With the last of the cherry blossoms clinging to branches we usher in the warm caress of Spring in Tokyo. Here’s a curation of what I’m reading, watching, listening to and experiencing.
On the Nightstand – Books
- Go Back to Where You Came From And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali. Laden with comic jabs and unexpected tender twists, this observational piece tracks the joy and pain of growing up as an immigrant in the U.S.
- Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson – Why the Western Civ (gulp, dare we even say that out loud) “OS” worked well for the past 500 years, and why it might not be moving forward.
- Sammy the Spider’s First Haggadah by Sylvia Rouss – because, well, sometimes you have to know your audience
Pods
- Deep Dive – with Oscar Boyd of The Japan Times – Oscar Boyd’s sobering interview with Hanako Montgomery about how the pandemic widened gender inequality in Japan.
- Honestly with Bari Weiss – Soulful interview with Matti Friedman, author of the forthcoming Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai – a whole new tale about a musical titan whom I got all wrong.
Essen Desu – Tokyo Food Scene
- Nearly 20 years after my first visit, I ventured with my family to Yokohama’s Chinatown (chukagai) – somehow watching the Kung Fu Panda series with my two-year-old son motivated a serious jonesing for dumplings. Mission accomplished!
- Korea Town – Vegans avert your eyes. Amazing tableside BBQ replete with 10 different styles of kim-chi! I have commenced intermittent fasting for two meals after! I will be back to Shin-Okubo for the spicy fried chicken x nama next month!
The Tokyo Yenta 
