Japan Eats!

Our guests are Stephen Lyman & Christopher Pellegrini who are the co-hosts of Japan Distilled, the fantastic new podcast about Japanese spirits.Japan Distilled started in December 2020.  The duo's conversations are fun and truly informative.  Stephen and Chris always tell the audience not just the basics but also in-depth history and background of Japanese spirits, which even most Japanese people wouldn’t know about.In this episode, we will discuss why Chris and Stephen started the Japanese spirit-themed podcast, what you should know about Japanese spirits beyond Japanese whisky, tips for buying and drinking Japanese spirits and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Michael Gerard who is the founder and president of Wildwood Ovens & BBQ (Instagram) based in California.  Michael manufactures various wood-fired cooking equipment including yakitori grills.  Yakitori is grilled chicken on skewers and its simplicity demands tremendous skills and experience of the cook, not to mention great equipment.  Michael is one of the very few yakitori grill manufacturers in the U.S. In this episode, we will discuss how Michael got into producing wood-fired cooking equipment, where his passion for high quality food comes from, what exactly yakitori is, a unique and powerful fuel used to make yakitori called binchotan and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Jon Broida who is the owner of Japanese Knife Imports based in California.  Before Jon founded Japanese Knife Imports in 2010, he had a successful career as a fine-dining chef and great knives were essential for his job.  He got so into Japanese knives that eventually he started the company and now offers outstanding products along with essential services such as knife sharpening and repairs.  In this episode, we will discuss how the American chef became interested in Japanese knives, how Japanese knives are different from western-style knives, Jon’s unique relationships with Japanese knife craftsmen, what Japanese knives you should have and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Philip Harper, the brewmaster and managing director of Kinoshita Shuzo in Kyoto, which was founded in 1842. Philip has been working in the sake industry for the last 30 years.  In 2007, he became the very first non-Japanese brewmaster at Kinoshita Shuzo.  Nowadays there are more non-Japanese workers in the sake industry but back then, it was a shockingly novel event! Philip has proven his remarkable talent and his outstanding products have won many awards.  Also, he has been inspiring the sake industry with refreshing new ideas like sake that is made to be drunk on the rocks. In this episode, we will discuss how Philip ended up living in Japan and eventually becoming a brewmaster, his unique style of sake making, the future of the sake industry and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Don Mei who is the Director of Mei Leaf, an awesome tea company based in London.  Don also has a wonderful YouTube Channel called “Mei Leaf”, which has 80,000 subscribers.  His videos are extremely educational and uniquely fun based on his extensive knowledge of both Chinese and Japanese tea.  His global and analytical perspective helps viewers to appreciate tea even more.  In this episode, we will discuss various aspects of Japanese tea such as production, flavor and terroir in comparison with Chinese tea, Don’s intriguing path to become a tea specialist and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Kazumasa Nishikawa who is the 4th generation head master of the Nishikawa school of Japanese dancing, which has a history of 170 years. He is a dancer, producer, and director, creating numerous performances, teaching at 4 colleges. He is also a manager of the Nihon Odori Sports Science, a health program from the perspective of Japanese dance.Kaz is based in Aichi Prefecture, which is known for its distinctive food culture. Located between Tokyo and Osaka, its capital Nagoya may sound familiar to some of our listeners, but Aichi has not been discovered enough by most of us. In this episode, we will discuss Kaz’s interesting international background, why Japanese dance is good for your health, Aichi’s fascinating food products such as umami-rich miso and soy sauce, popular free breakfast programs in Nagoya and much, much more!!! Here is the link to Kaz's fascinating dance performance: https://youtu.be/nM50bfdICgk Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Winifred Bird who is a writer, translator, lifelong cook, and lover of plants, based in northern Illinois.  Winnie recently published a fabulous book called “Eating Wild Japan - Tracking the Culture of Foraged Foods, with a Guide to Plants and Recipes” from Stone Bridge Press.    When we talk about Japanese cuisine, we tend to think of dishes like sushi, ramen and kaiseki without considering enough about native ingredients that play a significant role in Japanese food culture.  One of the most important ingredients is sansai or edible wild plants.  Since two-thirds of Japan’s total land area is forested, you can find amazing seasonal edible plants throughout Japan.  Winnie is one of the very few people who discovered the charm of sansai and wrote a book about it in English, based on her experience of living in Japan for 9 years.  In this episode, we will discuss Winnie’s eventful life in Japan, what sansai is, why sansai is so important in Japanese food culture, delicious sansai dishes that you should not miss at Japanese restaurants or in Japan and  much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Yarrow Lazer-Smith, a.k.a. Yarrow Slaps who is a visual artist and hip-hop musician as well as the co-director of SWIM Gallery in San Francisco.    Yarrow recently published “Ramen Forever – An Artist’s Guide to Ramen”.  There are many ramen-themed books, but this is definitely one the most intriguing and cool ones you can find.  It is packed with inspiring interviews with ramen-lover artists, tons of fun illustrations, amusing photos and novel recipes.  The book is a proof of how ramen has become universally popular.  20 years ago, who would have expected that such a casual, accessible form of Japanese cuisine will appeal to a global audience!In this episode, we will discuss Yarrow’s unique life perspective as an artist, how the cool painter and hip-hop musician got into ramen, what is common between art and ramen and much, much more!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Hannah Kirshner who is the author of “WATER, WOOD, AND WILD THINGS”, which just came out on March 23, 2021 from Viking.Hannah has a lot of intriguing experiences in Japan. For example, she has worked as a bartender and as well as a kurabito, or sake brewer’s assistant, in the beautiful rural area of Ishikawa Prefecture called Yamanaka.  Now she calls it her second home.In her new book, Hannah insightfully describes Japanese traditional culture as well as how it is being revised by artisans in Yamanaka.In this episode, we will discuss how Hannah got into Japanese culture and ended up living in Japan, the charm of rural Japan like Yamanaka, the area's inspirational artisans she has worked with and much, much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Our guest is Brian Ashcraft who is a senior writer for the video gaming site Kotaku and a columnist for The Japan Times.  He is also the author of the 6 fascinating books including: The Japanese Sake Bible, Japanese Whisky, Japanese Tattoos and Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool.  Brian has lived in Osaka since 2001.  Throughout the two decades, he has insightfully observed and reported the uniqueness of Japanese culture to the world in English.  In this episode, we will discuss how Brian ended up becoming a prolific writer and journalist specialized in Japanese culture, his insight into various aspects of Japanese culture including sake, whisky, tattoos, schoolgirls and much much more!!! Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.