From Hokkaido all the way down to Okinawa, we are highlighting the riches of each prefecture with our new Explore Japan map. Simply click on the map to view related products and blog posts relevant to each prefecture. We have loads of articles...
I have lived in Tokyo in the past for about 10 years of my life, but I admit my knowledge of Japanese geography is really limited. Limited not only to Tokyo proper, but more specifically to Western Tokyo, where pretty much everyone...
I am a junkie - a noodle junkie. It is my favorite food and carb of choice. I could probably give up bread, and maybe even rice, but never noodles. This month, I took over for Yoko for our monthly club Sake Gumi, and decided on the theme of Sake...
In Japan, they call any big, nationwide trend a boom (ブーム). For example, right now cilantro is all the rage in Japan. I'm serious - cilantro on EVERYTHING. So you could say there's a cilantro boom in full force in Japan. It's taken a long while for the ramen boom...
From historic mom-and-pop stores to corporate chains, here's a comprehensive list of Bay Area Japanese markets to get Japanese food staples, sashimi, more.
Top 3 ramen shops in the Bay Area. Ramen is a touchy subject in the Bay Area. Scratch that, it is a touchy subject ANYWHERE.
Where to eat in Honolulu, Hawaii.
There is a renaissance of sorts happening in Seattle and cocktail culture will not be left behind! Here are four bars we visited and would highly recommend.
Growing up, I would visit Japan about once every two years or so. It would always be to see our extended family, who all lived in the Tokyo area....
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all are well-rested and ready to start another RAD year with Umami Mart. We won't take you for granted! There are lots of projects in the pipeline, and we hope you will all enjoy everything we throw at...
Ah, Kauai. We went over New Year's, to unwind after an exhaustive holiday season. Yoko and I felt we deserved a nice vacation, and we brought along our sig others, my brother Keisuke, and Jay and Rie of Atelier Dion. There's obviously a ton to...
Instead of reaching there via a Wardrobe route, Nagoya is about a two-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo. It is the third most populous city in Japan, with 2.3 million people living within 11 square miles. Car geeks may know Nagoya as...
On a game trip to Sacramento in 2001, Lakers coach Phil Jackson called Sacramento a cow town. He also said Kings fans were “semi-civilized” and “redneck in some form or fashion.” Later that season, when Sacramento was matched against the Lakers in...
One of the joys of working in Old Oakland is Chinatown. We're only steps away to a wonderland of dirt-cheap eats and one-stop grocery shopping. It has taken us over a year to mine through its dense 4x3 block radius, consisting of...
UPDATED 11/19/13, 8:47pm We get a lot of phone calls about where to buy shochu in the Bay Area. I love talking to people about this -- as you know, we are here to spread the shochu gospel here at Umami Mart. So here's a...
Everytime I go to LA, I like it more than the last time. I didn't really like LA as a teenager... maybe it was because I would have rather been blasting Head Like A Hole in my bedroom with the curtains drawn all day....
