Japan Eats!

Japan Eats!

What is Japanese food? Sushi, or ramen, or kaiseki? What about Izakaya? Akiko Katayama, a Japanese native, New York-based food writer and director of the New York Japanese Culinary Academy, tells you all about real Japanese food and food culture. With guests ranging from sake producers with generations of experience to American chefs pushing the envelope of Japanese gastronomy, Japanese cuisine is demystified here!

Episodes

October 23, 2025 45 mins

Our guest is Andrew Tsui who is the founder and president of The Ike Jime Federation https://ikejimefederation.com/ based in Maryland. 

 

Ikejime is a unique, traditional Japanese technique to treat fish right after it is caught.  Ikejime dramatically reduces fish’s suffering and extends its freshness.  The results are much better taste and flavor, as well as less waste of fish. 

&...

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Our guest is Nozomi Mori who is the chef/owner of the sushi bar Nozomi Mori https://www.morinozomi.com/ in Los Angeles, which opened in 2024. She got into the world of sushi in 2017, only 8 years ago, and her sushi bar already earned notable accolades, such as a Michelin star and was included in the New York Times’ 50 best restaurant list in 2025. 

 

In this episode, we will discuss why Nozomi decided to ...

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Our guest is Timothy Sullivan who has over 17 years of experience teaching about sake.  In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewers Association. Since 2013, Tim has served as the Global Brand Ambassador for the 100-year-old Hakkaisan Sake Brewery https://www.hakkaisan.com/. Now also as the Director of Education at Sake Studies Center https://www.sakestudiescen...

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Our guests are Yusuke Fukuzaki and Ryo Yamazaki, co-owners of SSAW www.ssawbrooklyn.com/ in Brooklyn, New York.  The duo opened SSAW in November 2024 to serve “a refined ‘New Japanese’ dining experience, where traditional craftsmanship meets contemporary innovation,” according to its website.    

 

Yusuke has worked at top restaurants in Japan, including the three-Michelin-starred...

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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 Heirinji Monastery in Japan, he moved to the US in 1999 to study at Cornell University where he eventually earned a PhD in Asian religions.  Since then, he has taught Buddhist studies at pro...

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Our guest is Joshua Walker who is the President and CEO of Japan Society https://japansociety.org/  in New York.  Joshua has a very intriguing background.  He was raised in Japan and spent his formative years in Hokkaido, northern Japan. 

 

Since Joshua left Japan at the age of 18, he has been working in global affairs and is known as a perpetual bridge-builder, citizen diplomat a...

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Our guest is Gento Torigata  https://gentotorigata.com/  who is the owner and mixologist of Waltz https://waltzbar.uk/ in East London.  After diverse culinary and bartending experiences in Japan, Australia and Singapore, Gento moved to London and opened Waltz in April 2024.

Waltz is truly a unique place.  With his traditional Japanese mindset of appreciating seasonality, Gen...

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My guest today is Tim Fronzek who is a co-founder of Nosh.bio https://www.nosh.bio/ based in Berlin, Germany. 

 

Plant-based protein has been gaining attention, particularly since the 2010s for our growing health and environmental concerns. However, various products in the market may not be as ideal as it was thought to be. Some are not so environmentally friendly in their manufacturing process, or undesi...

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Our guest is Takashi Sato who is the 8th generation family member of Sanjirushi Jozo in Mie Prefecture and the president of San-J International https://san-j.com/ in the state of Virginia. 

 

Sanjirushi Jozo has been making soy sauce and miso since 1804, and in 1978, the company decided to expand its business to the U.S.  Now, San-J is one of the most familiar soy sauce brands in the U.S. a...

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https://yamatozakura.com/ 

https://www.thespiritofjapan.com/

 

Our guests are Stephen Lyman and Joseph Overbey who have produced the documentary The Spirit of Japan.  It is the story of the Wakamatsu family, who have been making the traditional Japanese distilled spirit, shochu, at their Yamatozakura Distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture since the 1850s.

 

The duo follows the life of Yamatozakura’s 5th&nbs...

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Our guest is Kyle Connaughton, who is the chef/owner of SingleThread https://singlethreadfarms.com/ in California. SingleThread is a very unique farm, restaurant, and inn, which has earned numerous accolades since its opening in 2016, including three Michelin stars, three Michelin keys and a Michelin Green Star, which recognizes the outstanding sustainability at the farm managed by Kyle’s wife and ...

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Our guest is Takahiro Sakaeda who is the chef/partner of Nami Nori https://www.naminori.us/.  Nami Nori is a unique concept of temaki sushi bar that serves open-style hand rolls on a U-shaped stand. Since its opening in 2019 in New York, Taka has created many fans of his beautifully made, casual and high-quality sushi.  Now he operates four locations of Nami Nori in New York, New Jersey and Miami.

 

But his success didn’t co...

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Our guest is Takumi Kuwabara who is the toji or brewmaster at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon.

 

SakéOne (https://www.sakeone.com/) is a unique sake brewery.  It was founded in 1992 by Momokawa Brewing in Aomori Prefecture, Japan, which was founded in 1889. SakéOne started sake-brewing in 1997 and since then, its sake has won multiple awards at prestigious competitions like the U.S. National Sake Appraisal and the San Franci...

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Our guest is Yoshinori Ishi who is the executive chef and producer of Auberge TOKITO https://www.aubergetokito.com/en/ in Tachikawa, Tokyo.  Chef Ishii’s background is unique and spectacular.  He worked at one of the top Kaiseki restaurants in Kyoto called Arashiyama Kiccho as a sous chef and moved abroad to cook at the United Nations Ambassador's Residence in Geneva and New York.  Then he moved to London to open Umu, whic...

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Our guest is Isao Yamada who is the chef-owner of Yamada https://www.yamadanewyork.com/ in New York.  He was classically trained in Kyoto as a Kaiseki chef and opened his own restaurant at the age of 25 in his hometown Fukuoka.  He could have successfully built his career in Japan but he decided to move to the U.S. in 2006 to pursue new challenges.

Chef Yamada’s career in the U.S. evolved as he worked closely with the legen...

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Our guests are Rahul Saito and Mitsu Nagae.  Rahul is the owner and Mitsu is the co-owner and executive chef at l’abeille https://www.labeille.nyc and l’abeille à côté https://www.labeilleacote.nyc/ in Tribeca, New York.

 

The duo opened l’abeille in March 2022 and shortly after, they won a Michelin star, thanks to Mitsu’s unique and outstanding culinary background as a Japanese chef classically trained in Paris, Tokyo and N...

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Our guest is Takatoshi Kadowaki who is the chef-owner of Sushi Kadowaki https://sushi-kadowaki.jp/eng/ in Tokyo.  He started his sushi-chef training at 17 and after his master retired, he moved to the U.S. and developed a global mindset.  Now he serves authentic Edomae-style sushi in the Ginza area of Tokyo, where every sushi chef dreams about opening a sushi bar.

 

Chef Kadowaki is known for his meticulous sourcing of his f...

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Our guest is Daniel Bennett who is the sake sommelier at Sushi-san www.sushisanrestaurant.com and The Omakase Room at Sushi-san www.theomakaseroom.com in Chicago.  Both are a part of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, which is an independent, family-owned restaurant group that owns, manages and licenses more than 110 restaurants nationwide with over 60 concepts ranging from fast casual to fine dining.

 

Daniel is a certified...

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Our guests are Régis Camus and Carl Hirschmann, co-founders of Heavensake https://www.heavensake.com/, which was founded in 2016.

 

Heavensake is truly unique.  It is the first sake producer that introduced the blending (assemblage) technique to the traditional sake-making process.  The mastermind behind Heavensake is Régis Camus who led the renowned Champagne House Piper-Heidsieck as the Chef de Cave for 28 years.  Another ...

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Our guest is Hilo Mahelona who is the chef and founder of Hilo Beverly Hills https://www.hilobh.com/ in Los Angeles, California.

 

Growing up in Hawaii under Japanese and Hawaiian parents, Hilo has a unique yet authentic sushi-making philosophy.  And the moment you step into his restaurant, you will feel his bright, warm hospitality.  The combination of the two makes the restaurant very popular among sushi lovers and Hollywo...

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