Ryo Iwa– Author –
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Hoshiimo (干し芋)
If you've ever wandered through a Japanese convenience store or browsed the snack aisle at an Asian grocery, you may have spotted a pale, chewy-looking slice wrapped in simple packaging. That's hoshiimo, and it's far more interesting tha... -
What to Eat in Fukuoka: 20 Must-Try Foods for Every Visitor
Fukuoka punches well above its weight as a food city. Situated at the southwestern tip of Japan's main islands, it sits closer to Seoul than Tokyo, and its cuisine reflects centuries of trade with China and Korea. The result is food that... -
What to Eat in Kyoto: 20 Must-Try Foods for Every Visitor
Kyoto is where Japanese food culture reached its highest refinement. For over a thousand years, as Japan's imperial capital, the city developed a cuisine built on restraint, seasonality, and respect for ingredients rather than boldness o... -
What to Eat in Osaka: 20 Must-Try Foods for Every Visitor
Osaka does not do subtle. Japan's old merchant capital built its cooking around volume, speed and sauce, and it gave the country a word for the result: kuidaore, eating yourself into ruin. This is the birthplace of takoyaki, the home of ... -
What to Eat in Tokyo: 20 Must-Try Foods for Every Visitor
Tokyo has more restaurants per capita than any other city on earth. For first-time visitors, that abundance is both exciting and overwhelming. This guide cuts through it: 20 dishes that are genuinely essential to Tokyo's food identity, o... -
Kenchin Soba (けんちんそば)
Ask someone what to eat in Ibaraki. Most people say natto, the fermented soybeans, or Mito's pickled plum. Both are fair answers. But ask a local, and the first thing out of their mouth is usually kenchin soba. It's a bowl of earthy root... -
Tatebayashi Udon (館林うどん)
Ask most people about Gunma food. They'll say yakimanjuu, the grilled steamed buns. That's fair. But if you're talking noodles, Tatebayashi deserves your attention. Tatebayashi udon is one of Gunma's Big Three regional noodle styles. It ... -
Sumitsukare (しもつかれ)
Have you ever heard of sumitsukare? If this is your first time, don't worry. Most people haven't heard of it either. The name is hard to spell, the dish looks pretty plain, and nobody agrees on where the name came from. But for people wh... -
The Economics Behind Japanese Food Culture: Lessons for Modern Investors
There is a small sushi counter in the basement of a Ginza department store where an elderly itamae has been slicing fish for over forty years. His knife — a single-bevel yanagiba forged in Sakai — cost more than many people spend on a us... -
Kaga Cuisine (加賀料理)
My first encounter with Kaga cuisine was in Kanazawa during the winter. Walking along stone-paved streets glistening with snow, I entered a traditional ryotei restaurant. In the quiet tatami room, vermillion lacquerware and Kutani cerami...