Contributing Editor, Japan, Yoya Fun
History does not remain only in museums — it remains in customs, dishes, and street names.
Alaa El-Sharkawy is based in Japan, where he works as a journalist and an Arabic-Japanese translator for several institutions. He studied history and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies.
His interest in writing began with history and culture, then expanded to folklore, heritage, food, and everyday life in different societies. He is particularly interested in how history remains present in cities, customs, dishes, and traditions, and in the stories that help explain a place beyond its quick tourist image.
Food also occupies a large part of his travels and interests: trying different cuisines, exploring local markets and restaurants, learning the customs surrounding the table, and asking what a meal can reveal about a society’s history and culture.
His Work at Yoya Fun
Alaa writes about culture and heritage, food and dining experiences, local history, museums and historic sites, customs and folklore, cities and neighborhoods, and experiences that help travelers understand a destination as well as visit it. Japan is his closest area of coverage because he lives and works there.
How He Works
Alaa’s writing tends to examine context, compare accounts, and return to sources when the subject calls for it, with particular attention to small details that reveal something larger about a place and the people who live there.
His translation work adds a practical layer: much of what is written about Japan in Arabic passes through an intermediary language, and reading a source in its own language can reveal differences lost in double translation — in the name of a dish, in the description of a season, and in what it means for a place to be “traditional.”
The Visitor’s View and the Resident’s View
Travel, together with his translation work, has given Alaa firsthand experience of the difference between how a visitor sees a place and how someone who lives there and knows its language and everyday context sees it. That difference is what he tries to convey to readers: what a tourist sees on the first day, and what may not become clear until a year later.
His Firsthand Experience
Alaa is based in Japan and has taken multiple trips within the country. He has also traveled to Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States.
Alaa is a human contributor to Yoya Fun, and his firsthand experience informs our coverage of culture, food, and Japan.
Coverage areas: Culture and heritage · Food and local cuisines · Japan · History and cities · Folklore and traditions · Museums and historic sites · Cross-cultural travel