Nov 24 (Japan by Food) - Japan byFood and Shizuka are going inside a bento factory in Japan, where we are discovering all the processes that make the famous train station “ekiben” bento so special.
From the massive batch of cooking, to the precise and detailed preparation, until it’s finally on the store shelf, ready to be picked up and enjoyed on the go!
Tokyo announced on November 26th that it will overhaul its lodging tax system by replacing the current fixed-rate structure with a uniform tax equivalent to 3% of accommodation fees, a move intended to respond to sharply rising hotel prices.
Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture issued a warning on social media after receiving what was believed to be a photo of a bear spotted in town, but the image was later revealed to be a fake created with generative AI.
A powerful earthquake struck the Aso region of Kumamoto at around 6:01 p.m. on November 25th, toppling a residential gate in Aso City and scattering roof tiles across the road, while rockfalls and damage were reported in nearby areas.
A Ferris wheel at the Expocity commercial complex in Suita, Osaka, known as the tallest in Japan at 123 meters, came to an abrupt stop on November 25th after a lightning strike disabled its operating system, leaving 20 passengers trapped in nine gondolas until the early hours of the following morning.
A large-scale water outage continued across parts of Okinawa on November 25th after a damaged pipeline caused significant leakage the previous day, with local authorities reporting ongoing disruptions as of 11:35 a.m.
Nagoya welcomed one of Japan's largest wine sales floors on November 24th as JR Nagoya Takashimaya opened “Wine Maison” on its second basement level, creating a new destination for wine enthusiasts with a selection of roughly 2,600 varieties and 15,000 bottles sourced from around the world.
Japan byFood and Shizuka are going inside a bento factory in Japan, where we are discovering all the processes that make the famous train station “ekiben” bento so special. (Japan by Food)
Japan byFood and Shizuka are eating through the season! Autumn in Japan is more than just red leaves – it’s also a celebration of seasonal flavor. (Japan by Food)
November 11th marks “Sake Day,” a date chosen because the kanji for salmon (鮭) contains the characters for “eleven” side by side. Although Japan’s wild salmon catch has fallen due to rising sea temperatures and shifting ocean currents, the popularity of farmed salmon is growing rapidly across the country, including in Fukuoka.
A wave of hit ramen shops and bakeries across Kansai owes much of its pulling power to little-seen specialists who tailor ingredients to each store’s recipe, with a Kyoto noodle maker growing annual sales from 70 million yen to 1.3 billion yen by supplying made-to-order noodles and a Kobe bean-paste producer developing more than 500 varieties of anko.
This ex-sumo fighter fought in high level sumo for over 15 years and then found his calling making hamburgers. His strength has apparently carried on to his delicious hamburgers, hidden away in the suburbs of Tokyo! (Japanese Food Craftsman)
The main thing to do at Tsukiji and Toyosu is to enjoy the street food. (SAMURAI JUNJIRO Channel)
In the small hours, when most of the city is asleep and the last trains have already rolled into depots, a different shift begins as “midnight workers” keep daily life stitched together—from a leak surveyor crouched on a silent road in Yokohama to a one-man neighborhood Chinese kitchen in Tokyo that serves until dawn and a Shimbashi bento shop that turns out more than 700 box lunches a day.
