Japan

Yesterday afternoon, I reported on the creation of the longest California Roll yesterday for an upcoming edition of The California Report. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Center for Japanese Studies at UC Berkeley. The new record, set at 330 feet, apparently defeated the old record set in Hawaii in 2001 by 30 feet. I interviewed student Zach Brown, Chef Ming Hwang, Prof. Duncan Williams, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, and Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine, who certified…

Big ups to my buddy Andy Raskin, whose memoir The Ramen King and I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life has just been released. I attended a reading of his at Booksmith last night in the Lower Haight. But don’t worry, he’s on tour in SF and points beyond this month and throughout the summer. Check his site for details. Andy wrote and produced one of my all-time favorite pieces of radio — on the subject…

Dear Friends, I’ve been informed that my radio piece on green gadgets in Japan will be airing today. It will be available on any of these stations (and their Internet streams): New York – 3 pm Eastern – WNYC – 820 AM – www.wnyc.org Washington, DC – 8 pm Eastern – WAMU – 88.5 FM – www.wamu.org Los Angeles – 12 pm Pacific – KPCC – 89.3 FM – www.kpcc.opg Boston – 4 pm Eastern – WGBH – 89.7 FM…

I spent all day Friday watching the 13th day of the Sumo Grand Tournament in Nagoya. It was pretty sweet. More to come soon, but for now, here’s a little taste:

There was a 6.9 quake late tonight, 300 miles away in northeastern Honshu. We felt some very light shaking just before going to bed, but we’re fine.

I’m going to visit my brother in Tokyo this week. See y’allz on the flip! Any recs for the Land of the Rising Sun? Email me!