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This month's Japan Times article is about the traditions and superstitions surrounding Setsubun, which is coming up on February 3rd.

Why do we have a problem with eating things with faces?

A video showing one Japanese mom's tiny yet super-efficient kitchen.

How would you describe your kitchen, and what's stocked there?

Some weeks to go until spring, but in the meantime the scenery is beautiful.

My stepfather: accountant by day, Santa by nights and weekends.

How my late father related to a particular scene in the movie Tampopo.

This month's Japan Times article is about sweet potatoes*, which are called satsumaimo in Japanese.

From the age of 3 on, or so my mother says, I would always hang around the kitchen asking questions, tilting containers to my level, getting underfoot and in everyone's way. After about age 5, I was reluctantly given some small, low-risk things to do, like making panko from day-old bread, or filling the salt and pepper shakers.

In Japan, coffee is just as ingrained in everyday life as tea.