Ayumi Hamasaki at the table

The traditional Japanese meal is not divided into starter-main-dessert: it revolves around a bowl of white rice (gohan), a bowl of soup (often miso), and three small side dishes (okazu) served all at once in separate tableware. You pick from bowl to bowl, alternating bites. In Fukuoka, Ayumi's hometown, this balance coexists with powerful street food (tonkotsu ramen) and festive sharing dishes like mizutaki. It is this balanced cuisine—light, marine, comforting—that a perpetually touring artist seeks to find to keep up the pace.

The invisible soul of Japanese cuisine: a clear broth made from kombu (kelp) and katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), which gives that round, savory taste—umami—to miso soup and simmered dishes alike. In Fukuoka, this foundation dialogues with tonkotsu, the long-boiled pork bone broth, a local pride.