here is the link to Kaz's fascinating dance performance: https://youtu.be/nM50bfdICgk Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japa

Our guest is Winifred Bird who is a writer, translator, lifelong cook, and lover of plants, based in northern Illinois.  Winnie recently published a fabulous book called “Eating Wild Japan - Tracking the Culture of Foraged Foods, with a Guide to Plants and Recipes” from Stone Bridge Press.    When we talk about Japanese cuisine, we tend to think of dishes like sushi, ramen and kaiseki without considering enough about native ingredients that play a significant role in Japanese food culture.  One of the most important ingredients is sansai or edible wild plants.  Since two-thirds of Japan’s total land area is forested, you can find amazing seasonal edible plants throughout Japan.  Winnie is one of the very few people who discovered the charm of sansai and wrote a book about it in English, based on her experience of living in Japan for 9 years.  In this episode, we will discuss Winnie’s eventful life in Japan, what sansai is, why sansai is so important in Japanese food culture, delicious sansai dishes that you s

Our guest is Yarrow Lazer-Smith, a.k.a. Yarrow Slaps who is a visual artist and hip-hop musician as well as the co-director of SWIM Gallery in San Francisco.    Yarrow recently published “Ramen Forever – An Artist’s Guide to Ramen”.  There are many ramen-themed books, but this is definitely one the most intriguing and cool ones you can find.  It is packed with inspiring interviews with ramen-lover artists, tons of fun illustrations, amusing photos and novel recipes.  The book is a proof of how ramen has become universally popular.  20 years ago, who would have expected that such a casual, accessible form of Japanese cuisine will appeal to a global audience!In this episode, we will discuss Yarrow’s unique life perspective as an artist, how the cool painter and hip-hop musician got into ramen, what is common between art and ramen and much, much more!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy

Our guest is Hannah Kirshner who is the author of “WATER, WOOD, AND WILD THINGS”, which just came out on March 23, 2021 from Viking.Hannah has a lot of intriguing experiences in Japan. For example, she has worked as a bartender and as well as a kurabito, or sake brewer’s assistant, in the beautiful rural area of Ishikawa Prefecture called Yamanaka.  Now she calls it her second home.In her new book, Hannah insightfully describes Japanese traditional culture as well as how it is being revised by artisans in Yamanaka.In this episode, we will discuss how Hannah got into Japanese culture and ended up living in Japan, the charm of rural Japan like Yamanaka, the area's inspirational artisans she has worked with and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Brian Ashcraft who is a senior writer for the video gaming site Kotaku and a columnist for The Japan Times.  He is also the author of the 6 fascinating books including: The Japanese Sake Bible, Japanese Whisky, Japanese Tattoos and Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool.  Brian has lived in Osaka since 2001.  Throughout the two decades, he has insightfully observed and reported the uniqueness of Japanese culture to the world in English.  In this episode, we will discuss how Brian ended up becoming a prolific writer and journalist specialized in Japanese culture, his insight into various aspects of Japanese culture including sake, whisky, tattoos, schoolgirls and much much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Merry White who is the author of Coffee Life in Japan, an absolutely insightful and fascinating book about Japanese coffee as well as unique Japanese culture and society.  Merry also teaches courses on various topics including Japan, food anthropology, and urban anthropology at Boston University.Japanese people started drinking coffee fairly recently compared to their centuries-old custom of tea drinking, but Japan is the number five importer of coffee beans as of 2021.  Also, over the last century Japan has developed a remarkably unique coffee shop culture.  For example, you may have heard the word Kissaten, which is a distinctive style of coffee shop.  In this episode, we will discuss why Merry got into Japanese coffee culture, how Japanese coffee culture differs from the rest of the world, what functions coffee shops perform uniquely in Japanese society, the concept of Kissaten and much, much more! Image courtesy of Standart Magazine.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit pod

Our guest is Danny Taing who is the founder of Bokksu.  Bokksu means box in Japanese.  His company Bokksu delivers to your door the experience of tasting authentic Japanese snacks, candies, and teas sourced directly from generations-old small family businesses.  If you visit Japan, you will instantly know that Japanese people are quite obsessed with both savory and sweet snacks.  Elaborately packaged products are ubiquitous and you can easily get addicted to them.  In this episode, we will discuss how Danny got into Japanese snacks, why he decided to start a business to deliver them to your door outside Japan, unique Japanese snacks, artisanal producers he works with and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Andrew Centofante who is the co-owner and head brewer of North American Sake Brewery in Charlottesville, Virgina, which opened in 2018.  It is Virginia’s first and only sake brewery.  Despite its short history, the brewery has won the silver and bronze medals at the 2020 World Sake Challenge for its classic-style sake.  But Andrew also makes highly imaginative sake as well.  In this episode, we will discuss how Andrew got into Japanese sake, challenges in opening a sake brewery in Virginia, his innovative philosophy of sake production and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest today is Ian Chun who is the owner of Japanese online tea shop and community Yunomi.life.  The website is not just selling tea but highly inspirational and educational about Japanese tea and the underlying unique Japanese culture.  For example, you can meet tea producers on the designated webpage, which tells you each vendor’s detailed history, tea fields and manufacturing philosophy with beautiful images and videos.  In this episode, we will discuss how Ian got into Japanese tea, his philosophy of connecting people through tea, benefits of drinking Japanese tea, how to enjoy Japanese tea at home and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our my guests are Marc Matsumoto & Maki Ogawa.  Marc and Maki host a popular English cooking show called BENTO EXPO produced by NHK, the national public broadcaster of Japan.  They teach a global audience how to make great bento boxes.  The show is so popular that it is now in the fifth season.  Also, Marc and Maki recently published a fascinating cookbook about Japanese-style bento called “Ultimate Bento – Healthy, Delicious and Affordable 85 mix-and-match Bento Box Recipes.”  In addition to 85 recipes, there are useful tips about how to pack a bento box with step-by-step images, food safety, useful gadgets et cetera.  In this episode, we will discuss why Japanese bento is unique, why Bento so is important in Japanese culture, how to make delicious and nutritious bento boxes and much, much more! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ

Our guest is Atsushi Numata who is the chef and owner of Ni Japanese Deli at the Essex Market in the Lower East Side, Manhattan.  Ni Japanese Deli is unique because all the food he sells is very healthy and allergen-free.  He opened the deli in 2012 inspired by his newborn baby who suffered from a lot of allergies.  In this episode, we will discuss Atsushi’s intriguing childhood of growing up in a restaurant family, how his music career shifted to cooking, how he makes delicious allergen-free dishes and much, much more! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Sachiko Nakamichi who is the co-owner of Beniya Mukayu in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture.  Beniya Mukayu is a beautiful boutique hotel located in the famous hot spring area Yamashiro.  There are many hotels in the area but Mukayu is truly distinctive.  It has earned multiple accolades including the member status of Relais & Châteaux, which is regarded as the best of the best in the world of hospitality.  Not only that Mukayu was awarded the welcome trophy by Relais & Châteaux for its outstanding level of service.  But the success did not happen overnight.  When Sachiko joined the hotel in 1988, it was a mediocre, mass market-oriented place to stay.  In this episode, we will discuss why Sachiko got involved in the hotel business, how she miraculously transformed the unremarkable hotel to the world class house of hospitality, the concept of the Japanese style hospitality ""Omotenashi""  and much, much more!!!  Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support

Our guest is Marcus Consolini who is the CEO of Daimon Shuzo, a sake brewery in Osaka that was founded in 1826.  It is extremely rare to find non-Japanese management at a traditional sake brewery like Daimon.  In this episode, we will discuss Marcus' unique background, why and how he decided to manage the authentic sake brewery, what changes he has made at the brewery, what is special about sake and Japanese culture to him and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.