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Heritage Radio Network

What is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!

Japan Eats!

Our guest is Joshua Walker who is the President and CEO of Japan Society https://japansociety.org/ in New York. Joshua has a very intriguing background. He was raised in Japan and spent his formative years in Hokkaido, northern Japan. 

 

Since Joshua left Japan at the age of 18, he has been working in global affairs and is known as a perpetual bridge-builder, citizen diplomat and trained academic with a specialization in East Asia and the Middle East. After gaining diverse global experiences, he became the president and CEO of Japan Society in December 2019. 

 

Joshua joined us in Episode #210 in November 2020 and discussed his fascinating background and the culture of Hokkaido he loves. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss various topics about Japanese culture overall with Joshua’s profound perspective, including what makes Japanese culture distinctive, where the unique Japanese mindset comes from, his thoughts on the lessons learned during World War II that ended 80 years ago with the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings and much, much more!!! 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

‘Read The Room’ Mindset: What Makes Japanese Culture Unique?

Our guest is Gento Torigata https://gentotorigata.com/ who is the owner and mixologist of Waltz https://waltzbar.uk/ in East London. After diverse culinary and bartending experiences in Japan, Australia and Singapore, Gento moved to London and opened Waltz in April 2024.

Waltz is truly a unique place. With his traditional Japanese mindset of appreciating seasonality, Gento offers original cocktails inspired by micro seasons along with Japanese hospitality, or Omotenashi. 

In this episode, we will discuss how Gento has built a strong career as a bartender through his global experiences, how he creates cocktails based on Japanese traditional micro seasonal calendars called NIjyushi Sekki and Shichiju Niko, the essence of Omotenashi Gento aims to practice at Waltz and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Waltz: Japanese Cocktail Culture Expressed in Seasonality

My guest today is Tim Fronzek who is a co-founder of Nosh.bio https://www.nosh.bio/ based in Berlin, Germany. 

 

Plant-based protein has been gaining attention, particularly since the 2010s for our growing health and environmental concerns. However, various products in the market may not be as ideal as it was thought to be. Some are not so environmentally friendly in their manufacturing process, or undesirable compounds are created during the high level of processing of ingredients. Also, their flavors and textures may not be very satisfying. 

 

To conquer these issues, Tim came up with the idea of using Koji, the beneficial mold used to make a majority of traditional Japanese food. His company Nosh.bio has been offering protein made with koji since 2022 to global clients. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Tim discovered Koji’s potential, the health benefits and sustainable nature of Koji protein, what diets are possible to keep our earth healthy and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Pioneering Sustainable Plant-Based Protein With Koji

Our guest is Takashi Sato who is the 8th generation family member of Sanjirushi Jozo in Mie Prefecture and the president of San-J International https://san-j.com/ in the state of Virginia. 

 

Sanjirushi Jozo has been making soy sauce and miso since 1804, and in 1978, the company decided to expand its business to the U.S. Now, San-J is one of the most familiar soy sauce brands in the U.S. and its products are distributed through online and notable retailers, including Whole Foods Market. Takashi joined us in Episode 297 in May 2023 and talked about various topics, such as how the company managed to expand in the U.S. market and its unique, natural, gluten-free products.

 

Takashi is back on the show to discuss fermentation. Fermentation has been one of the keywords in the culinary world and among consumers globally these days. In 2023, the global fermented food market was valued at $578 billion and is expected to grow further, according to research.

 

In this episode, we will discuss why fermentation is gaining so much attention these days, why fermented food is valuable to our society overall, the tours that Takashi organizes to visit producers of traditional Japanese fermented products and much, much more!!! 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inspiring The World With Japanese Fermentation Culture And Traditions

https://yamatozakura.com/ 

https://www.thespiritofjapan.com/

 

Our guests are Stephen Lyman and Joseph Overbey who have produced the documentary The Spirit of Japan. It is the story of the Wakamatsu family, who have been making the traditional Japanese distilled spirit, shochu, at their Yamatozakura Distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture since the 1850s.

 

The duo follows the life of Yamatozakura’s 5th generation toji/master distiller Tekkan Wakamatsu and how the distillery’s tradition is being passed down from the 4th generation toji and Tekkan’s father Kazunari Wakamatsu. 

 

The film is beautifully shot and captures many aspects of Tekkan’s career, life with his family and the shochu industry. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Joseph and Stephen got involved in Yamatozakura Distillery, what they want to communicate to the audience through the film, gifts and challenges of succeeding a traditional family business, what is happening with the Japanese shochu industry right now and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Spirit of Japan: Passing Down The Tradition Of Shochu In The Modern Era

Our guest is Kyle Connaughton, who is the chef/owner of SingleThread https://singlethreadfarms.com/ in California. SingleThread is a very unique farm, restaurant, and inn, which has earned numerous accolades since its opening in 2016, including three Michelin stars, three Michelin keys and a Michelin Green Star, which recognizes the outstanding sustainability at the farm managed by Kyle’s wife and co-owner Katina Connaughton. 

 

Kyle began his culinary career in L.A. with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city, followed by training at top restaurants, such as Spago Beverly Hills, The Dining Room at Ritz-Carlton and A.O.C. Then he moved to Japan and cooked for the famed French chef Michel Bras, as well as at traditional Japanese restaurants. On top of these diverse experiences, he also worked at the highly innovative restaurant The Fat Duck in the U.K. as the Head Chef of Research & Development. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Kyle fell in love with Japanese cuisine at a very young age, how his global experiences formed his unique culinary philosophy and style, the fascinating concept of SingleThread, the idea of Omotenashi that Kyle highly values and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SingleThread: Weaving Japanese And Californian Ethos Together

Our guest is Takahiro Sakaeda who is the chef/partner of Nami Nori https://www.naminori.us/. Nami Nori is a unique concept of temaki sushi bar that serves open-style hand rolls on a U-shaped stand. Since its opening in 2019 in New York, Taka has created many fans of his beautifully made, casual and high-quality sushi. Now he operates four locations of Nami Nori in New York, New Jersey and Miami.

 

But his success didn’t come easily. Taka spent 10 years at Masa, one of the best sushi restaurants in the U.S. with three Michelin stars and acquired an authentic mindset and sushi-making techniques under the master chef Masayoshi Takayama.

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Taka grew up in the U.S. under Japanese parents and got into cooking against their will, what he learned from the master chef Masa Takayama, the unique concept of Nami Nori, his original culinary vision that merges two cultures of Japan and the U.S., his new 10 counter-seat restaurant in Miami and Japanese bakery in New York and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From Masa To Nami Nori: A Culinary Journey of Chef Taka Sakaeda

Our guest is Takumi Kuwabara who is the toji or brewmaster at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon.

 

SakéOne (https://www.sakeone.com/) is a unique sake brewery. It was founded in 1992 by Momokawa Brewing in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, which was founded in 1889. SakéOne started sake-brewing in 1997 and since then, its sake has won multiple awards at prestigious competitions like the U.S. National Sake Appraisal and the San Francisco International Wine Competition. And of course, a big part of its success has come from Takumi’s craftsmanship.

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Takumi studied sake in Japan and also in the U.S. after he arrived in the country in 2004, the unique terroir Oregon offers to make high-quality sake, challenges in making sake outside of Japan, how he sees the past and future of the American sake market and much, much more!!!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A Japanese Toji Dedicated to Making Sake In America For Over 20 Years

Our guest is Yoshinori Ishi who is the executive chef and producer of Auberge TOKITO https://www.aubergetokito.com/en/ in Tachikawa, Tokyo. Chef Ishii’s background is unique and spectacular. He worked at one of the top Kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto called Arashiyama Kiccho as a sous chef and moved abroad to cook at the United Nations Ambassador's Residence in Geneva and New York. Then he moved to London to open Umu, which earned two Michelin stars—the first two stars by a Japanese restaurant in Europe. After 10 years of success at Umu, he decided to open Auberge Tokito in the suburb of Tokyo.

 

In this episode, we will discuss how Chef Ishii’s philosophy of Japanese cuisine transitioned and expanded over the last 35 years of his career in Japan and abroad, why he decided to go back to Japan to start a new project, the innovative concept of Auberge TOKITO, which focuses on the Japanese cuisine that never existed before and much, much more!!!

 

The documentary film TOKITO: https://www.tokitofilm.com/en

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After Two Michelin Stars In London, A Chef Returns To Japan To Reimagine Kaiseki

Our guest is Isao Yamada who is the chef-owner of Yamada https://www.yamadanewyork.com/ in New York. He was classically trained in Kyoto as a Kaiseki chef and opened his own restaurant at the age of 25 in his hometown Fukuoka. He could have successfully built his career in Japan but he decided to move to the U.S. in 2006 to pursue new challenges.

Chef Yamada’s career in the U.S. evolved as he worked closely with the legendary chef David Bouley in New York. He earned a Michelin star as the executive chef at Chef Bouley’s Kaiseki restaurant Brushstroke. In April 2025, Chef Yamada opened his own beautiful restaurant Yamada in Manhattan.

In this episode, we will discuss Chef Yamada’s unique career, how he collaborated with the legendary Chef Bouley, his Kaiseki dishes at Yamada that seamlessly merge authenticity and creativity, his joy and challenges in cooking in America, how Japanese cuisine in America has changed in the last two decades and much, much more!!!

Follow Chef Yamada on Instagram @chef_yamada.isao, as well as his restaurant Yamada @yamadanyc!

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cooking Authentic Kaiseki Cuisine in New York For Two Decades

Our guest is Stephen Lyman who is known as a leading shochu expert. He joined us on Episode 23 and talked about shochu extensively. He moved to Japan in 2018 and now lives in the mecca of shochu Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan. Stephen recently published an intriguing book titled “The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks”. Also, he now has a cool shochu bar in Fukuoka.

In this episode, we will discuss his new life in Japan, his exciting new book, Japanese drinking culture that he deeply observes as a resident of Japan, and much, much more!

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Episode 169: Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks

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