Japan Eats

Our guest today is Akira Shimizu who is the associate professor of History at Wilkes University and his focus has been our favorite topic: food. Professor Shimizu recently published an intriguing book titled, “Specialty Food, Market Culture, and Daily Life in Early Modern Japan: Regulating and Deregulating the Market in Edo, 1780–1870”. The book features the very unique period of Japanese history. The Edo era was a more peaceful time than ever thanks to the strong leadership of the shoguns. But because of the strong shoguns, the food supply system was highly regulated and manipulated back then. Professor Shimizu unfolds how the system unfairly worked for small players and how they tried to change it with fascinating examples. In this episode, we will discuss how the shoguns managed to eat the best of the best foods in the market, how privileged merchants enjoyed and suffered their status at the same time, how ordinary citizens bravely challenged the system, lessons we can learn from the Edo period, and much,

Our guest is Andy Matsuda, the founder and master sushi chef of Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles, California. Traditionally, sushi-making was something not to be taught, but what you patiently learn by watching your master for years and years. But Andy’s work experience in the U.S. and deep understanding of the global sushi market led him to open the sushi school in 2002. Since then, many successful graduates have been offering sushi to the world and increasing its popularity even further. In this episode, we will discuss how Andy became a master sushi chef himself, why he decided to open a sushi school in the U.S., a life-changing event that triggered his decision to do so, what Sushi Chef Institute provides to students, episodes of successful graduates, 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.

Our guest is Blake Richardson who is the president and owner of Moto-i in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Moto-i opened as a sake brewery and brewpub in 2008. There are around 20 craft sake breweries in the U.S. now, but when Blake started Moto-i, there was not much information available about Japanese sake in English, not to mention other craft breweries to learn from. Blake also runs a sake rice milling company called Minnesota Rice and Milling, which is important for American sake brewers, considering difficulties in getting premium sake rice in the U.S. In this episode, we will discuss why Blake decided to open a sake brewery in Minneapolis, how he studied sake production, his sake-making philosophy, why he started the sake rice milling business, 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.

Our guest is Mehdi Alexandre Medhaffar, who is a kurabito, or a brewmaster’s support, at Terada Honke in Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo. Mehdi is Franco-Tunisian and he has made sake at five breweries in Japan for the last 8 years. Terada Honke is distinctively unique and known for its strong focus on natural sake-making. Here, we are not talking about a natural-oriented brewing style but a never-ending pursuit of minimum intervention to maximize the power of nature. The brewery was founded 349 years ago but its philosophy shifted towards natural fairly recently. 　In this episode, we will discuss why Mehdi decided to pursue his career in sake-making, why Terada Honke chose to become a natural sake brewer, its mind-blowingly unique sake, 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.

japan, japanese, japanese food, japanese cuisine, washoku, Japanese culture, japan eats!, Rintaro, Izakaya, sylvan Mishima Brackett, akiko katayama, heritage radio network, food radioOur guest is Sylvan Mishima Brackett, who is the chef and owner of Izakaya Rintaro in San Francisco’s Mission district. Shortly after its opening in 2014, Rintaro was included in Bon Appetit magazine’s Top 10 New Restaurant list and has been beloved by many diners for the last 8 years. Born in Japan and raised in California, Sylvan has a unique and beautifully balanced approach to Japanese food culture. He also worked for the iconic American chef Alice Waters for years who has deeply influenced his view of food. In this episode, we will discuss why the son of a Japanese temple carpenter decided to become a chef, Sylvan’s apprenticeship at traditional restaurants in Japan, how he integrates Japanese and American food cultures at his restaurant Rintaro, his favorite Japanese kitchen equipment, and much, much more!!!Are you a busine

Our guest is Marcin Miller who is the founding partner of the Kyoto Distillery in Japan. The distillery is the maker of the award-winning beautiful Japanese-style craft gin called KI NO BI. Before he co-founded the Kyoto Distillery in 2014, Marcin has been in the spirits industry for a long time as a writer, importer, distributor and consultant. Until very recently, no one would have expected that Japanese-made gin would become popular nationally as well as globally, but the Kyoto Distillery initiated the current Japanese gin boom. Marcin and his business partners David and Noriko Croll launched KI NO BI in October 2016 and popular brands like Roku, Sui, Nikka Coffey and other craft labels quickly followed. As a result, in 2020, the sales of Japanese gin exceeded those of imported brands in the country.In this episode, we will discuss why the British spirit writer ended up starting a distillery in Kyoto, what is special about Japanese-style gin, why the terroir of Kyoto can produce a unique gin, the latest an

Our guest is Bob Florence, who is the founder of Moromi based in Connecticut. At Moromi, Bob produces hand-crafted, small-batch Japanese-style fermented products such as shoyu, miso, hot sauces, and other condiments.Bob studied how to make authentic Japanese fermented products in Japan and uniquely integrate the Japanese tradition and local flavors of coastal Connecticut. In this episode, we will discuss how an industrial chemist became an artisanal food producer, why Japanese-style fermentation is distinctively unique, how Bob learned Japanese-style fermentation, different types of Japanese soy sauces Bob makes, 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.

Our guest is Ken Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki Farm in Delaware, which opened in 1983. In the last 39 years, Ken has devoted himself to introducing native Japanese vegetables and fruits to America. He and his team grow a variety of Japanese produce on their 28-acre land and harvest more than 30 kinds of crops throughout the year. I have been hearing about Suzuki Farm through Japanese and non-Japanese chefs who look for the uniquely delicate flavors of Japanese vegetables. In this episode, we will discuss why Japanese-born Ken Suzuki decided to farm in the US, what kinds of Japanese crops he grows, how unique and special they are, how you can use them in your kitchen, 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.

Our guest is Takashi Miyazaki, who is the chef/owner of ichigo ichie in Cork, Ireland. Takashi moved to Ireland in 2008 where Japanese food was yet to be more deeply discovered. Also, he was met by the global financial crisis shortly after his arrival in Ireland. After going through numerous challenges, he fell in love with Cork, a small city in the south-western part of the country, and opened a kaiseki restaurant called ichigo ichie in 2018. The restaurant became a huge success and earned a Michelin star only 6 months after its opening. In this episode, we will discuss why Takashi ended up moving to Ireland, why he fell in love with Cork, his philosophy of cooking Japanese food outside Japan, how he effectively utilizes Irish ingredients to cook authentic Japanese cuisine, 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.

Our guest is Genki Ito, who is the founder of Tippsy Sake, an online store that specializes in Japanese sake, based in California. Japanese sake has been increasingly popular globally in recent years and the US is one of the most promising markets for the sake industry. For example, between 2011 to 2021, the value of Japanese sake export to the US tripled, and its quantity doubled, according to the Japanese government’s statistics. In other words, Americans are drinking not only more sake but also higher-quality sake than 10 years ago. But if you live in America, you normally have to go to Japanese restaurants to discover great sake, partly because your local liquor shop doesn’t carry good enough sake for you (or sells no sake at all), or the store does not have anyone who can give you solid advice on which one to buy.Tipssy Sake is a nice solution for the problem by making Japanese sake more readily available to everyone from sake novices to connoisseurs. In this episode, we will discuss how Genki’s unique b

Our guest is Makiko Harada, who is a salt specialist and the owner of Glamsalt, a salt shop based in the Hudson Valley, New York. She opened Glamsalt in 2012 and now has numerous famous chef clients who adore her products, including those at Sushi Nakazawa, Sushi Yasuda, and Hatsuhana. Makiko is known for her extremely high-quality, unique products, and the awe and respect for salt in Japanese culture underlie her business approach. In this episode, we will discuss how Makiko got into salt, the importance of salt in Japanese culture, why salt can taste so diversely different, depending on the origin, how her top chef clients choose a specific type of salt, 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.

Our guest is Whit Johnson who is the co-founder of Horyzon Spirits based in Atlanta, Georgia. Whit founded Hryzon Spirits in April 2021 to produce very unique products that blend Japanese tradition and American terroir. More specifically, he chose to use Japanese koji mold, which is the foundational ingredient of Japanese cuisine, to produce his spirits instead of malts. Also, he uses Carolina Gold rice, which reflects the rich history of American South agriculture. It is very exciting to see how the two cultures are beautifully merged in his products. In this episode, we will discuss how Whit got into the spirit industry after his successful career in an entirely different industry, the difference between koji and malt-based fermentation, how a traditional Southern American rice naturally merges Japanese traditional koji, 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.

Our guest is Kazuko Nagao, the founder of Oconomi, the okonomiyaki shop based in Queens, New York. Okonomiyaki is a Japanese-style savory pancake, which is very popular in Japan. Despite its rich, delicious taste and approachable style, okonomiyaki is yet to be known to the world outside Japan. Kazuko has been making okonomiyaki for New Yorkers at street fairs and food events for a decade. But last month, in December 2021, she decided to turn her seasonal okonomiyaki business into regular operations throughout the year. In this episode, we will discuss what exactly okonomiyaki is, regional varieties of okonomiyaki (which represent the pride of each region!), how to make okonomiyaki at home, and much, much more!!!Photo Courtesy of Fuko Chubachi.Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.

Our guest is Matthieu Guerpillon, the Marketing Manager & Brand Ambassador of NAMI, the first sake brewery in Mexico. Japanese sake has been produced outside of Japan in recent years, and it is very exciting to see that there is a sake brewery in Mexico, which is the home of excellent beer and spirits such as tequila and mezcal!NAMI is not just the first sake brewery in Mexico. Their products have proved to be outstanding. For example, The International Sake Challenge, which is an annual event held in Tokyo to recognize the best sakes in the world, has awarded the Gold, Silver, and Bronze prizes to NAMI’s sake. In this episode, we will discuss how NAMI was born, how the all-Mexican team found a Japanese mentor to make premium sake, the unique terroir of Mexico, how to pair sake with Mexican flavors, 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.

Our guest today is Ryo Iwamoto, who is the founder and CEO of TeaRoom based in Tokyo. Ryo began studying tea 15 years ago at the age of 9 and now he is a certified instructor of the Japanese tea ceremony. He even has a special name that is only given to outstanding tea practitioners. Ryo founded TeaRoom in 2018 while he was still a student at the prestigious Waseda University to inspire the world with the power of Japanese tea culture. In this episode, we will discuss how Ryo got into the world of tea at such a young age, the essence of Japanese tea culture he has been passionate about, how tea can help us to make the world a more caring and peaceful place, his various projects to make his vision come true including his eye-opening products to attract new tea drinkers, 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.

Our guests today are John Daschbach, the director of the fantastic new documentary film Come Back Anytime, and Wataru Yamamoto, the producer of the film. Our mutual friend Yukari Sakamoto, who is an influential food specialist based in Tokyo, introduced me to the new film Come Back Anytime, or mata irasshai (またいらっしゃい) in Japanese. It premiered at DOC NYC, which is the largest documentary festival in America, and at the IFC Center in November 2021. This documentary is about a ramen chef in Tokyo and the close-knit community of his regulars. It sounds simple but there was a lot to digest in your heart and mind. I suggest everyone watch it, especially in the current isolating social situation due to the pandemic. In this episode, we will discuss why John and Wataru decided to make a documentary about a tiny ramen shop in Tokyo, the profound messages they hope to convey to the audience through the film, how ramen can be instrumental in community building, and much, much more!!!  Heritage Radio Network is a listen

Our guest today is Kou Sundburg, who is the founder of Kiraku. Kiraku operates multiple projects that aim to preserve Japan’s rich cultural and natural heritage for future generations. Kou has a strong business background with a unique bi-cultural vantage point of the Japanese tradition. Kou’s diverse projects include transforming abandoned machiya, or a traditional Japanese townhouse, in Kyoto into a Michelin-awarded luxury ryokan and reviving a sake brewery that was founded in 1793 but unfortunately shut down in 2012. Now the brewery became a micro-sake brewery to express the rich local terroir. In this episode, we will discuss how Kou came up with the business to preserve Japanese culture and tradition, his intriguing projects of hotels and restaurants that you would want to experience on your next trip to Japan, how seriously Japan is losing cultural heritage, and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats

Our guest is Takatsugu 'Taka' Amano who is the co-Founder and CEO of American Shochu Company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Shochu is a traditional Japanese spirit and it is more popular than Japanese sake in Japan. If you compare sake and shochu, 4.2% of liquor tax comes from premium sake, whereas 14.8% comes from shochu, according to the Japanese government’s data in 2019. But the number flips when it comes to overseas. In 2020, Japan exported about $212 million worth of premium sake but only $10.6 million of shochu was brought outside the country, which was just 5% of sake’s export. It is a shame because shochu is as delicious and artisanal as premium sake. That is why Taka decided to introduce the charm of shochu to America by producing his own brand in 2015. He makes 100% barley shochu with his wife Lynn Amano in Maryland and they have already won the 2020 American Craft Spirits Awards. In this episode, we will discuss why the successful biotech industry executive decided to produce the traditional Ja

Our guest is Nobu Yamanashi, the director of Yama Seafood. Founded in 1980 by his father Kengo Yamanashi, Yama Seafood has been one of the most reliable sources of high-quality seafood in the U.S. for over 40 years. Thanks to superior suppliers like Yama Seafood, our diet has shifted dramatically towards fresh seafood like sushi in the last decades. For example, people used to be frightened by the idea of eating raw fish in the 1950s, but now $300 per person omakase sushi dinner is not unusual these days. And it is hard to find a supermarket that does not carry sushi. Without a doubt, sushi has become part of New Yorkers’ diet because of the stable supply of premium fish. In this episode, we will discuss how Yama Seafood started when no one was buying specialty fish like tuna in the U.S., why Nobu decided to succeed in the highly demanding job in the seafood business, the changing needs for seafood in New York City dining scenes, why Yama Seafood has many employees who have worked for the company over 30 year

Our guests are Mark Isbell and Chris Isbell of Isbell Farms in Arkansas. Isbell Farms has always been forward-minded and played an important role as a strong supporter of the American sake industry. It is a multi-generational family farm with a focus on the sustainable production of quality rice. And also, Isbell is the first American farm that produced Sakamai, which means Japanese rice varieties developed specifically for sake production. There are approximately 25 sake breweries in the U.S. and it is very exciting to see that the number has been increasing. These breweries often use Calrose rice, which is table rice, because sake rice is not readily available in this country. While Calrose has proven to be a right variety to produce high-quality sake, there is a solid demand for sake rice among American brewers. In this episode, we will discuss how a family farm in Arkansas started to grow Japanese rice, the types of sake rice they grow, a pioneering sake rice variety they have developed, and much, much mo