We’re excited to share episode 3 of our podcast with you, featuring Momoko Nakamura, an author and online food educator passionate about cultural conservation and the intersection of food and environmental responsibility. We talked about how the wisdom of Japanese traditions can help us in our modern age, allowing us to discover the goodness of plant-based eating and low-waste lifestyles! While we talked, we also got to sample some delicious foods from a wonderful zero-waste shop and deli here in Kyoto called Totoya.

Every wonder why chopsticks are placed horizontally on the table in Japanese cuisine? Momoko unpacks the fascinating spiritual reason behind this and more. Listen and learn! 

Discover Momoko's Work

Brought to you by Bento&co, your go-to shop for eating healthier,  reducing your environmental impact and saving money with authentic  Japanese bento boxes and accessories. Shop online at en.bentoandco.com and take 10% off your first purchase with code PODCAST.

We loved getting to chat with Marc Matsumoto—culinary consultant, chef and host of the NHK show, Bento Expo.

Hear why his food blog is named "No Recipes", his passion for educating people about cooking techniques, the story of potatoes and how bento is good for our physical and mental health!

No Recipes Blog

We're honored to partner with Marc to offer a curated selection of Japanese cooking tools! Selected by Marc, these are tried-and-true tools he uses in his own kitchen. Discover here.

We’re kicking off the podcast with a conversation with Makiko Itoh, who's been writing online about Japanese food for over 15 years and writes the Japanese Kitchen column for the Japan Times. If you enjoy making bento or eating Japanese food, you're probably familiar with her wonderful blogs and best selling  “Just Bento” cookbooks. If not, you're missing out! 

Hear how Makiko decided to share her love of Japanese food online after experiencing burnout as a web developer and how her blog about bento inspired Thomas to start selling bento boxes online. We talk about sushi, Spaghetti Napolitan, the Japanese pear fairy Funassyi and much more.

Makiko's Blogs and Writing: