Latest news with #Furuya
Time Out
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
One of Tokyo's best taco joints is expanding with a second location
Gone are the days when you couldn't find a decent taco in Tokyo to save your life. Whether self-taught or armed with taco knowledge soaked up at the source in Mexico or Southern California, hardworking taqueros across the city are now turning out product that deserves to be called authentic. But when it comes to authenticity, we'd argue that nobody does it better than 3 Hermanos. The brainchild of Yamato Furuya, who spent years in Mexico City learning the ways of salsa and suadero, this street tacos specialist set up shop in Harajuku in spring 2024 and quickly became a sensation. Furuya has since been featured on Mexican TV and shouted out by innumerable international taco connoisseurs visiting Tokyo. With long queues still regularly forming at the Harajuku shop, hungry taco fans everywhere will be happy to hear that 3 Hermanos is now opening up a second Tokyo location. Set to start business on Sunday April 27, 3 Hermanos Ebisu sits by the Shibuya River next to the Shibuyabashi intersection – just a stone's throw from our very own Time Out Café & Diner. In Ebisu, Furuya and his team will be serving up delicacies familiar from the Harajuku shop – including their superb carnitas, arrachera and suadero tacos – plus occasional limited-time specials. 3 Hermanos Ebisu (1-16-1 Hiroo, Shibuya) will be open 11am-4pm and 5pm-10pm daily, with last orders 30 minutes before closing time. Check out their Instagram for the full details.
Japan Times
20-03-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Myoko ski resort area feels trepidation as foreign money pours in
Three winters from now, Japan's snowy Myoko highlands will be home to a $1.4 billion mega-resort built by a Singaporean fund, with hotels charging some $1,350 a night. The project by Patience Capital Group (PCG) promises to create 1,000 jobs and spur winter tourism. But for many Myoko locals, foreign interest has become a double-edged sword, threatening overdevelopment, sky-high prices and the sweeping away of traditional culture. Even before news of PCG's interest, many inns, ski rental shops and restaurants in Akakura — one of five major ski resort towns in the Myoko region — had been snapped up by foreigners. But they're only interested in the snow, and once that melts, those businesses shut. The town, also once a bustling hot-spring destination, no longer has enough going on to attract many visitors during the rest of the year. "If you come to Akakura in summer, it's pitch dark at night," said Masafumi Nakajima, owner of local inn Furuya and head of the 200-year-old town's hot spring-inn tourism association. He estimates only 10 of about 80 inns in Akakura operate year-round. Located roughly 2.5 hours from Tokyo by train in Niigata Prefecture, Myoko, along with the more famed Japanese ski resorts of Niseko and Hakuba, is known for powder snow, dubbed "Japow." The resort areas are a huge part of Japan's tourism boom, also fueled by a weak yen, which saw inbound tourist numbers jump 17% in February, hitting a record high for that month. Nakajima said many foreign business owners in Akakura have refused to join the local tourism association. One consequence is a lot of broken rules on the part of businesses and tourists that range from not disposing of garbage properly, to overparking to late-night fireworks. "We have no idea who they are and what they're doing. They just come in December and disappear when spring comes," he said. Nakajima recently started approaching foreign businesses to offer lectures on the town's rules. A visitor snowboards at the Myoko Suginohara Ski Resort in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, on March 5. | REUTERS Many locals fear Myoko could go the way of Niseko. The resort on the northern island of Hokkaido has become a world-renowned winter sports destination on the back of high-end foreign developments, but the surge in property prices brought higher taxes for locals choosing not to sell. Inflation there — from labor costs to a bowl of ramen — has gone through the roof, pricing locals and most domestic travelers out of the market. Hakuba, in the Japanese Alps, has followed a similar path, while one township in Myoko has already seen land prices jump as much as 9% last year. PCG's Tokyo-born founder, Ken Chan, said he's mindful of local fears about his project, which will span 350 hectares and two ski slopes. To attract visitors year-round, PCG wants to promote its two planned luxury hotels for business conferences and is considering discounts during non-peak times for local residents who want to ski or snowboard, he said. He also intends to host a meeting with residents in the coming months. Myoko City mayor Yoji Kido said he's cautiously optimistic about PCG's development plans but has heard few specifics. Kido has been fielding more enquiries from foreign investors, and conscious of local concerns, the city is considering new regulations for larger projects from the 2027 fiscal year. "It's going to be an unusually big development for our city," he said. "I can't deny that things aren't worry-free." Koji Miyashita, the owner of a half-century-old shop in Akakura that sells steamed buns filled with red bean paste, said he sometimes feels like he doesn't live in Japan as Westerners throng the town's streets. Development in Myoko should sustain the region's culture, he said, adding: "We don't want to be another Niseko."
