New collaboration with Japan Sumo Association is even more deacdent than the last. Sumo is a cultural tradition with centuries of history of ceremony, and also a deep, complex sport with dozens of power, footwork, and strategic techniques compressed into every bout. And yet, it’s almost impossible to watch a sumo match and not be […]

Giant gobo is shocking to look at, but how does it taste? Japanese supermarkets often have their own in-house bakeries, so when our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa walked into her local branch of grocery store chain Ozeki, for a moment she thought she might be looking at an enticing loaf of crusty French bread. Actually, […]

Why settle for a tiny snack when you can gnaw on one that doubles as a legendary sword? Confectionery company Morinaga’s chocolate snack Koeda (“Twig”) has had tons of fans over the close to 55 years it has been on sale, with some enjoying the small chocolate twig with a glass of whisky. One such […]

This ramen behemoth only appears two days a week, but for serious carnivores, it’s worth waiting for. Even with the continual upward creep of restaurant prices in Japan, 1,800 yen (US$11.60) feels like a lot for ramen, considering that it wasn’t all that long ago that basic bowls of the stuff could be found for […]

This beast puts convenience store egg sandwiches to shame. In a climate of rising costs and prices, it can be hard to find a good deal in Japan these days. So when Lawson announced it would be holding a “Morisugi Challenge“, which loosely translates as “Overfill Challenge“, we immediately headed out to our local branch […]