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Simple yet delicious. Try this sweet and sour simmered eggplant dish using your extra noddle soup base courtesy of Miwa of Miwa's Japanese Cooking Class.

A long tradition of foraging has made a special place for a certain type of vegetable in Japan, known as sansai (山菜.) Sansai, or literally mountain vegetables, are particularly prized harbingers of spring. 

The Big Root podcast celebrates “Everywhere Japaneseness.”  When Lillian Rowlatt, co-founder of Kokoro Care Packages, found our podcast and reached out to us for a potential collaboration, we quickly recognized the spirit of everywhere Japaneseness inherent in their product.

Of the over 40 varieties of citrus fruit available in Japan  there is one that has been prized for over a thousand years in Japan, and more recently around the world, and that is the yuzu.

For most of the Western world, what comes to mind when thinking about Japan’s sports culture is sumo and, for manga fans, baseball. These are part of Japanese culture, yes, but we would be remiss in thinking this is where it ends. There is definitely something more! 

Believing that "everything is a resource," Doi Farm developed an eco-friendly approach to rice farming in Nagasaki, Japan by combining rice cultivation with raising pigs. The joint management approach allows by products, which would otherwise be discarded, to be recycled back into the farm. As changes due to global warming have put increased pressure on rice farmers in Japan, Doi Farm offers a hopeful new approach to cultivating rice, while protecting the natural ecosystem.

When I had the opportunity to travel back to my second hometown of Wakayama this spring, I made a point to ask around beforehand whether there were any homestays or farm-stays that might be available and settled on a brief stay at a guest house, or minshuku, called Hana-ichiban.

Luis Filipe Fukutani, a half-Japanese and half-Brazilian living in Montreal, Canada, shares his story of contribution and helping to improve a Japanese community.

One of the most essential parts of Japanese cuisine, and culture, is probably also one of its simplest: rice. White, fluffy, steaming, and sweet, rice finds its way into the Japanese diet in many ways.

Nutty, slightly sweet, and aromatic, your taste buds will be delighted by these Egoma Kinako Nut Balls from Morishige, using their specially grown perilla seeds. Morishige overcame years of struggle and losing their farm during the Great Kanto Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 to pursue their dream of producing the highest quality perilla seeds. You can taste their dedication and perseverance in these crunchy snackable treats!

We had the honor of sitting down with Atsuko Okabe, Executive Director of Marunaka Shoyu, to hear her story of perseverance and determination as she shares her family's 200 year old traditional soy sauce with the world. Please enjoy this inspirational and exclusive interview.

Kenchanzuke's tsukemono flakes are made from the finest vegetables produced in the Izumo region of Japan. The company hopes to preserve the traditional tastes and methods of Japanese pickling and pass it on to the next generation. The commitment of Kenchazuke to quality pickles can be seen in their motto - “No matter how long it takes, we want to make delicious pickled vegetables.”