Posted December 13, 2011 by Jonelle Patrick Food

There’s a Fish Fin in My Drink

Finally it’s cold and rainy out, just the season for a swig of hot saké with a smoked, dried blowfish fin floating in it! Hirezake is such a wintertime favorite here in Japan that they sell these single-serving cans in vending machines. But nobody wants to encounter a nasty, soggy fish fin that’s been stewing in the can for days, so the little dried appendage is carefully packaged inside the plastic lid on top, so it can be added fresh, just before drinking.

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Read a novel set in Tokyo

In the wake of a deadly earthquake, fans erupt in a frenzy of mourning when it’s discovered that their favorite pop star is among the dead. But when Detective Kenji Nakamura is sent to investigate a death at a local shrine, he finds evidence that suggests the impossible: How could the head priest have been murdered by…*read more*

Jonelle Patrick View All

Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!