Shinya Suzuki, owner and head brewer at Yokohama Bay Brewing has played an important part in the city’s craft beer scene for over a decade. After a stint as head brewer at Yokohama Beer, he established his own brewery in 2013 in Naka-ku before moving to Totsuka to greatly increase its capacity. He is also the organizer of the annual Japan Brewers Cup, held at Osanbashi in January (excepting this year). His efforts have gone a long way toward his personal goal of “making Yokohama the craft beer city of Japan!” Due to his fame, the Keikyu Corporation approached him…
Author: Seasider
Kazutomo Shimizu is a bilingual, licensed tax attorney based in Yokohama and a long-time supporter of our magazine. We recently spoke to him about accounting, money and life. People often say that a good accountant will actually save you money, not just hassle; in other words, the money they can save you can sometimes pay for their fees. Can you give more concrete examples/cases of how this might work? You can legally save on taxes by having an accountant. For example, if you are a business owner, there is a system called blue return. When people choose that system, they…
Is the end near? No, we’re not talking about the end of civilization as we know it. We’re talking about the end of the pandemic as vaccination rates rise steadily in Japan and around the world. At the very least, we hope for more normalcy for the rest of the summer, if that’s even possible while the Olympics are being held in the region. Times like these, we like to focus on what we can control: checking in with friends, going on long strolls around the city, enjoying food and drink from local businesses, maybe catching up on reading. Sometimes…
According to meteorologists, tsuyu (rainy season) will be upon us a week or two earlier than normal this year and may be slightly longer than average. Sure, the ducks and frogs may be the happiest about this, but fret not: if there is anything positive to take away from the pandemic, we have all mastered the art of amusing ourselves at home with new or improved hobbies. The characters for tsuyu, meaning ume (Japanese plum) and rain, derive from the fact that ume are ready for harvest at the start of the rainy season. Making umeshu at home is a…
Meatballs beef (minced or hand-chopped) 300g onions (minced) 200g celery (minced) 100g garlic (minced) 15g egg 1 oregano to taste cumin to taste Grana Padano grated cheese 80g breadcrumbs 20g fresh cream 30g olive oil to taste Tomato sauce whole tomatoes 200g onions (minced) 80g garlic (minced) 10g jalapeño (minced) to taste bay leaf to taste olive oil to taste Mix all the meatball ingredients and form into about 40g balls Substantially oil pan and fry meatballs till crispy on the outside but still raw inside In a separate pan, stir fry garlic for tomato sauce till fragrant and…
To everyone who has been worried about the survival of Dark Room International during the current crisis, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your concern. It was 22 years ago that we opened the Dark Room in what was then known as the Strong Building (currently the Daiwa Roynet Hotel) in Yamashita-cho. Later, we moved to ZAIM on Nihon Odori street and, eventually, where we reside today at Noge Hana-Hana. We had been closed during the pandemic, but due to the large volume of requests from our customers, we decided to re-open from April 1st with limited…
Cafe Elena is a long-established coffee shop sitting on the hilltop near the Yamate Italian Garden. Its nostalgic atmosphere blends perfectly with the surrounding area. A large window at the back of the restaurant provides patrons with a view of the Yokohama cityscape. From 9 to 11am, in addition to the regular menu, they have special morning mix-and-match sets (¥70~), such as French toast, cheese toast, sweet bread, bacon and eggs to go with your drink of choice (¥550~). During my visit we ordered the recommended house special–homemade pumpkin pudding a la mode (¥1050~ w/drink). Savoring the richness of the…
Walking along Yamate Hondori street one pleasant, breezy spring day, I found Yamanoue on a corner of the Yamamoto-cho shopping arcade. The stylish cafe is easy to miss as the exterior is still that of a retro photo studio that previously occupied the space. The location had been used as a photo studio for over 70 years before being converted to a cafe. Much of the interior also remains as it was years ago. For lunch, I decided on a plate of minced chicken with black rice and local vegetables (¥950) and Odawara olive tea (¥650). The assortment of colourful…
David Nagai runs Bridge Beyond English in Motomachi and online. This high-level English class is different from ordinary English classes where students learn grammar or get an introduction to English. Instead, it’s a small class size (four students max per class) and it’s for those who have intermediate or higher level English. Its purpose is to help them think creatively and communicate harmoniously with different types of people. His class is influenced by his unique background. Although Nagai has American parents, he was born and raised in Taiwan and has lived in six different countries including the United States, Bangladesh,…
Various locations ~6/13 (Sun) Website: www.gardennecklace.city.yokohama.lg.jp Garden Necklace Yokohama, now celebrating its fifth year, has added new venues near Yokohama and Shin-Yokohama stations, expanding its scale and vibrantly coloring the city of Yokohama with a variety of blossoming flowers. From the beginning to the end of May, about 4,100 roses will be in full bloom at Yamashita Park and Harbor View Park. From mid-May into late June, lilies will be blooming at Nihon Odori and Shinko Chuo Park. Refresh your body and soul with an extended walk among the seasonal flowers that decorate our fine city this spring.