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August 13, 2026
 

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DESTINATION RESTAURANTS

Chef Kenji Kawamura honed his craft in Italy for six years before returning to his hometown in Ibaraki Prefecture to open Nonna Nietta.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 2, 2026
At Nonna Nietta, Italian magic in suburban Tsukuba
Chef Kenji Kawamura spent six formative years training as a chef in Italy. That dedication shows in the deep, authentic flavors up and down the menu at his Ibaraki restaurant.
The signature piece in chef Koji Takahira¡¯s "nigiri" selection is "shiro-amadai" (white tilefish) ¡ª one of the most prized species from the Seto Inland Sea on account of its sweetness, rich umami and firm texture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 7, 2026
In Matsuyama, sushi more than worth the pilgrimage
When chef Koji Takahira took over Kurumasushi from his father, he also transitioned to serving Edomae-style ¡°nigiri¡± sushi ¡ª a move that has paid dividends.
Chef Kentaro Mura¡¯s favorite way of serving snow crab is as shabu-shabu: The legs are lightly blanched in dashi, then the meat is removed and served with a generous scoop of crab tomalley.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 2, 2025
Toyama¡¯s finest seafood underpins Ebitei Bekkan¡¯s return to greatness
This ¡°kaiseki¡± restaurant has been making up for lost time with a culinary flair that presents Toyama¡¯s seafood tradition in a contemporary guise.
The dining room at Ca'enne is as authentically rustic as the ingredients ¡ª all from Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake region ¡ª that chef Noriyuki Usui cooks with.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 20, 2024
Ca¡¯enne: Into the Yatsugatake mountains for Nagano¡¯s freshest produce
For a restaurant that only uses ingredients from a landlocked region, there is a surprising amount of excellent fish on chef Noriyuki Usui¡¯s menu.
Through trial and error, Tashi Gyamtso and his team meticulously selected a variety of herbs and vegetables best suited to Yufuin¡¯s unique altitude, climate and soil conditions ¡ª and which now form the backbone of Jimgu's menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Sep 22, 2024
Jimgu: A farm-driven restaurant of outstanding local variety
Three years before chef Tashi Gyamtso served his first meal at Jimgu, he arrived in Oita Prefecture to build the farm that stocks his kitchen today.
Moved by an experience with a local hunter, Shota Sasaki has since focused on elevating the image of game meat in Japan.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 11, 2024
Elezo Esprit: A visceral celebration of Hokkaido¡¯s wild game
Game meat specialist Elezo Esprit has hunters on staff who are directed to ensure the animals they supply arrive at the butchery within an hour of being killed.
Chef Hironori Fujii moved his restaurant, Oryouri Fujii, to the Iwase district of Toyama City in 2019, finding the ideal setting in its historic surroundings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 4, 2024
Oryouri Fujii: High-end Japanese cuisine in a picture-perfect Toyama setting
Chef Hironori Fujii will serve according to the seasons: ¡®ayu¡¯ (sweetfish) and ¡®nodoguro¡¯ (blackthroat perch) in summer; snow crab and yellowtail in winter.
When it is in season, 'maguro' (tuna) from the Sea of Japan is one of the mainstay menu items at Tokiwa Sushi.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jul 21, 2024
Tokiwa Sushi: Niigata sushi master with a hometown, locavore focus
¡°Tuna from Niigata Prefecture is the mainstay of our menu, but it¡¯s only available three months a year,¡± chef Kosuke Kobayashi explains.
Founder and owner Kazunori Otowa (left) in the kitchen of his eponymous restaurant together with his two sons, head chef Hajime Otowa (center) and restaurant manager Sou Otowa.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 22, 2024
Kazunori Otowa: Tochigi¡¯s patriarch of French fine dining
Superb cuisine, family values and deep regional roots have elevated Restaurant Otowa to its lofty position.
Chef Yusuke Murayama¡¯s creative cuisine at Pas Mal spotlights the premium produce of Yamagata Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 8, 2024
Pas Mal: French cuisine spotlighting Yamagata¡¯s premium produce
Chef Yusuke Murayama¡¯s signature dessert is a framboise mousse the color of glossy lipstick rouge in the shape of a mouth.
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Apr 26, 2024
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku¡¯s harsh past
Chef Ryohei Ikemi will open dinner with a warming soup featuring vegetables from Aomori¡¯s Lake Towada and close with a local Kyogoku apple gelato.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki opened Naz in the fall of 2020 on the rural fringe of the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 11, 2024
Naz: Bounty from landlocked Nagano¡¯s rivers and pastures
Dining at Naz is like sitting down at a bespoke dinner club for a meal catered exclusively for you. And what a meal it is.
Chef Masato Nishihara chose Nara as the site for his restaurant, Tsukumo, for its antiquity, its proximity to nature and its ancient connections with overseas cultures.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 3, 2023
Tsukumo: Japanese cuisine inspired by Nara¡¯s ancient roots
Like the treasures housed inside Nara¡¯s Shosoin repository, it may be years before chef Masato Nishihara reprises some of his exquisite dishes at Tsukumo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 11, 2023
Villa del Nido: Local produce, Italian technique, volcanic backdrop
Tucked away among the smallholdings of a rural community in Unzen City, it seems an unlikely setting for Villa del Nido¡¯s sophisticated, Italian-accented, farm-to-table cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Mar 12, 2023
Dewaya: Sansai cuisine worthy of a pilgrimage
Chef Haruki Sato prizes the freshest ingredients, even if that means digging them up in the dead of winter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 5, 2023
Yoichi Sagra: Feasting in Hokkaido wine country
Despite its occasionally inhospitable climate, Hokkaido is home to superb wines ¡ª as well as cuisine more than worthy of those vintages.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jan 15, 2023
L¡¯Atelier de Noto: Peninsular cuisine with a French accent
Located about two hours from tourist-heavy Kanazawa, this modern French restaurant tucked away in tranquil Wajima takes full advantage of the Noto Peninsula¡¯s bounty of land and sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 4, 2022
At Akai, tranquil dining without distractions
Minutes from the sacred island of Miyajima, chef Kenji Akai¡¯s cuisine showcases its own divine simplicity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Nov 6, 2022
Dining from forest and field at Niigata¡¯s Satoyama Jujo
The Sanaburi dining room in Minamiuonuma serves dishes so fresh they come straight from the soil ¡ª sometimes literally.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 2, 2022
At Don Bravo, creativity and wood-fired pizzas draw diners from afar
Far from the epicurean districts of Tokyo, this Chofu spot still manages to attract gourmands with omakase (chef¡¯s choice) pizza and much more.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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