Phoebe Amoroso

Script Adviser for this 15-min documentary.

This spring, many schools were forced to close due to COVID-19. Jiyu Gakuen in Tokyo is one of them. Since its foundation in 1921, there's been a tradition at this school for students to cook their own lunches. Growing vegetables, cooking together and enjoying a meal with friends, this tradition has become as a place to develop as people through their school life. How will they be able to resume their lives in school? And how will they revive the traditional lunches?

There’s a small, white street cart lined with candles and Baccarat crystal glasses that mysteriously appears at midnight on the streets of Tokyo.
It would not seem out of place in a Haruki Murakami novel — fleeting and, just like its warm candlelight, seeming to flicker in that borderline space between fantasy and reality.
On this particular evening, it is parked just off a major north-south road cutting through the city. Three individuals — an older lady and two younger men — are drinking an...

Tucked a tantalizingly short distance from Tokyo and nestled among mountains, the centrally located Gunma Prefecture hosts a wealth of surprises. While it’s perhaps most famous for the hot spring waters of Kusatsu Onsen, even this charmingly nostalgic town has far more to offer beyond relaxing baths. Here are some of the best cultural and culinary
Here are some of the best cultural and culinary experiences to give you a taste of the region… with an emphasis on taste. Gourmands, take note.
Hop...

I’m rarely spotted without at least one flower in my hair. I simply adore flowers. So, when Tokyo Challenge asked me to attempt ikebana — the Japanese art of flower arrangement — I can hardly say I was surprised. Their proposal, however, was a double-edged sword: it sounded both intensely fun and intensely frustrating...

An 8-page brochure in Metropolis magazine for Odawara Tourist Association. Words and several photos by me.

“I’ve got something for you.”

One of the village’s wasp hunters beckoned me over to a small canopy at the edge of the field. He unwrapped a jagged, brown piece of a wasp’s nest, its beautiful tessellated interior teeming with larvae. I was being offered a rare, local delicacy; a single kilogram of this nest is only available once a year in November and sells for 9,000 yen (£64). I brought a still-wriggling grub to my lips and swiftly ate it alive.

Japanese bakeries can be divisive. There are times when soaking up some Showa Era (1926-89) nostalgia while tucking into a korokkē pan (fried potato croquette wedged in a hotdog roll coated in sweet-tangy sauce) or snacking on a soft-yet-seductive kurīmu pan (custard bread) fits the bill. Then there are times when you want to bite into a slice of actual bread and not a bread-shaped cake impostor.
Japanese loaves, known as shokupan (literally, “meal bread”) are slightly sweet, fluffy things th...

A guidebook to Japan's startup scene: I researched and wrote the opening chapter and overview. I also interviewed around 20 startups and venture capitalists and wrote up their profiles.

“Phoebe, do you remember when you mentioned that cool new campervan company? Well, how about a challenge…”

A simple enquiry from a Tokyo Challenge editor sparked fervent brainstorming as the concept became clearer and shimmered into view.

With many people working remotely more often and realising there is absolutely no reason to be squashed into a big city, workations are trending. What if I were to go somewhere not very far at all… but pretend I had set sail (or, in this case, ...

A cube of frozen coffee is placed into a glass with a satisfying clink. Then another, and another, before a chilled sake is poured over the top. The brainchild of Marie Chiba, owner of renowned sake bar , the caused quite a stir on Twitter in late May.
Less than two months later, Simone Maynard, an Australia-based sake consultant and private educator, watched with astonishment during an online event as Kuniko Mukai of Mukai Brewery heated an unusual, umami-rich black rice sake and then poured...

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It was 7:30am and I was squinting under a neon light in a 24-hour store in one of the grottiest areas of Shinjuku, holding a giant bottle of peach liqueur. It was the morning of my 32nd birthday and I vaguely wondered whether to question my life choices. Even by the standard of my usual Tokyo Survival Channel adventures, this was a little early… and I didn’t even have the excuse of still drinking from the night before.

Two floors of tiny restaurants are tessellated into a modern, stylish space. The set-up is at once both intimate and informal; there is no commitment to full courses or conversations, and part of the fun is working out which place to sample next. However, while the set-up might look like yet just another modern food hall, the underlying concept marks a growing trend within Tokyo’s dining scene to turn to the city’s past for inspiration.

Good morning, Tsukiji! The former site of Tokyo’s iconic seafood market is well worth an early start and a must for seafood lovers.

A queue of people snakes alongside a shiny glass cafe, with many resigned to a two-hour wait. Their goal: some simple yet famously fluffy pancakes. This could be a typical scene from the trendy Harajuku neighborhood in Tokyo. Except this cafe is surrounded by hills of luscious green, hidden in the small town of Yazu, deep in Tottori Prefecture. A decade ago, there used to be a grand total of zero visitors, but last year, 350,000 flocked to the area — thanks to one man and his free-range eggs....