By ERICA EARL | Stars and Stripes | Published: March 11, 2021 After a trip to Portland in 2017, a businessman and artist in Japan felt inspired by the food carts and tiny home trends there and decided to bring a touch of the American Pacific Northwest back to bustling Tokyo. “I want it to be a place where people from the United States or who have visited will experience that culture as much as possible,” said Ryuma Sato, creator and owner of the Tiny Inn. Sato opened The Tiny Inn, a two-room retro-style trailer, in Fussa, last fall in hopes of attracting service members at nearby Yokota Air Base as well as Tokyoites looking to escape from the city while travel was limited due to the coronavirus.
By ERICA EARL | Stars and Stripes | Published: February 25, 2021 Viet Nam Quan, a café within walking distance of Yokota Air Base, brings the comfort foods of Vietnam to Tokyo. This small, no-frills eatery offers bahn mi, pho, bo bon hue and more. The pho at Viet Nam Quan is the style from northern Vietnam called pho bac. It is a simpler version of the soup dish without the sprouts, basil garnishes, glass noodles and hoisin sauce found in southern Vietnamese pho. The flavor is fragrant, authentic and simple. Spice mixtures and fish sauce are available at the table for those who prefer their dish a little tangier.