SUSHI KAPPO TAMURA WINS OPEN TABLE HONORS Sushi Kappo Tamura in Eastlake was the only restaurant in Washington state to make the Open Table list of the top 100 restaurants in the US in 2018. Open Table, an online reservation system, uses feedback from diners to compile the list. The restaurant has an exceptional rating on Open Table with 97% of the 993 reviews...
Chef Taichi Kitamura’s popular Sushi Kappo Tamura restaurant in Eastlake was the only restaurant in Washington state to make Open Table’s 100 Best Restaurants in America list for 2018. The list is compiled based on enthusiastic feedback from diners who use the Open Table reservation system, not reviews by professional food critics. The award is in part a tribute to Kitamura’s affable style. “It’s...
Chef Shiro Kashiba, more than anyone else, embodies the Seattle sushi scene. From his early days making sushi at Maneki in the late 1960s to his current job serving sushi at the swanky Sushi Kashiba across from the Inn at the Market, Chef Shiro has helped guide Seattle’s sushi history. At 77, he’s still innovating. Of course, former boss Jiro Ono (of Jiro Dreams...
Seattle’s love affair with sushi started in the back bar of Maneki Restaurant in the late 1960s. There, a young Shiro Kashiba started serving nigiri sushi to the delighted patrons. Until that point, most Americans had an aversion to raw fish. But, as we all know now, that aversion would disappear over the ensuing decades. Today, Maneki is still going strong; Chef Kashiba has...
Capture your memories with paper and pen on your next trip. You’ll thank yourself years later, when you pick up the notebook and immediately travel in time back to that wonderful trip you once took. This Traveler’s Notebook is made in a small factory in the Nakameguro neighborhood of Tokyo. It was made with the traveler in mind. The carefully tanned leather cover feels...
As the name “Pure Malt” suggests, the pen uses material from whiskey- making. Whiskey is often aged in barrels made of 100-year-old oak; those barrels can be in use for as much as 60 years. The Pure Malt SS2005 is made from the whiskey barrels. Because they are made from the panels of the aged whiskey barrels, each ballpoint pen has a slightly different...
JAPANESE TEA NEEDS TO BE BREWED at just the right temperature to bring out its umami and fragrance. This can take a lot of work, which is why bottled tea is so poular in Japan. Thé D’or is the exception, a bottled tea that successfully brings out to the fullest the true umami and fragrance of Japanese green tea and then bottles the tea...
Anyone who’s done business in Japan knows how important first impressions are. Your first encounter with a person often revolves around the business card, or meishi, exchange. If the person you are meeting is higher ranking than you, let them initiate the exchange. If you’re on equal status, either party can start the exchange. Also, if you’re sitting at a table, don’t put your...
Casually sharpen your Flower Pencil and watch their reaction as the shavings drop from the pencil in the shape of flower petals! The brightly colored pencils, designed by Toshihiro Otomo in Japan, come in different shapes that create beautiful little petals when sharpened. The eco-friendly pencils are made mostly from recycled paper and are easy to sharpen. A set of five pencils includes a...
Cats like you’ve never seen before A new book by Zack Davisson, Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, explores the history of magical cats in Japan. The book, co-published by Mercuria Press of Portland and Chin Music Press of Seattle, is lushly illustrated in full color with dozens of ukiyo-e and drawings. Inside, you’ll meet the Bakeneko, a fluid shapeshifter; the Nekomata, or split-tailed...
