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East Asian Studies Center Indiana University
Hello, I am Adam Noffsinger, and I am a MA student in East Asian Studies here at IU Bloomington. My research interests include East Asian (broadly) and Japanese (specifically) foodways and traditions, and how they relate to cultural identity, society, and language. I hold a BS in Hospitality Management from Purdue University and a culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America, and after years of working as a professional chef in kitchens across the US and in Japan, I have returned to my Southern Indiana roots to study East Asian food culture from an academic perspective. I am active in the East Asian Studies Center and its Food Lab initiative, working to promote the study and appreciation of East Asian food culture and traditions with a particular focus on fermented foods.

Entries by jaadnoff

A Good Walk Spoiled? Cultural Extrapolations on the Nakasendo

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I stood in my narrow business hotel room, suitcase on the bed and heels against the wall, agonizing over the minutiae – three t-shirts or four, cotton socks or wool?  You see, this packing job required a little more intentionality than usual, as I would be . . . 

Nagoya Soul Food

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After a few days in the crisp, cool sunshine of Matsumoto, I took the train down to Nagoya where I stepped out on to the bustling streets in a gloomy drizzle.  It made for a jarring transition, going from . . .

Matsumoto: Mountains, Miso, and Microbes

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I’ve just returned to Tokyo to settle in after what has felt like nonstop travel for the past few weeks.  Now that I find myself free of the stimulating yet exhausting hustle that . . .

So What’s the Point, Anyhow?

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For better or worse, I feel the need to explain myself… Whenever the topic of this trip came up in the preceding weeks, the response I received was always . . .

Hello from Japan!

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I’m here.  Japan, that is.  However, between the jet lag and catching up with old friends in Tokyo, the first few days have been mostly uneventful, at least as concerns this project.  But I have recently . . .

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