An All-New Yumi & Kenji Short!
You can’t buy this book…but you can get it for FREE! This new not-for-sale novella features the characters from the Only In Tokyo mystery series in an all-new story! My … Continue Reading An All-New Yumi & Kenji Short!
Summery miso grilling sauce, a garden grown from 3,000-year-old lotus seeds, and what souvenirs NOT to buy this month
Hello, my friend. It’s me again, Jonelle. I hope it’s cheerier where you are, but it seems like nearly all my favorite things to look forward to during the carefree … Continue Reading Summery miso grilling sauce, a garden grown from 3,000-year-old lotus seeds, and what souvenirs NOT to buy this month
Six Surprising Reasons Japanese People Wear Masks, Even When There’s No Pandemic
If you’ve been puzzling over why Japan is such a “mask-wearing society,” it’s not because they’re all super-OCD about germs. Here are six excellent Japanese reasons to wear a mask … Continue Reading Six Surprising Reasons Japanese People Wear Masks, Even When There’s No Pandemic
Live Your Best Miniature Life for a Year in Tokyo’s Small Worlds Theme Park
If you’ve ever wished you could shrink yourself and live in one of the amazing model worlds Japan is so famous for…now you can! Small Worlds—a vast, animatronic, model-trains-on-steriods theme … Continue Reading Live Your Best Miniature Life for a Year in Tokyo’s Small Worlds Theme Park
Keeping cool in hilarious Japanese ways, a journey back to a simpler time, and the best soy-lemon salad dressing EVER
Hello, friend. It’s me, Jonelle. So, I’ve been wondering—are you experiencing micro-nostalgia too? At least once a day I find myself longing for the good old days…you know, like, four … Continue Reading Keeping cool in hilarious Japanese ways, a journey back to a simpler time, and the best soy-lemon salad dressing EVER
An Only-In-Japan Problem If There Ever Was One
We’re coming into high matsuri season, when the local Shinto gods are paraded through the neighborhood to remind them of all the people and businesses they’re supposed to be keeping … Continue Reading An Only-In-Japan Problem If There Ever Was One
Japanese Emoticons: So Many Feels Beyond Emoji
You know how they keep adding emoji, but there never seems to be one that matches exactly how you’re feeling? Do you ever find yourself wishing that, for example, there … Continue Reading Japanese Emoticons: So Many Feels Beyond Emoji
Modern Kimonos To Die For: These Designers Are Giving An Old Artform New Edge
Hello, fellow kimono lovers of all shapes, sizes, colors, & geographic persuasions! Kimono princessing is all about mixing East and West, colors and patterns, styles and eras, and it warmly … Continue Reading Modern Kimonos To Die For: These Designers Are Giving An Old Artform New Edge
Samurai graffiti, mountaintop enlightenment, & the famous Yakitori Chicken Mini-Burger recipe
Hi, friend. It’s me, Jonelle. If you need a little break to recharge your batteries before heading back out into the fray, here are links to the features Japanagram subscribers … Continue Reading Samurai graffiti, mountaintop enlightenment, & the famous Yakitori Chicken Mini-Burger recipe
43 Reasons Japan Beat COVID-19 Without Lockdowns Or Mass Testing
Tokyo lifted its state of emergency early, after new daily cases dropped into the low double digits for several days running. Despite the fact that there was no lockdown, and … Continue Reading 43 Reasons Japan Beat COVID-19 Without Lockdowns Or Mass Testing
Japanese Capsule Toys Explain the Five Stages of Quarantine Hair Grief
DENIAL ANGER BARGAINING DEPRESSION ACCEPTANCE • How you doing, friend? (I won’t ask about your hair if you don’t ask about mine ><;;) I hope you’re hanging in there, and … Continue Reading Japanese Capsule Toys Explain the Five Stages of Quarantine Hair Grief
Gachapon animals ask their mirrors the most burning quarantine questions
• I hope your own quarantining is filled with small joys every day. If you’d like more fun bits & pieces, join me here! Scroll down & subscribeヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ • And … Continue Reading Gachapon animals ask their mirrors the most burning quarantine questions
TMOT: You will totally thank me for making you watch “Giri/Haji”
I don’t usually reveal my guilty-pleasure bingewatches here, but pandemic is pandemic, and Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame) is the best Japanese drama I’ve ever seen (even though it was produced by the … Continue Reading TMOT: You will totally thank me for making you watch “Giri/Haji”
Tweets from the Pillow Book: Pandemic Version
If Sei Shonagon (author of that famous tenth-century snark-bible The Pillow Book) had been alive today and quarantined with the rest of us, I’m pretty sure she’d have tweeted these: … Continue Reading Tweets from the Pillow Book: Pandemic Version
J-style Social Distancing Measurements for the Rest of Us
Yesterday I posted about Japan’s highly amusing subway posters that tell people to stand one tuna away from fellow pandemic commuters… But in the rest of the world, giant tuna … Continue Reading J-style Social Distancing Measurements for the Rest of Us
How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style
Those of us who’ve been under quarantine for a month have stood in enough lines by now that we’ve probably got a pretty good eye for the “six foot” (two … Continue Reading How To Measure Social Distance, J-Style
