William F. O'Connor and Renowned Tenor Vittorio Grigolo This is the second installment in our “Days of Wine and Music” series. The proximate impetus for this series came about when this writer encountered renowned tenor Vittorio Grigolo on the set of Tosca, where the latter had the starring role of Mario and the former that of … Continue reading Days of Wine and Music: The Genesis
Days of Wine and Music: An Introduction
Gotterdammerung* This is the first installment in our “Days of Wine and Music” series. Over the next few weeks, we are going to delve into areas that at first may seem a little atypical when compared with our usual output, but it will eventually become clear where we are taking this. We like opera here … Continue reading Days of Wine and Music: An Introduction
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Sake Ice (Cream)
In recent years, we have seen sake, or nihonshu, used in castella pound cakes, chocolate bonbons and other desserts. However, it was not until 2020 when Sake Ice opened in Asakusa did I hear of sake being used in ice cream, let alone a shop specializing in this sake-infused chilled creamy concoction. Soon after the … Continue reading I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Sake Ice (Cream)
Dar Richi “Hanan” 2018 from Lebanon
It is not often that we have the pleasure of consuming a Lebanese wine. We have always found their reds to be in the “good,” “very good,” and “noteworthy” categories, but one does not encounter their wonderful wines very often. In some ways that is ironic, because Lebanon is an Old-World producer—no, let me rephrase … Continue reading Dar Richi “Hanan” 2018 from Lebanon
Pasteur Street Brewing Co
If any of our readers should find themselves in Hanoi with a thirst for finely crafted beer, this writer highly recommends a visit to Pasteur Street Brewing Co. A reasonably priced flight will get you the following: Jasmine IPA: light orange in color, yeasty, a hint of jasmine, weighing in at 50 IPUs, 6.5% ABV. … Continue reading Pasteur Street Brewing Co
An Apple Called “Cat” and What It Can Do
Fallen Apples* The word cat makes an appearance in a number of English expressions, the often-used “to let the cat out of the bag,” the ever off-putting “to skin a cat,” and the inscrutable “to rain cats and dogs,” for example. Lesser-known of course are the obsolete “you kill my cat and I’ll kill your … Continue reading An Apple Called “Cat” and What It Can Do
Beans, Some Have Them in Their Ears, Permanently; Others in Their Mouths
In August 2023 Len Chandler, a classically trained musician and topical songwriter famous during the folk music boom of the 1960s, passed away. Mr. Chandler was a man of many talents, but he is best remembered for his childlike, but ever-so-serious song, “Beans in My Ears.” The little ditty was somewhat controversial and banned by … Continue reading Beans, Some Have Them in Their Ears, Permanently; Others in Their Mouths
Clos Sainte-Anne Merlot 2014
Mercury* Merlot is a mercurial grape: it can produce a red-fruit forward wine (think strawberries) or one heavy in the direction of black, like black plums. To some extent, it very much depends upon whimsical Mother Nature: when she blows cold, you usually can expect the former; when she is a bit hot under the … Continue reading Clos Sainte-Anne Merlot 2014
Afterthought
Man by Pins, Jacob (1917-2005) - 1984 - Jewish Historical Museum, Netherlands - Public Domain.https://www.europeana.eu/item/270/resource_document_jhm_museum_M008413 This is the eighth and final entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. A growing number of people and firms within the Japanese hospitality sector now understand the importance of attracting the high-end traveler, who … Continue reading Afterthought
The Shisui Hotel
This is the seventh entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. In November 2023, we had the good fortune of having lunch at and touring the premises of the Shisui Hotel in Nara. The Shisui is one of Bonvoy Marriott’s Luxury Collection hotels. There are thirty-one of them. If there … Continue reading The Shisui Hotel
Selling Nara to the Well Heeled
I This is the sixth entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. Is shop till you drop about to stop among the inbound? Well, an abrupt halt seems unlikely, but the sight of hordes of tourists leaving the shores of Nippon with bags and boxes of merchandise, homeward bound like … Continue reading Selling Nara to the Well Heeled
Noh Theater, Part 2
David Garrick between Comedy and Tragedy by Joshua Reynolds This is the fifth entry in our series on marketing Japan to affluent tourists. This week we again turn our attention to theater. In the previous entry we mentioned that Noh is not dead, as indeed it is not. However, it is necessary for us to … Continue reading Noh Theater, Part 2
Noh Theater, Part 1
An Incubus "dreams-nightmare" by The Public Domain Review is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. This is the fourth entry in our series on marketing Japan to affluent tourists. This week we turn our attention to theater. Kabuki—that song-and-dance act featuring crossdressers and makeup that lays it on thick—is for many foreigners the most emblematic of Japanese theatrical … Continue reading Noh Theater, Part 1
Food: Nara-zuke
Nara-zuke, Traditional Foods in Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries This is the third entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. To some in the Anglophone world, pickles might be all about a guy named Peter pecking at pickers packaging pipers. Well, that didn’t come out very well, did … Continue reading Food: Nara-zuke
Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Yakushi-ji's East Pagoda is a Japan's National Treasure in Nara, Nara prefecture, Japan.* This is the second entry in our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. Our story begins in Nara, a city that attracts more than a few tourists, to be sure, but punches way below its weight when one considers its historical and cultural … Continue reading Nara City, Nara Prefecture
Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End
This is the first entry of our multi-part series on marketing Japan to affluent foreign tourists. We will look at this topic from a number of perspectives and give considerable attention to a recently opened “Luxury Collection Hotel.” We will also, on occasion, make use of our characteristic and somewhat unconventional sense of humor, but … Continue reading Attracting Upmarket Tourists to Japan: High Time for High-End
Trick or Treating with the Nuuttipukki
A Nuuttipukki, Toivo Kaukoranta, Finnish Heritage Agency We continue with our upcycling theme this week by considering the nearly extinct nuuttipukki, essentially an ambulatory carpet-cum-mendicant in search of beer and leftover grub--like in food: this is not an eat-the-bugs reference--in Finland. We recently learned of this creature from The Public Domain Review, an excellent publication … Continue reading Trick or Treating with the Nuuttipukki
Brand X + Denki Bran v. Brand X + Calvados
We do quite a bit of tasting here at drinkingjapan.org, and we, understandably, do not like everything we imbibe. However, longtime readers of this blog will know that we have never maligned a product. Occasionally, we have made comments about what a beverage lacks or has an excessive of, but such critiques are not disparaging. … Continue reading Brand X + Denki Bran v. Brand X + Calvados
Cold Duck
Prince Wenceslaus of Saxony Good Prince Wenceslaus looked roundAfter a big partyBottles seemed not nearly downedGuests were a tad tardyI’ll mix up this and mix up thatAnd serve it all up laterThis liquid duck with any luckWill earn the public’s favor.*William F. O'Connor And so goes the genesis of that sparkling something or other which … Continue reading Cold Duck
Mtsvane: A Georgian Varietal
Qvevri; georgisches Weingefäß, mit Karren - Museum of European Cultures, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany - CC BY-NC-SA. “A rainy night in Georgia, a rainy night in Georgia,” wait a minute, I’m on the wrong continent here. The American state of Georgia does produce wine, but as I have never tasted any, I am not … Continue reading Mtsvane: A Georgian Varietal
The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 3
Gratuitous Foliage Pic: This Is Like Haiku As researcher-practitioners we have been studying and consuming burdock tea for quite some time and have noticed a curious omission: none of the English-language sources that we have encountered talks about the taste of the tea. There may indeed be sensory evaluations out there, but we have not … Continue reading The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 3
The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 2
Anticipating the Arrival of Boiling Water Though the two of us who run drinkingjapan.org hold doctorates, neither of them has anything remotely to do with medicine, so we do not offer medical-related advice or promote elixirs for assorted maladies. That is not to say that we do not have strong opinions along such lines. (How’s … Continue reading The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 2
The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 1
We’re not so keen on multitasking here at drinkingjapan.org, but we do like things that can serve multiple purposes. This does not, however, include electrical appliances, mind you: the more complex the machine, the shorter the life span. So don’t even consider that electric popcorn maker cum juicer with the built in TV and fax … Continue reading The Swiss Army Knife of Plants: Burdock, Part 1
Goldilocks Revisited: Takes on Tottori Prefecture
It seems as if the days are long gone when the negative connotations of the word green took pride of place in the Anglophone world; i.e., green as in inexperienced, green as in jealous (“green with envy”), green as in “I don’t want to eat green eggs and ham.” The Midoris of this world must … Continue reading Goldilocks Revisited: Takes on Tottori Prefecture
Fuku-no-hire-zake Shunbanro (ふくのひれ酒 春帆楼): A Curious Cup
It has been forty-six years since Henry Winkler jumped the shark in an episode of the American sitcom Happy Days (1974-1984). Well, it was really the stuntman who actually did the jumping, but let’s not quibble. Decades on, it still resonates, not necessarily because Henry and the shark were especially histrionic or engaged in meaningful … Continue reading Fuku-no-hire-zake Shunbanro (ふくのひれ酒 春帆楼): A Curious Cup
In Search of the Goldilocks Zone
There is an interesting debate taking place in Japan at the moment centered around the issue of “overtourism.” Distilled down to its very essence—and we like distillation here at drinkingjapan.org—it is simply a matter of locating the Goldilocks Zone, determining the ideal number of inbound tourists. This number, should it exist, will prove neither too … Continue reading In Search of the Goldilocks Zone
A Sake Named Kawasemi (Kingfisher)
We were attracted to this sake by its label art: like metal to magnet, the image of the beguiling bird depicted thereon prevented us from opening the bottle with our customary alacrity. We stared at it for quite some time contemplating it as art before our thoughts turned to the bird itself—the kingfisher—which led us … Continue reading A Sake Named Kawasemi (Kingfisher)
Votano Wine’s Cabernet Franc 2020
It is not often that one comes across a Japanese Cabernet Franc. This varietal is closely identified with the Middle Loire Valley, especially places like Chinon AOC, and Bordeaux, where it is often a blending partner with the more muscular Cabernet Sauvignon, but in this offering by Votano Wine one can see that in the … Continue reading Votano Wine’s Cabernet Franc 2020
Sasshu Craft Gin
There was a time when gin was not widely available at drinking establishments in Japan, and we are not talking about the distant past, either. Today, however, there is a gin boom taking place. New entrants are flooding the market, and it seems as if it will not be long before the saturation point is … Continue reading Sasshu Craft Gin
The Portuguese Wine Grand Tasting at Gajoen
Hotel Gajoen On June 27, 2023, a major wine-related event was held at one of Tokyo’s most attractive hotels—Hotel Gajoen, which is located in Meguro. The Portuguese Wine Grand Tasting, which was organized by Wines of Portugal, supported by the Embassy of Portugal, and facilitated by the indefatigable Yumi Tanabe, President, “Sakura” Japan Women’s Wine … Continue reading The Portuguese Wine Grand Tasting at Gajoen
Shaken and Stirred
Hey, Manet, where's the shochu? We do not know whether Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond series of novels, was revealing any skeletons in British intelligence’s closet with his protagonist’s aversion to stirring (“Shaken not stirred.”), but we have always appreciated the utility of both of these manual maneuvers. We witnessed some of … Continue reading Shaken and Stirred
Two Products from Kamihei Shuzo
Kappa Carrying a Fish Trap of Octopus This is the fourth installment in our JFEX 2023 series. This week the focus is on a couple of beverages produced by a brewery in Tono City. If there is a kappa capital of the world, Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, is it! For those unfamiliar with this mischievous … Continue reading Two Products from Kamihei Shuzo
Belgian Owl Single Malt Whisky
A: Who's on first? B: Belgian Owl This is the third installment in our JFEX 2023 series. Before exiting the exhibition, I made a final stop, at a booth run by Belgian Owl Distillery. I was fortunate to have done so. Lambic, yes. Chocolate, of course. Mussels in wine, no doubt. Waffles, indubitably. French fries...well,...controversial. … Continue reading Belgian Owl Single Malt Whisky
Cherries, Cherry Wine, and Gastronomic Tourism in Yamagata Prefecture
The Cherry Seller, Sara Ploos van Amstel This is the second installment in our series on JFEX 2023, which was held at Tokyo Big Sight in June. This week we turn our attention to Yamagata Prefecture. On the afternoon of June 23, 2023, I had the great pleasure of meeting Mr. Katsutoshi Suzuki of the … Continue reading Cherries, Cherry Wine, and Gastronomic Tourism in Yamagata Prefecture
Amazake and Serendipity at Tokyo Big Sight
Tokyo Big Sight The 3rd Japan International Food & Beverage Expo (JFEX) was held at Tokyo Big Sight from June 21 to June 23, 2023. One of us attended, and from what he observed it was a resounding success. The number of interesting, innovative, and otherwise noteworthy products far exceeds what our weekly blog can … Continue reading Amazake and Serendipity at Tokyo Big Sight
Drinking Trees, Part 5: Can’t See the Forest for the Pollen
This is the fifth installment of our multi-part series on trees. This week we look at the genesis of a problem firmly rooted in the best-intentions terrain and discuss two solutions. We are indebted to Dr. Toshihiro Osada, who kindly took the time to answer our questions. Readers who might like more information on this … Continue reading Drinking Trees, Part 5: Can’t See the Forest for the Pollen
Drinking Trees, Part 4: Is It Worth the Effort?
This is the fourth installment of our multi-part series on trees. This week we answer the rhetorical question that is our subtitle and speak on behalf of the mute. Hudson River, Logging, Winslow Homer In last week’s entry we gave a summary of our tasting notes on some of the wood-derived distillates that we had … Continue reading Drinking Trees, Part 4: Is It Worth the Effort?
Drinking Trees, Part 3: The Tasting
This is the third installment of our multi-part series on trees. This week we make history; seriously, we do. Sweet? Sour? Savory, or Umami, if You Prefer? Bitter? and/or Salty? We contemplated writing this entry entirely in capital letters, but we did not want to make it unnecessarily difficult for historians of the next millennium … Continue reading Drinking Trees, Part 3: The Tasting
Drinking Trees, Part 2: The Production Process and the Importance of a Good Name
This is the second installment in our multi-part series on tree-derived alcoholic beverages. Professor Otsuka met with us in April of this year and took the time to explain the production process. He also showed us a video that illustrated it. Though not quite as complex as the the contraption that is featured above, it … Continue reading Drinking Trees, Part 2: The Production Process and the Importance of a Good Name
Drinking Trees, Part 1
This is the first installment of a multi-part series on tree-derived alcoholic beverages. We start off with an original poem that is evocative of Joyce Kilmer’s “Trees” (1913). https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12744/trees. “Trees” Revisited I think that I shall never see A liquor store as generous as a tree A tree whose rugged “skin” when stripped Can yield … Continue reading Drinking Trees, Part 1
Snow Monkey IPA by Shiga Kogen Beer
From time to time the feral critters of Japan have a tendency to act up. This is especially true of the monkey population, some of whom enjoy sharing a bath with their human cousins. We are not especially fond of having monkeys share a tub with us, but we are very interested in their relationship … Continue reading Snow Monkey IPA by Shiga Kogen Beer
Yamabushi—Unique
We don’t use the word “unique” too often around here, and we are not prone to hyperbole, unless we are talking about our own accomplishments, of course, but this week we are going to use the word quite a bit. The beverage under review is Yamabushi, which translates as “mountain priest.” The name suggests a … Continue reading Yamabushi—Unique
Tastings—Free or Paid—Benefit Consumers and Producers Alike
The idiom “a pig in a poke” has long fascinated us. For those unfamiliar with this expression, here are the facts: it is very old, still in use; and totally inscrutable, if one does not know the meaning of “poke.” Poke, in this case, is a sack. Why, you might ask, would anyone want to … Continue reading Tastings—Free or Paid—Benefit Consumers and Producers Alike
The Sakura Awards, Part 2: Encounters with the Ultimate in Terroir
In last week’s entry we reviewed a European wine that one of us tasted at the 2023 Sakura Awards tasting, which was held at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. This week we will focus on two wines produced by a Japanese winery. An impressive array of fine wines was laid out before me, the vast majority … Continue reading The Sakura Awards, Part 2: Encounters with the Ultimate in Terroir
Sakura and the Sakura Awards, Part 1
Sakura, or cherry blossoms, have proven to be the gift that keeps giving for artists and writers. The blossoms have a tenuous grasp on the branches that quiver in the spring wind and eventually succumb to the inevitable and shed their petals like swirling snowflakes of pink. Sakura are symbolic of the impermanence of beauty … Continue reading Sakura and the Sakura Awards, Part 1
Confluence: Hirosaki, Music, Apples, and Gastronomic Tourism
This is the second editorial published by drinkingjapan.org. Last year we uploaded a multi-part series on eel (unagi), which culminated with an editorial exhorting Hamamatsu to use its reputation for eel to attract high-end tourists. The piece begins as follows: “The Japanese tourism industry was thriving until the crisis of 2020. Even during those boom … Continue reading Confluence: Hirosaki, Music, Apples, and Gastronomic Tourism
Kusatsu PLUS Project #006: The Importance of Tasting in a Pristine Environment
We have written about the wonderful world that is Kusatsu, a town containing one of Japan’s most famous hot springs. Visitors to this place will soon notice the scent of sulfur that permeates the air and is a major component of the silky salubrious waters bubbling up from the bowels of the earth. The name … Continue reading Kusatsu PLUS Project #006: The Importance of Tasting in a Pristine Environment
Suntory’s Beer Ball (サントリー•ビアボール): A Variation on a Theme
As even most casual visitors to Japan will have noticed, highballs are hot here, figuratively speaking that is. Some may be curious as to how this highball craze might be maintained. Well, Suntory seems to have come up with a variation on a theme that could not only sustain the lifespan of its popularity but … Continue reading Suntory’s Beer Ball (サントリー•ビアボール): A Variation on a Theme
Takachiyo Sake Brewing Company’s 59 Takachiyo Ipponjime (59 Takachiyo 一本〆) : Harmonious Notes and Good English, Too
Here is a sake that strikes three harmonious notes: sweetness, acidity, and alcohol, ending with a medium (+) finish. Ipponjime is a junmaishu produced by Niigata-based Takachiyo Sake Brewing Co., Ltd. The body is medium (+), which gives it a certain degree of heft, and the abv is 16%. In addition to the pleasant song … Continue reading Takachiyo Sake Brewing Company’s 59 Takachiyo Ipponjime (59 Takachiyo 一本〆) : Harmonious Notes and Good English, Too
Amabuki Koi Suru Banana (天吹 恋するバナナ): Warhol and Gamay at Work in Saga Prefecture
Well, perhaps the subtitle here is a bit of a stretch, but there is at least a tenuous connection between this interesting output of Amabuki Shuzo and the silver-wigged artist with the soup-can obsession on the one hand and the grape that makes all those November Beaujolais nouveau parties possible on the other. Regarding the … Continue reading Amabuki Koi Suru Banana (天吹 恋するバナナ): Warhol and Gamay at Work in Saga Prefecture
Drinking Japan 