Welcome to Black Tokyo!
Great news for people who a) own an iPhone or iPod Touch and b) never know what kind of topping to get when eating Sushi: Tokyo-based Shogakukan, known outside Japan for its extensive offerings of manga (Ichi The Killer, Ranma 1/2, Crying Freeman etc). is releasing a virtual sushi guide for these devices.
The sushi neta zukan (illustrated sushi encyclopedia) will become available in Japanese within this month but on the product website[JP], Shogakukan promises foreigners will enjoy the app, too, as it will have an English …

Here is a great article on Japanese culture and a recipe for Toshikoshi Soba by Maki at Just Hungry.:
Even though Christmas has become big business in Japan in recent years, the real holiday at this time of year is New Year’s Day. The end of the old year, called shiwasu, is a hectic time, as people are busily celebrating with friends and colleagues at bounenkai, “forget the year” parties - besides wrapping up things at work and getting ready to go home for the holidays.
New Year’s Eve itself, however, is …

A long-time Black Tokyo reader offers a few suggestions on stretching your money, and hopefully your stomach, in Japan. Hopefully, those in Japan will take advantage of the yen’s current power!:
Ruby Baby writes, “I think you’ll be better off cooking your own meals. Will you have living arrangements with access to a kitchen? Also, can you cook? If not, choose about five to seven of your favourite foods and learn to make those very well. In any case it’ll probably pay to read up on how to use some of …

I have a ton of pictures and video on Japan and never took the time to upload them to Flickr. Now that I revised the website, I have a good reason to share my various pictures of life in Japan. I will try to upload new pictures and video a few times a month!
Click here to view the slideshows. Enjoy!

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I love Fuji Apples and Apple products. A farmer in Japan made the best of both worlds. Be sure to check out the English and Japanese posts for additional pictures and information.

An apple farmer from Fuji, Japan decided to show off his devotion to Steve Jobs and co. by creating Apple Apples. The orchard owner used custom printed iPod and Apple logo stickers to create the geeky fruit. No word if the apples taste hipper than the Microsoft oranges created by neighbors.
English post
Japanese post
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I have discovered some great sites to help those studying Japanese culture and language, Hungry for Words and Just Bento. 
Hungry for Words is the personal web site of Makiko Itoh, a developer/designer of web and PDF related technologies. Born in Tokyo, Japan, she has lived in numerous places including the U.S., England, and Switzerland. She is fluent in English and Japanese and gets by in French and German.
Food is one of her passions, and she writes about her obsession at Just Hungry, a food blog, as well as Just Bento, a site dedicated to …

Chef Marcus Samuelsson is known for his highly acclaimed Aquavit and Riingo restaurants in New York City, and we’re happy to report that his first venture in Japan measures up to those impressive standards. The cooking is superb - fresh, inspired and provocative. And Aquavit’s modern Scandinavian outlook adds a welcome note of culinary diversity to the French- and Italian-dominated top ranks of Tokyo’s international restaurant scene. 

The dining room is bright and energetic, hung with artwork and decorated in a fusion of contemporary Japanese and Scandinavian styles. The sleek design …

Chante Moore and Kenny Lattimore will perform at Tokyo’s Cotton Club on the time and dates below:

Dec. 8th, Monday
Dec. 9th. Tuesday
Dec. 11th,Thursday
Dec. 12th, Friday

Showtimes: 7:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.
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Punishment for drunken drivers will become dramatically tougher under proposed revisions to the enforcement regulations of the Road Traffic Law coming into effect next June, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.
Under the new rules, those found with 0.25 milligrams or more of alcohol per liter of breath will receive a penalty of 25 points from their license, up from 13, and lose it on the spot. Between 0.15 and less than 0.25 milligrams will incur 13 points instead of 6, earning a 90-day suspension.
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Motomachi, Yokohama - Nestled on a quiet street behind the main stretch of Yokohama’s Motomachi shopping district lies a hidden jewel for wine aficionados. We visited with proprietors Michael and Tomomi Scott of Tomei’s to see what the fuss was all about.
The concept for a coop-style tasting room was born back in 1999 while Michael was still living in California. Four years later he an Tomomi moved to Japan and in May of 2005 they opened their doors and introduced a new tasting format to the general Japanese public. Michael …

A few months ago, Japanese convenience store chain CircleK Sunkus came out with a branded line of pasta bentos (boxed lunches).
The name? Rubetta.
If you know just a little bit of Japanese you can figure out the origins of this moniker.
Rubetta is a Japanese-stylesemordnilap,* which is a fancy term that means a word resulting from another word spelled backwards. For instance, Oprah Winfrey has named her production company “Harpo,” which is actually “Oprah,” spelled backwards.
Semordnilaps in Japanese are unlike their English counterparts in that Japanese is a syllabic language. So when you reverse spelling order, you are …

 Calling all vegans and those thinking about taking the plunge! The Spinshell Report has posted an informative video on organic supermarkets, restaurants, support groups and best-selling books on things vegan in Tokyo.
Check it out here:

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For those fast-food junkies longing for a piece of home, Mc Donald’s has opened two new Quarter Pounder restaurants in Tokyo:

  
You can view video and pictures of Ronald McDonald’s new black and red themed 24-hour hot spot here. Notice the long lines!
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This in from Sista in Tokyo (SIT):  For well over two years now, a group of black professionals in Tokyo has been getting together to connect, chill, and catchup on the first Friday of every month.  I’ve posted a few times about some of the more interesting discussions from our little shindig, but have not yet posted on the actual group.  So today, I figured it was about time I did so.
Tomorrow, our cocktail hour will be held at 57 restaurant in Ropppongi(located behind Tokyo Midtown).  Usually, our group includes around 7-12 attendees from …

Thirsty? This in from Brent at Konbini Life. Not sure if I would buy a bottle but interesting none the less!
“So I’m walking by the soda section, and frankly this bottle is pretty hard to miss, so at the very least I have to give the design team props. ‘Pepsi & Yogurt’?! WTF?!?
Usually I don’t have to put much thought into what something tastes like, but this one I mulled over for a good 30 minutes. Eventually I came up with an answer: Girl’s Body Lotion. The split second it hits …

This in from Japan Sugoi: “It just had to happen (in Japan anyway), Japanese drinks maker Suntory last month released a new Discoveries Starbucks Coffee, the Kyoto Matcha Green Tea Latte.
The Kyoto Matcha latte is the latest in the series following the Seattle latte, Milano latte and Paris latte. Kyoto has the reputation for high quality green tea leaves in Japan so was the obvious city name.
So, next time you are traveling to Japan and want to try something different at Starbucks, try the Kyoto Matcha latte.
Do you prefer this or a mix of coffee and beer?” …

The simple truth has become a global cliche: It is hard to get a bad meal in Tokyo. Whether you’re eating humble noodles or a rarefiedkaiseki banquet, it’s likely to be more than just satisfactory — there’s a good chance it will be prepared with flavor and flair.

Proof’s in the pot: At Maru in Aoyama, the rice course, cooked in dark-brown heavy clay pots, is hardly an afterthought — it’s the star of the meal. ROBBIE SWINNERTON PHOTOS

That said, it still remains frustratingly difficult to access high-level Japanese cuisine. Many of the …