The world’s largest seafood market is moving in November. Following are a few basic need-to-know details on the move. It is not the whole market that is moving, just the jounai 場内 (inner market), which is the wholesale seafood section. The jougai 場外 (outer market) is staying and in speaking with many shop owners in…
Month: June 2016
Takenoko Bamboo Shoots
Takenoko bamboo shoots are in season at the moment. Many will go foraging in the mountains to harvest these. It is sad to report that recently four elderly have been killed by bears while collecting bamboo shoots in Akita prefecture. Here is an article from The Japan Times: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/06/13/national/japan-bamboo-pickers-defy-bear-attack-warning-despite-deaths/#.V2SQS-Z97uQ My father-in-law recently went to Yamanashi…
Temakizushi Party
A fun idea for entertaining at home is a temaki-zushi party. Hand rolls (手巻き寿司) are interactive and as each person makes their own rolls it can be a good way to keep everyone happy. Some supermarkets and department store seafood sections will sell the seafood already cut for the rolls, especially on weekends and holidays. Ingredients…
Futako Tamagawa Tonkatsu Keitei
Futako Tamagawa is a great area to visit if you want to do some shopping. There are several shops worth seeking out, notably Tsutaya bookstore and Takashimaya department store. Keitei is a tonkatsu shop in Takashimaya that serves a variety of vegetables with the breaded and deep-fried pork. I love the presentation of the julienned…
Tsukiji Market Tour with Shinji Sakamoto
Shinji recently took the author of the Sushi Geek blog to Tsukiji Market for a tour. Here is the write-up Mr. Sushi Geek did of Shinji’s Tsukiji Market Tour. His blog is filled with great sushi restaurants, not only in Tokyo, but also overseas. Some notes from clients after their tour with Shinji: “But please pass…
Umami International Symposium 2016
The International Umami Symposium 2016, was held in Yokohama on Sunday, June 5th. The presenters consisted of chefs and scientists and revealed many new insights. Some highlights from my notes: Fire and fermentation are two ways to change umami in food. At two months a baby can understand umami flavor and has an innate preference…
Japan’s Most Challenging Food
Chinmi. I am not a fan, not one bit. But my husband, Shinji, loves having some type of chinmi in the fridge at all times. Usually we have one or two types, but we recently traveled and Shinji picked up some along the way. Chinmi is fermented seafood, often including the guts or other parts of seafood…
Shinagawa Bar Marche Kodama Breakfast
Inside of Shinagawa Station is a branch of Bar Marche Kodama. It is in the part of the station that is a small mall called ecute. The store specializes in cured meats, pates, and sausages. I sometimes buy from the Shinjuku branch which is in Takashimaya depachika, and conveniently located near the wine shop. This…
Sausage Curry at Tsukiji Pyramid
One of the best curries I have had in a long time was at this German restaurant in Tsukiji. Yes, you read that correctly. A German restaurant at Tsukiji serving curry. But, this wasn’t just any curry. The meat is a German sausage, and for toppings everyone gets a quenelle-shaped German mashed potatoes with house-made…
Food Sake Tokyo 