The Tokyo Traveler

Held in beautiful and spacious Hamarikyu Gardens, the Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony offers a unique opportunity to experience a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony.  Demonstrations and lectures will be held in an effort to familiarize both citizens and international visitors with the ancient history and rituals associated with tea in Japan.
In October 1587, the feudal warlord, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, hosted a tea ceremony occasion at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, serving tea to his guests whether or not they were interested in tea. It is said that he created over 800 place settings and brought a golden tea room into the shrine …read more

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This past weekend I accidentally attended the grand opening of Eataly, a great to place to taste and shop for Italian wines, cheese, breads, pastries and almost everything else that you can imagine in Tokyo’s Daikanyama neighborhood.  And what a great accident it was! 
Surrounding a stone paved courtyard with relaxing patio seating, near Daikanyama’s landmark green flower, Eataly is the largest Italian food & wine center in Japan.   The store is a bakery, deli and wine store all rolled into one great location and also offers prepared food that you can take home and a variety of dine-in offerings. 
La …read more

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Combine some bourbon, amaretto and a little cranberry juice and you have the award winning Red Carpet Cocktail created by Takahiro Watanabe of the Keio Plaza Hotel’s Polestar Skybar.  Sounds like a tasty drink to sip while overlooking the Tokyo skyline from the hotels’ 45th floor in Shinkjuku, and it’s only one of the award winning drinks created by Watanabe over the years!

In honor of the award, the staff of the Polestar Skybar have teamed up with the Liquid Culture team at The Japan Times to offer an afternoon workshop in the art of the cocktail.
Reserve your Red Carpet …read more

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Summer is almost a memory and fall is fast approaching in Tokyo.  The Japanese are well known for being proud of their four seasons and autumn is no exception. In Japan the changing of the seasons are celebrated throughout the country with festivals, seasonal foods and special events.
In the fall, the harvest of new rice is celebrated at temples and shrines and moon viewing, tsukimi, is all the rage.  Residents and visitors alike head out for walks in the parks of Tokyo to take in the colorful fall foliage with almost as much delight as when they head off to …read more

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If you have a love of ramen then you will adore Ramen Tokyo, a site that offers reviews of ramen shops throughout the Tokyo Metropolitan area and was recently featured by The Washington Post. The man behind Ramen Tokyo prefers to remain anonymous but he kindly granted me an interview via email so that I could share his love of this great Japanese food with you!
The story behind Ramen Tokyo goes like this, several years ago an IT guy from New Jersey moved to Tokyo for work and discovered a love of ramen.  He says that he always …read more

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Are you a vegetarian looking for dining options in Tokyo?  If so, then you will definitely want to try shojin ryori, the traditional food of Zen monks in Japan, which is pure vegan and is in rooted in Buddhist teachings dating back to the 13th century. 
A shojin ryori meal consists of seasonable vegetables and wild plants accompanied by with seaweed, miso soup, rice, soybean curd (tofu), seeds and nuts.  This simple style of cooking limits the use of sauces and seasonings and highlights the distinct flavors of each fresh ingredients.
Some temples in the Tokyo area serve shojin ryori to …read more

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Toto Norenkai is an association of shops and businesses that have been in operation in Tokyo, formerly know as Edo, for over 100 years and three generations. In Japanese the single word “Toto” captures the essence of both old Edo and modern-day Tokyo, and “noren” refers to the traditional curtain-like sign that is hung over the doorway to announce the name of the shop and that it is open for business, while “kai” means “club” or “association”.
Established in 1951, as a way to preserve the traditions of old Edo while promoting their business to an evolving clientele that was …read more

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The origins of Yebisu Beer date back to 1887, when Nippon Beer Brewery started producing beer in the area then called Mita Village. The name “Yebisu” was adopted later and is a variation of the name of Ebisu, the surrounding town and the station closest to the Beer Museum. Nippon Breweries, Ltd. changed its name to Sapporo Breweries, Ltd. in 1964.
The Beer Museum Yebisu is dedicated to the history, science and culture of the beloved beverage and the century-old tradition of brewing beer. Beer making made its debut in Japan as early as 1876 when Seibei …read more

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It’s getting hot and humid in Tokyo and with the increase in temperature it’s hard to find your appetite. The Japanese use the term natsubate, summer exhaustion or summer lethargy, to describe the effects of the heat and claim that the best cure for it is to eat well. Here are five summer foods that the Japanese love to eat and that you should definitely give a try when you visit.
Any type of cold noodle goes down well on a hot summer day in Tokyo and Zaru soba is one of my favorites. I make it at …read more

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The Japanese love their beer, the top five breweries in Japan shipped 216.72 million cases of beer, about 7.8 billion 350ml (12 oz) beers, in the first half of 2008. The top four brands, Asahi, Kirin, Suntory & Sapporo hold a combined 99.3% of market share based on the volume shipped.
Asahi Breweries tower over the other brewers with a 37.5% market share. Asahi Super Dry is the beer of choice in my home so it must be good! The Asahi Breweries Headquarters Building, one of the more unusual landmarks on the Tokyo skyline, is well worth seeing …read more

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