Author: Seasider

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…

We have some exciting news: the Yokohama Seasider is becoming an official non-profit organization! This has been in the works for several months and will likely become a reality shortly after you read this. We at Bright Wave Media, Inc. have been producing the magazine since March 2009, but feel it◇s time to fully transition it to a community publication. We will still be intimately involved and are proud to be working with Joseph Amato (the director to-be) on this exciting, new project. Stay tuned…

Summer has begun. Most associate summer with the great outdoors–with adventure and freedom. While we love Yokohama and try to promote its attractions, it never hurts to get away from the city to enjoy more natural scenery. There are so many day trips one can experience from Yokohama. The city is one of Japan’s more underrated transportation hubs. Take advantage! We’re also excited about big changes coming to the Yokohama Seasider this summer. We’re about to evolve. Stay tuned…

spring cabbage ½ head (sliced in fine threads) red cabbage ¼ head (coarsely chopped) early red onion ¼ bulb (coarsely chopped) carrot 1(coarsely chopped) Dressing mayonnaise 60g plain yogurt 50g maple syrup 20g yuzu juice 20g (apple cider vinegar can be used as a substitute) yellow mustard 10g celery seed to taste salt and pepper to taste Mix dressing ingredients in a bowl. Add all vegetables to the dressing and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, and celery seeds as desired. Let sit in refrigerator for an hour and it’s ready to serve

In YSM #152, we spoke with Masaki Izumi, the Deputy Director of Yokohama International Education Academy (YIEA), about the challenges her language school has faced during the pandemic. But another problem people don’t realize is that many students have had difficulty entering Japan during COVID. In this interview, we seek to shed light on why these students are so valuable to Japan. YSM: Why are foreign students important to Japan? Izumi: All countries say they need international students in order to have more people in the world understand their country. This is also true of Japan. In the case of…