Grilling Yakiniku
I haven’t really posted a lot of stuff about cooking (or even my #foodporn photos) on the blog, but I thought I’d share this video I uploaded to YouTube. I’m an “ambassador” for Syosaku-Japan, a...
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Eating together again for the holidays
It’s been a long, sometimes lonely three years since COVID-19 arrived in the world and changed all our lives. For many of us, this holiday season may be the first since the pandemic shutdowns when...
View Article“Everything Everywhere All at Once” adds momentum to AAPI representation
We are in a moment. An important moment for Asian American Pacific Islander and Desi representation in American pop culture. The film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” received 11 Academy Award...
View ArticleMeet John Daub of “Only in Japan”
I had a blast talking to John Daub, a YouTube creator who runs several “Only in Japan” channels. He’s lived in Japan for decades, and lives with his wife and son in Tokyo. He travels throughout Japan...
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On “authenticity” in Japanese food
Maybe not surprisingly, I’ve been a stickler for “authenticity” in food—especially Japanese food. I was born in Japan, and I’ve loved Japanese food all my life. I even wrote a book about the history...
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A new take on “Madama Butterfly” updates Puccini’s opera for modern times
Even if you haven’t seen the opera, most people know the title “Madama Butterfly,” Giacomo Puccini’s famous work which debuted in 1904. More people today are probably familiar with “Miss Saigon,” the...
View ArticleInterpreting “Lost in Translation” 20 years later
I get it. I understand. Traveling to someplace you’ve never been, where the culture and language is foreign to you, can be challenging. I know lots of Americans–including some Japanese...
View ArticleA memory of war
Forgotten history remembered: I took a Digital Storytelling class through StoryCenter that was held at Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and this is the story I produced as a result. The focus on...
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