I hope your week is going well!
I have three things I'd love to share with you this time — tea, a cookbook, and a katana with quite a story behind it.
Many of you have been asking about this for a while!
We've had so many hojicha (ほうじ茶) recipes on the blog — lattes, brownies, banana cake, mochi — but up until now, we've always asked you to grind the loose-leaf yourself. And honestly, that's kind of a project.
So we finally did it: Hojicha Powder is now in the store. No grinder, no mess. Just open the bag, scoop, and make something delicious.
Please check out the full story by clicking the image below!
You may remember we wrote about our friends at TOIRO — the beautiful Japanese kitchenware store in West Hollywood run by Naoko-san (Naoko Takei Moore), also known as "Mrs. Donabe."
Well, her brand-new cookbook, Simply Donabe: Japanese One-Pot Recipes, came out on February 10, 2026 — and I have to say, just flipping through the pages makes you want to drop everything and start cooking.
We attended a special dinner at Camélia in DTLA to celebrate, and the Ishikari Nabe (石狩鍋, page 118) — a miso butter hotpot from Hokkaido — was honestly one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. I can't stop thinking about it!
Please read more about Naoko-san's book by clicking the image below.
If you've been following us for a while, you know we run the YouTube channel History of Katana.
Our newest episode is about the Yamanbagiri Kunihiro — a blade with a fascinating story. It was made as a deliberate replica of another sword, not a fake — but over time, it developed its own identity and its own legend. And here's the twist: in 2015, a video game called Touken Ranbu turned historic swords into characters, and Yamanbagiri Kunihiro became the very first blade for countless players. That single moment in pop culture helped drive a real wave of museum visitors and renewed attention to this sword.
Monster. Murder. Masterpiece. — it's a good one!
Please check it out by clicking the image below.
Thank you so much for your continued support — it really means the world to us.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!
Kei Nishida
& the team from Dream of Japan
