Menu
Search
 
July 12, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

LIFE

Food & Drink

Travel
Digital
Food & Drink
Style & Design
Language
Lifestyle
Is ramen soup? An inquiry.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Is ramen soup? An inquiry.
An ever-evolving online discourse about how to categorize different types of foods has finally come for one of Japan’s national dishes.
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
In Japan, ‘tastes like medicine’ can be a compliment
The culinary term “yakumi” includes more ingredients than a Western chef might ever group together, but it’s a foundational element of Japanese cuisine.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Stripped of Michelin stars, Sezanne embraces a changing of the guard
Once awarded three stars, the restaurant now holds none. But new executive chef Steven Lancaster sees the sudden change as a golden opportunity.
La & Le, a new Parisian-style cafe in the posh Minamiaoyama neighborhood, includes two oversized lamps meant to evoke the iconic streetlights of the French capital.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 5, 2026
La & Le brings a slice of Paris cafe culture to Tokyo
By Weiwen Lin
After 20 years at the French capital’s iconic Cafe de Flore, Tetsuya Yamashita returned to Tokyo to open a restaurant that captures the spirit of traditional Parisian cafes.
With a golden-brown broth and a host of classic toppings, Rairaiken's shoyu ramen carries on a legacy dating back to 1910.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Japan’s first standalone ramen shop reopens in Asakusa
By Weiwen Lin
Fifty years after it closed its doors, Asakusa Rairaiken is now back to court a new generation of ramen lovers with the shoyu-seasoned broth it created in 1910.
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa hopes to be just another musically inclined entry to the neighborhood's web of live houses.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 3, 2026
Fender opens a second, more unplugged Shimokitazawa cafe
By Aden Max Juarez
Open from July 3, the Fender Cafe Shimokitazawa seeks to sit alongside the neighborhood’s reputation as a hotbed of Japan’s indie music scene.
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 28, 2026
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
By Robbie Swinnerton
Drawn by the quality of Kanoya’s local produce, chef Yasuhiko Uchida relocated to the Osumi Peninsula. Now, his restaurant is a shining example of Kagoshima’s culinary appeal.
No need to go foraging for one of bears' favorite wild vegetables for this dish — just pick it up at your local farmer's market instead.
LIFE / Food & Drink / The Recipe Box
Jun 28, 2026
Smash tacos with bear-approved veggies
By Simon Daly
Alpine leeks are a forageable example of the “sansai” (wild edible plants) that make springtime a bounty of flavors across Japan’s countryside — for humans and bear-kind alike.
Recent years have seen "nattō" (fermented soybeans) join a series of fermented foods, from kimchi to kombucha, that have surged in popularity worldwide as Americans in particular seek better digestive health following the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 22, 2026
‘A little funky’: Japanese ‘nattō’ disgusts and delights the world
By Sarah Lai
Aside from its supposed health benefits, ‘nattō’ has long been loved in Japan for its stunning affordability — charms the rest of the world seems to be warming up to.
"Simply Donabe: Japanese One-Pot Recipes" is the latest cookbook from Naoko Takei Moore, an evangelist of the traditional clay pots who now runs a dedicated kitchen-supply store full of the cookware in Los Angeles.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 21, 2026
Can a single clay pot really elevate everything you cook?
By Simon Daly
In “Simply Donabe,” clay pot evangelist Naoko Takei Moore pushes for cooks everywhere to embrace this traditional implement in every part of their kitchens.

China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being
Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

U.S. senator Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after sudden illness
11 mins ago
Japan and others mark 10 years since South China sea arbitration
4 hours ago
How Putin turned Japan into a den of spies
4 hours ago
Farm experiences in disaster-hit Japanese area attracting children
5 hours ago
U.S. launches more strikes on Iran after commercial ship struck in Strait of Hormuz
6 hours ago