Rika Hoffman

This sakura cheesecake recipe has all the hallmarks of a burnt Basque cheesecake: deeply burnished surface, rustic crinkled edges and a no-crust, no-fuss attitude. With the addition of freeze-dried sakura, this classic dessert becomes fit for your next hanami (flower-viewing) picnic.

A dollop of sakura-scented whipped cream brings the fragrant, frothy fun of springtime to an otherwise dense dessert. Meanwhile, the cherry (blossom) on top is salt-pickled sakura, which offers a palate-cleansing burst of salty-sour flavor in between decadent, creamy bites.

A world of unassuming, under-visited and unimaginably charming Tokyo shopping streets await; beckoning with tasty handheld bites, pop cultural paraphernalia and many, many cats!

Besides the requisite Takeshita Street in Harajuku and Sensoji’s Nakamise Dori (staples on pretty much every Tokyo itinerary), here are five lesser-known shopping streets in Tokyo. Each one has its own unique character, for a local’s-eye-view of the city.

Every summer, announced by the shrill shrieks of cicadas, Japanese schoolchildren emerge, nets in hand, to take part in the pastime of bug hunting. Of course, it’s more of an academic study (a catch-and-release situation—if the insect is lucky) than a culinary expedition. But these days, with the growing interest in sustainable, insect-based cuisine, bug “hunting” takes on new meaning.

The sweet red bean soup I grew up with is rustic. With plump, partially-macerated beans, the oshiruko of my childhood is served not at a restaurant but at home, where nobody can be bothered to painstakingly strain the bean paste, and where a small amount can be stretched with extra water—something my mother told me, gleefully, that a kooky aunt of hers would do to accommodate additional guests during the holidays (this claim has not been substantiated by my grandmother, obaasan).

On March 11, 2011, the day of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, Sugawara Hiroki was home in the port city of Kesennuma, on spring break from his university in Hokkaido. He and his father, Sugawara Akihiko, president and fourth-generation sake brewer at Otokoyama Honten Sake Brewery, were taking refuge, watching the tsunami waves washing in within ten meters of the brewery facilities.

During the first quakes, the employees at Otokoyama Honten Sake Brewe...

Love chewy cookies? Miso keeps these cookies moist, while a firm bang on the table halfway through baking ensures a chewy, rather than cakey, texture.

Miso plays nicely in sweet recipes, as well as savory ones. These bangin’ miso chocolate chunk cookies are made with a moderate amount of fermented soybean paste for extra umami that complements the toastiness of brown butter. Grab your baking sheets and bang ‘em on your counter for a flatter, chewier cookie and rippled edge.

During oshogatsu (Japanese New Year), people in Japan huddle outside of temples and shrines to pray for an auspicious year, hands warmed by steaming cups of amazake (fermented rice drink).

Incorporating the cheery holiday drink, this amazake purin recipe below riffs on the classic flan-like Japanese purin (custard pudding). Amazake acts as a natural sweetener, so the only added sugar here is in the caramel—a dark, fragrant sauce with just enough bitterness and depth to counterbalance the amazake’s sweetness.

In Japan, the citrus fruit yuzu brings a burst of brightness that cuts through the longest night of the year: the winter solstice.

Although the daylight fades earlier and earlier each day as we get deeper into winter, when the sunshine-yellow yuzu (Japanese citrus) hits the supermarket shelves, it’s hard not to get excited. Its cheery color, energizing scent and immune-boosting properties make yuzu the natural choice to remedy a variety of winter woes.

Buzzing with activity throughout the day and deep into the evening, there is always something to do around Shinjuku.

People tumble out of bars and into the eclectic, lantern-lit alleyways, where the smell of grilled skewers wafts out onto the street. Department stores beckon the sleek and stylish with their pristine wares, glimmering under impossibly attractive lighting. Meanwhile, luminous skyscrapers indicate that salaried workers are still hard at work, toiling at keyboards under a fluorescent glow.

Chilled and bittersweet, with the rich, roasted aroma of coffee, this bouncy coffee jelly is a satisfying way to get your caffeine boost. The soft and slippery texture of coffee jelly makes it delightfully fun to eat, and it proves to be a versatile addition to chilled drinks, ice cream sundaes, and more.

Elevate any snack at a moment’s notice—and maybe attract some health and wealth in the New Year—with this candied kumquat recipe.

Meet the kinkan (kumquat). Tiny, tart and tantalizing… you can get ahold of the small yet mighty kumquat at your local supermarket throughout winter in Japan. Not much larger than an olive, kinkan ranges from two to four centimeters in diameter. But despite their miniature size, kumquats are packed with flavor and nutrition; and unlike other citrus fruits, they’re often enjoyed whole—skin and all.

While peak sakura season is just behind us in Tokyo, the appreciation for these fast-fading springtime blossoms doesn’t have to end. (Nor does the hanami-permitted day-drinking and general picnic revelry—that’s just revving up as the weather stabilizes.)

These crisp, airy sakura meringues preserve the spirit of the season, melting on the tongue and leaving behind a lingering floral fragrance that’s punctuated by the salty-sourness of pickled cherry blossoms.

I remember the first time I ate shirasu, a decade ago at my grandparents’ house in Yokohama.

From afar, it looked like any other rice bowl, but when I got a little closer, I could see it was composed of a hundred or so tiny white fish with beady black eyes; a whole school of fish–brothers and sisters and the whole extended family, I thought uneasily.

It was unnerving.

But the first trepidatious mouthful alleviated this feeling–the shirasu was tender and fluffy, with a slight oceanic s...

With strict rules about etiquette, specialized lingo that puts Starbucks to shame, and an ordering system that sounds like a magic spell, Ramen Jiro is the only bowl of ramen you'll ever have to study for.

Everything about Ramen Jiro is aggressive. Thick-as-udon, tough-as-nails noodles. Pungent mounds of raw chopped garlic. Globs of pork back fat swimming in a soy-sauce based broth. That rich unctuousness that coats your mouth and threatens to bust your gut. Scour the internet and you’ll find stories of overconfident grown men being bested by “small” bowls at Ramen Jiro. So when a friend mentioned this fast food ramen shop, you really can’t blame this Hobbit-sized writer for being intrigued.