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Gourmet Television Patrick St. Michel

The topic of TV can be a divisive one among Westerners living in Japan. Get a bunch of them together and bring up the topic, and you are sure to hear a lot of complaints about domestic broadcast options. One frequent complaint sticks out - so many programs are just about food, and how delicious it is.

I agree with this observation, but it also happens to be the rea son I enjoy tuning in to most Japanese TV programs. I want to see shots of delicious-looking dishes, and I get a kick out of people expressing their love for a perfectly cooked meal.

That's one of the reasons I've spent the last two months tuning into Kodoku no Gurume (Solitary Gourmet) every Friday night around midnight on TV Tokyo. The show follows a middle-aged salaryman (played by actor Yutaka Matsushige) as he eats alone in restaurants. Inspired by a famous manga of the same name, it's a simple concept that results in surprisingly captivating TV, and one that has become a hit on Twitter.

Part of that is because Matsushige is a funny performer, and can turn the internal monologue of a man chowing down on curry into captivating television. But I've been just as focused on the shots of the food itself, and the joy Matsushige's character takes in eating every bite.

That Kodoku no Gurume highlights real places in Tokyo and beyond only makes it all the more exciting. I've actually trekked out to restaurants highlighted on the show to enjoy their food - even if the wait to get in after the latest episode takes two hours or more.

And I've realized Kodoku is just the tip of the iceberg for me. All of my favorite Japanese shows devote at least some time to celebrating cuisine. When friends diss TV here for being too food-centric, I always won der if something's wrong with me. But really, I think they are just being too cynical and should embrace their belly more.

It's not like Japan is the only place where food plays well on the small screen. The United States has two channels entirely devoted to food, with countless programs popping up elsewhere. One of the most praised shows on Netflix over the last few years, Chef's Table, looks at world-famous chefs, and is full of stunning shots of fancy dishes. Then you have something like the popular Top Chef, a cooking competition centered entirely around who can make the tastiest and most visually stunning meal.

Maybe I'm alone among my friends here in loving food shows, but that's fine as watching them makes me feel all the better. I just wish Kodoku No Gurume didn't air at midnight - it's tough to find good food that late.

Letter from London

Dear readers, the British day is based around tea breaks, so making the perfect cuppa is an art form. It is a ritual, a social crutch and a way of life - it is also delicious! So when I heard that National Tea Day, on 21st April, was being celebrated with a Fes-Tea-Val, I put the kettle on, threw a bag in a cup and booked myself some tickets!

Good news for fans of a cuppa - tea is more popular than ever. People are beginning to think of tea with the same reverence as coffee due to its many varieties, and tea "bars" are popping up all over the capital. No longer are we limited to the traditional black tea. Suddenly there are green, white, herbal, chai, oolong and matcha teas. And, as the Fes-Tea-Val proves, even beer tea and gin tea! Did you know the average Brit drinks 876 cups of tea every single year, that's enough to fill two bathtubs - now that's a lot of tea!

Fes-Tea-Val is the trendiest way to celebrate National Tea Day. Hosted by Chiswick House & Gardens, it was the most quintessentially British event of the season. It may be a tea festival but the event was so much more, with a dedicated Tea 'n' Treat Village to indulge my sweet tooth and a Vitali-Tea Garden for healthy living tips. The family-friendly event took us on a journey of all things British in the world of food and drink with celebrity bakers, mu sic, mixology masterclasses and so much more to keep everyone (including the kids) entertained.

To top it off, there was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the world-famous Chitra collection, which turned out to be a private historical collection of teaware from around the world. I'm sure this might be some peoples' "cup of tea" but, whilst it looked very pretty and the collection was very informative, I was more interested in the other stalls and activities outside.

Wandering around the grounds, I was amazed at how extensive the event was. I have never seen so many local and national food and drinks producers in one place. There was everything from cheese and wine tasting to cupcakes and crickets (the insect form), all with their own take on the humble tea. There were of course many traditional tea stalls showcasing a vast array of blends, ranging from the commonly known PG Tips to "bou-tea-ques" like Chase Tea and Newby Teas.

It was a wonderful event, with many novelty stalls and producers. Turnout was great and even the kids said they'd go back. Luckily the English weather held out for what was a very English event.

Texas family's cute kittens turn out to be wild animals

A San Antonio family tried to raise some cute kittens who were taken from their home. But the kittens bit them. Now family members are under investigation to see whether they broke the law, officials said May 10.

The family said they thought the kittens were Bengal, cats. They tried to feed them with bottles of formula. But they were bobcats. Bobcats are known for attacking humans. The kittens ripped apart the bottles.

The family took the kittens to San Antonio Animal Care Services. At first, they told workers they found the kittens in an alleyway. But then they admitted that a relative found them alone in a nearby rural county. Bob cat mothers often leave their kittens to hunt.

Without their mother, the pair may never return to the wild. If the family knew the animals were bobcats, they could face charges for taking them from their home, authorities said. (Reuters)

Fans see off final run of Evangelion bullet train

After more than two years, the Evangelion bullet train made its final run. Around 1,200 fans came to Shin Osaka Station on May 6 to see it off. The train is painted purple and green, in the style of the first cyborg of the TV animation series Neon Genesis Evangelion. The train is called the 500 Type EVA. West Japan Railway Co. launched the shinkansen in November 2015. It traveled every day on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line between Shin-Osaka and Hakata. Hiroshi Kaibe, a 44-year-old Nara city resident, was sad to see the daily trips end. "I hope they will resume," he said. At Hakata, around 500 people welcomed the last train run. The Evangelion shinkansen was scheduled to end its service in March last year, but it was extended due to strong demand from fans at home and abroad.

This is taking a long time! says scientist before assisted suicide

A 104-year-old Australian scientist killed himself in Switzer land on May 10 by lethal injection in an assisted suicide he hoped would trigger more lenient euthanasia laws in his home country.

British-born David Goodall, who was not terminally ill, personally triggered a lethal dose of a barbiturate and died at 1030 GMT in a clinic near Basel, the assisted suicide group Exit International said.

Goodall, a member of the Or der of Australia for his work as a botanist, said he had unsuccessfully tried to kill himself in Australia after his faculties, including his hearing, deteriorated.

He came to Switzerland for its laws that have made assisted suicide legal since the 1940s, a legal curiosity that has made the country what some call a "death tour ism" magnet.

“My life has been rather poor for the past year or so, and I am very happy to end it," Goodall told reporters shortly before his death. "All the publicity that this has been receiving can only, I think, help the cause of euthanasia for the elderly, which I want."

Physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia remains illegal in many countries, including Australia, though the state of Victoria became the first to pass a euthanasia bill last November to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives. It takes effect in June 2019.

Several family members were with Goodall until his death, which was preceded by formal paperwork that visibly frustrated Goodall, who said "What are we waiting for?"

His last meal was fish and chips, and Exit International director Philip Nitschke helped organize Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 to be played at his death, a spontaneous request by Goodall prompted by a reporter’s question at a news conference on May 9.

“The infusion started to drip as he activated the process – he had to do that himself - after an swering questions which said he knew who he was, where he was and what he was about to do, and he answered these questions with great clarity," Nitschke said after Goodall's death. "In fact his last words were 'This is taking an awfully long time!' " Nitschke said.

Goodall, a 20-year member of Exit International, was born in London in 1914 and moved to Australia in 1948, where he was a lecturer at the University of Melbourne. He also worked in Britain and held academic posts at U.S. universities, including at Utah State University.

News of his death prompted some former colleagues to suggest his public suicide fit a personality that did not shy from the lime light.

Others called Goodall a fine scholar who was well-liked.

"If I had been asked to provide my own comments on David Goodall, I would have said he is perceptive, brilliant and inventive," said Robert Russon, a 30 year professor at Utah State, in a letter to The Herald Journal newspaper.

Before his death, Goodall said there were things he would have changed, had he the chance to do it all over again.

“I'm not satisfied with what I have done, by any means" he said. "But I did my best." (Reuters)