Our favorite seed catalog, by far, is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia. They specialize in open-pollinated varieties for the mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Over the years, we've come to trust them like a garden friend; if they recommend something, it's likely to be a winner in the garden and at the table. So it was through them that we came to grow Tokyo bekana for the first time this fall. Here is their description:" great salad green - fast-growing plants make enormous loose heads of light green, ruffled leaves. Very mild - almost lettuce-like in flavor - with good frost tolerance." And just as promised, it is tender and mild with a nice crunchy mid stem. We've mostly been enjoying it chopped up as a salad on it's own or mixed with lettuces. It also is nice cooked as you would a Chinese cabbage.
