The Journal
Michelin, lineage, and how Japan's restaurants take bookings
Field notes from our Tokyo desk — who is actually reachable and how, the histories behind the counters, and the realistic way in. Written by the people who make these calls every day.
18 articles
Ingredients & Seasons
Matsutake Season in Japan: When and Where
Matsutake is Japan's most prized wild mushroom, celebrated for its intense pine-like aroma and reserved for autumn. Its season runs roughly from September through November, peaking in October. It is served in kaiseki as dobin-mushi (a teapot broth), grilled, or in rice, and domestic matsutake command very high prices because the wild harvest has fallen sharply over the decades.
Ingredients & Seasons
Nodoguro: Japan's Prized Rosy Seabass, Explained
Nodoguro, also called akamutsu or rosy seabass, is a fatty white fish famous for its rich, buttery flesh, so oily it is nicknamed the toro of white fish. Its season runs from roughly autumn into winter, when the fat is at its peak. It is a signature ingredient of Kanazawa and the Sea of Japan coast, served grilled, simmered, as sushi, or over rice.
Ingredients & Seasons
Shinko: Why Japan's Most Expensive Sushi Is a Baby Fish
Shinko is the youngest stage of kohada, the gizzard shad, caught for only a few weeks in summer. The very first catch of the season can sell for more per kilogram than premium tuna, making it Japan's most expensive sushi by weight. Because the fish is tiny and labor-intensive to prepare, shinko is treated as a test of an Edomae chef's skill and a badge of the season.
Ingredients & Seasons
Shirako (Cod Milt): What It Is, When It's in Season, Where to Eat It in Japan
Shirako is the milt (sperm sac) of male fish, most often cod (tara) or pufferfish (fugu), served as a rich, custard-soft winter delicacy in Japan. Its season peaks from roughly December through February, when the sacs are fullest. You will find it at sushi counters, fugu specialists, and kappo restaurants, served raw, grilled, simmered, or in a light broth.
Ingredients & Seasons
A Seasonal Calendar of Japanese Sushi Fish
In Japan, sushi is seasonal, and the Edomae calendar shifts month by month. Summer brings baby gizzard shad (shinko) and lean bonito; autumn delivers sanma and matsutake; winter is the peak for cold-fattened yellowtail (kanburi), cod milt (shirako), and pufferfish; spring returns to kohada, clams, and firefly squid. Choose your travel dates by the fish you most want to eat.
Ingredients & Seasons
Hamo: Kyoto's Summer Pike Conger and the Bone-Cutting Knife
Hamo is a pike conger eel and Kyoto's defining summer fish, at its peak in July around the Gion Festival. Its flesh is riddled with fine bones, so chefs use honekiri — roughly two dozen skin-deep cuts per three centimeters — to make it tender. That knife work is a benchmark of kaiseki mastery.