Japan
Australian Toru Takamatsu became the world’s youngest ever master sommelier. Then he changed course
The exam is notoriously difficult. The preparation excruciating, even if it involves tasting amazing wine. But this wunderkind traded in a six-figure salary to learn how to make his own drop.
- by Lisa Visentin
Latest
Fixing hospitals should take priority over fast rail
Living on the Central Coast, I am all for the construction of a high-speed rail link to Sydney. Currently it takes approximately the same time (1.5 hours) to drive from Gosford to the CBD on an increasingly crowded M1 as a train service that is frustratingly slow in sections.
I ate at four Michelin restaurants in Tokyo and spent just $100
The city boasts the highest number of starred restaurants in the world. But what’s more surprising? You can eat at some Michelin-approved spots for just $10.
- by Jenny Hewett
Opinion
Travel tips
Back-to-work blues? These 10 tips will ignite your travel dreams
The exchange rate is brutal, there’s a cost-of-living crisis and overtourism is ruining popular spots, but here’s how you can still have a great holiday in 2025.
- by Ben Groundwater
Updated
North Korea diplomacy
‘In here you only learn about the good things’: Inside a North Korean school
At Aichi Korean Middle and High School, teachers and students are fighting to preserve their identity, while the outside world is suspicious of their ties to a hostile dictatorship.
- by Lisa Visentin, Stella Perry and Christopher Jue
Tuna weighing as much as a grizzly bear sells for $2.1 million in Japan
One of the most expensive bluefin tuna to be sold in the history of sushi was snapped up by a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant chain.
- by Leo Sands
Tomiko Itooka of Japan, the world’s oldest person, dies at 116
Born in 1908, she raised four children, ran a family textile factory during World War II and was an avid hiker in her 80s.
- by Martin Fackler
Traveller Letters: We won’t be returning to this stopover destination
“Although the people are mostly friendly, and it’s an interesting country, this is one of the few places we wouldn’t revisit.”
Why the Nissan and Honda team-up might not be enough
A massive merger, even of two companies from the same country, is no guarantee of success, and the history of automotive deals is littered with failures and disappointments.
- by Neal E. Boudette
Opinion
Family holidays
I took my young kids to an eight-course dinner. What was I thinking?
We’re looking at a two-hour dinner here, a meal my children are probably not going to like, in a place where they’re expected to behave themselves and be quiet.
- by Ben Groundwater
Updated
Detained citizens
Australian grandmother found guilty of drug trafficking by Japanese court
The former WA Greens candidate has been sentenced to six years in prison and received a fine.
- by Jamie Freestone
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/topic/japan-b1c