
Palate Project: Making Japanese Sake More Accessible to Americans
Our guest is Genki Ito, who founded the unique online sake shop Tippsy Sake in 2018. He joined us in Episode #254 in February 2022 and discussed its innovative concept. Tippsy Sake’s business has gr...
10 Jul 29min

Why Is Japanese Wine So Hot Right Now?
Our guest is Nick Rowan, author of Japanese Wine, a fantastic, comprehensive book on Japanese wine. The Japanese wine industry and culture have been developing very rapidly since the 1990s, and Nick’s...
12 Jun 54min

Making Waves in the Latte-Driven Matcha Boom: An Italian Woman Introduces Authentic Japanese Tea Culture
Our guest is Silvia Mella who is the owner of Sorate in New York. Sorate is a unique Japanese green tea company, which sells premium Japanese tea through online and operates beautiful tea houses in M...
6 Apr 26min

Food Is The Foundation Of Our Mindfulness: Zen Monk Masaki Matsubara
Our guest is Reverend Dr. Masaki Matsubara, who is an eighteenth-generation Zen priest in the Japanese Rinzai tradition. His career is unique and impressive. Following his Zen monastic training in Hei...
20 Feb 49min

Crafting Shogun-Selected Barrel Aged Soy Sauce For Over 330 Years
Our guest is Hideatsu Shibanuma who is the 18th-generation president of Shibanuma Soy Sauce, which was founded in 1688. Shibanuma Soy Sauce has specialized in producing barrel-aged soy sauce in Ibarak...
15 Jan 40min

Discovering Real Japan: The Oldest Izakaya, Fermentation Lab And Singing With Japanese Bluegrass Musicians
Our guest is George Padilla who plays a key role in multiple exciting Japanese restaurant and hospitality businesses in New York, including Rule of Thirds (https://www.thirdsbk.com/), Bin Bin Sake (ht...
19 Des 202557min

Konbini Culture: Unwrapping Japan’s Unique Convenience Stores
Our guest is Gavin Whitelaw https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/gavin-h-whitelaw who is the Executive Director of Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. Gavin has spent ove...
4 Des 202556min




















