Walking with Andrea Masse Tognetti through the grounds of Narita-san is an enriching cultural experience. The temple becomes more than just a brief stop before checking into the international airport. Tognetti possesses the awe of a typical tourist, snapping away photos of gardens, statues — everything colorful and brightly painted is religiously recorded. But then…

Based in Roppongi, the office of Theatre Products is a multipurpose space–it is a showroom, meeting area, atelier and gallery all at the same time. The floor is unfinished wood, which in Tokyo gives it a distinct appeal. There is a white wooden country-inspired table and chair set to make up a small lounge. Racks…

It’s easy enough to forget that Mount Takao is technically part of Tokyo. The higher up you go, ascending into the trees and the distinctly fresher air, the more the tension of big city life becomes an afterthought. From certain vantage points you can distinguish Shinjuku or even Yokohama in the smoggy distance. Of course,…

Teppanyaki is a style of dining that came to be after World War II when Japanese chefs tried cooking Western foods on Teppan (literally iron plate or griddle.) This style of cooking became very popular with foreigners in Japan as the foods were more familiar to them than traditional Japanese fare. While most foreigners think…

If food is music, then this is the bass line. It underpins everything, holding the meal together as much as the seasonal theme of ingredients does. It runs through dishes and over your taste buds just on the edge of conscious thought. It makes your mouth water, but odds are that you seldom notice it….

You can change the stuffing, try a new gravy and even add some sautéed aubergines to the vegetable platter to mix things up, but at the end of the day a roast turkey is still a roast turkey. The chances are you’ve been there and done that – done it to death no doubt. Similarly…

For a French dining neophyte, it’s hard not to be intimidated by Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros. Famous culinary innovator with his name on the door? Yes. Star rating from the prestigious Michelin Guide Tokyo? Yes, and yes, thank you. Brilliant young chef creating exquisite tasting menus? Mais oui. So when I step in to meet Executive…

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo opened in Tokyo’s revitalized Marunouchi district on March 2nd of this year. This hotel is committed to offering guests in Tokyo the same level of service and hospitality that Shangri-La is known for at all of their properties. The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo occupies the top 11 floors of the Marunouchi Trust…

blocky concrete buildings reach outwards in an organised jumble of unbroken monochrome until it reaches another neighborhood, another station. It is Saturday, almost noon, and commuters come and go through the streets of the typical shopping district behind the station. A couple of greengrocers compete for attention, plastic baskets of oranges and apples displayed to…

The long history of Japanese sake is one that continues to be hotly debated among connoisseurs of the revered beverage. While some claim that sake has been with us for about 2,000 years, others believe that Japanese sake, in its current incarnation, has existed for about 1,000 years. Either way, the history of sake stretches…