Japan

I'm in Japan now for a quick trip, and when I rolled into Gifu Prefecture yesterday, I asked the usual question -- what should I eat? Simple: Grilled unagi, the river eel this region is famous for, which is in peak season right now.

I know we're all absolutely stunned by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. My heart goes out to the victims of this incomprehensible tragedy. Please help as much as you can. Send donations to:

My friends know about me and gyoza. I can't resist these fried-then-steamed dumplings stuffed with pork, napa cabbage and garlic chives, so when we rolled into Osaka, we headed directly to a half-century old joint called Tenpei Gyoza.

Back in Japan now and just rolled into the lovely city of Nagoya. First order of business: Nagoya Cochin chicken.

Susan Hamaker, a Japanese Food Report reader and self-described "half-Okinawan Tar Heel living in New York" who writes the Shrinecastle blog, contributed this fabulous account of eating a Japanese baseball stadiums. Hot dogs and pretzels? Oh, so much more!

As I've traveled through the Japanese countryside I've occasionally come across magnificent old farmhouses with roofs made not of clay tile, but of thatch. I say occasionally, because, as I learned recently, these old buildings are quickly disappearing from the landscape here.

On my way to the restaurant in Fukuoka where I'm currently a shugyo, or trainee, I bumped into my chef, who motioned me to join him. His destination: the Yanagibashi market.

While varieties of Japanese <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu">wagyu</a> beef are now familiar in America (Kobe being the best known), traveling through Japan I've been surprised to learn about the different breeds of jidori -- heirloom "local chicken" raised across the country.

While in Sapporo, Tadashi and I took a detour from our regional hot pot hunt to check out a famed local dish: the city's signature miso ramen.

At 4:30 am on a Tuesday morning, Tadashi and I stepped into a cavernous hall almost three football fields long, filled with hundreds of busy people and stacks of styrofoam boxes, thousands of them, each coddling a pristine fish.

Chef Tadashi Ono and I just returned from a hot pot-infused dash across Japan to research our cookbook, racing from snowy Sapporo to the deep south of Kyushu.

I was thrilled that Saveur included my item about Mrs. Sachiyo Imai in their latest "Saveur 100" list. Scholar, educator, TV host, and most importantly, accomplished cook, Mrs. Imai has worked tirelessly for the past quarter century to preserve Kyoto's traditional food culture. She is amazing. I wanted to share this piece I wrote about her efforts to save Kyoto's obanzai cooking: