We hope you enjoy this issue’s content, especially considering it marks another step in our evolution toward more long-form articles about local culture and history. This shift in our approach–ongoing for a while–is also connected to our transition to an official NPO. We expect that registration process to be completed soon. We’re quite excited! Whether you are a business or individual, please consider supporting us. For individuals, please visit our Patreon page (web address below). If you’re a business, please email us about partnerships (advertising, distribution, etc). Thank you so much!
Author: Seasider
The Great Kanto Earthquake approaches 99 years on the first of September and already the city is planning events to mark the centennial throughout 2023. Through the many writings recorded by survivors of this natural disaster, the devastation and aftermath of this day left an indelible stamp on their memory. Particularly in Yokohama, where nearly 80% of the city was destroyed by the quake and ensuing fires, rebuilding the city quickly with an attention to safety became the priority of the local government. One new area that was a result of the earthquake is Yamashita Park–the site was selected as…
A recent mini-boom in wild game meat (jibie, from the French gibier) has hit Japan, and boar and venison are no longer rarities on a menu. While horses are hardly wild, horse meat has been popular in Nagano and Kumamoto for centuries. From 2017 to 2020, a brewpub called 29BY specializing in horse meat was a fixture in Yoshida-machi, but the deterioration of the building forced a move to suburban Hakuraku in 2021. Its sparkling new location, just minutes from the east exit of the Toyoko Line station, features a modern brewery and kitchen and room for 30 guests. Brewmaster…
In today’s rapidly changing world, many people who have traditionally stayed in their present jobs for a long time have suddenly made changes in their work in search of a more rewarding life. Kazuhiko Abe is one such person. He is the owner of Made in Hands, a gourmet burger shop in Hiyoshi. After graduating from the University of Tsukuba Graduate School, Abe received a position at a major foreign consulting firm. There, he gained practical experience in a wide range of areas, including improving the efficiency of client companies’ IT-based operations and supporting their global expansion. However, he had…
It has been a difficult few years, but experts are finally looking past the vagaries of numbers which continue to rise and fall in pockets, and to start planning a return to normalcy in a post-pandemic world. For well over two years, the coronavirus pandemic has colored our lives. Our work environments, vacations, schools and every social occasion have all had to take the most damaging global health crisis in more than a century into consideration. Today, however, aggressive vaccine programs coupled with a majority of the public heeding common-sense precautions mean that the crisis appears to have peaked in…
In the heat of summer, many long for the cool days of autumn. In the cold of winter, many long for the warm days of spring. For us, summer makes us crave cold local beer (or iced tea), barbecues, beaches, and outdoor fun with friends. But it can’t be all fun and no work! We continue to prepare for our transition to NPO status with a new team and new directions for content. We’re confident you’ll like our new iteration… We’re almost there…
Main Ingredients green pepper 6 (2cm cubes) garlic 4 cloves (diced) chicken soup stock 1L tomato 300g (diced) salt & pepper (to taste) olive oil (to taste) Spice Mix (premix) chili powder 30g cumin powder 15g coriander powder 10g paprika powder 15g chipotle paste 20g Coat beef with salt and pepper then with cornmeal. Grill beef till brown on the outside (inside may still be rare). In a different fry pan, heat oil with garlic until aromatic. Add onion, celery, and green pepper grilling till they warm. Add spice mix, oregano, then coriander. Continue frying until…
It’s surprising just how many bread shops there are in Japan. Yokohama is considered the birthplace of European bread in Japan with the first bread shop established in 1861 near Nihon-ōdōri street in the old foreigners settlement. Small, Japanese, family-owned bread shops baking their own unique style of breads later flourished during the 1920s and 30s. Along the old shopping street near Higashi-Hakuraku Station, you may stumble upon Rosenborg, one of those unique, early bread shops still in existence today. Founded by the Takasaki family in 1937 and originally located near Tanmachi Station, the bakery was first named “Napoleon Bakery”.…
German Tea Born in Yokohama Ronnefeldt Tea Company is one of the oldest tea companies in the world, established by Johann Tobias Ronnefeldt in Frankfurt, Germany in 1823. In this month’s issue we introduce the sole distributor of Ronnefeldt Tea in Japan, Mr. Marcel Niederhauser, who was born in Yokohama and is the president of Otti Boeki. YSM: Please provide us some background on how you got into the tea business. Niederhauser: It fell into my lap one afternoon in 1999. I was not quite happy with my job at the time working for a Swiss company and one day…
Indecisive? You crave beef, but lamb looks good, too. Oh, pork as well! Ah, fried chicken! Wait–shrimp, too? Smoked salmon? Why not just try them all? Problem solved: Juicy Things, specializing in small portions of fried chicken and sliders–miniature hamburgers just 6cm across. With a choice of five fillings (plus a weekly special), you needn’t limit yourself to one slider; three or four will make a meal. Order the meat alone on a tiny bun (“Original”) or add lettuce, tomato, and onion (“Classic”). Prices are also diminutive, from ¥300 to ¥400. Fried chicken (original, cacciatore, or Cajun) costs ¥200 to…