Jonelle Patrick's Only In Japan
Every day, stuff you'd never see anywhere else.
I’ve been a fan of the divine Tia Oguri since long before she began designing kimono with traditional African fabrics, because her kimono styling has always been out-of-this-world fresh and … Continue Reading Uber Dandy Kimono: Wildly modern, breathtakingly bold, insanely stunning
Back in July, the Japanese government had a great idea: replace those banned virus-ridden foreign tourists with nice Japanese ones. Japan was feeling pretty smug at the time—compared to other … Continue Reading Japan demonstrates what happens when you go home for the holidays during a pandemic
The owners of an eatery just outside the Yokosuka Naval Base wanted to be prepared in case the US election changed their Trump Burger* from today’s special to yesterday’s leftovers, … Continue Reading Biden Burger’s secret ingredient eerily predicts election outcome
Hi friend, it’s me again. Last month there was a special edition of Japanagram because I found so many things I wanted to share with you while I was getting … Continue Reading A convent with a secret, sesame-miso hotpot, and why it’s harder to get a Japanese boyfriend than a Japanese girlfriend
Hi everyone, it’s me, Jonelle. Whether you’re venturing out or sticking close to home, I hope this month’s features deliver a little break from whatever’s on your to-do list, or … Continue Reading A secret castle garden, a killer Japanese cocktail recipe, & why the more friends you have, the lonelier you might be
If you’re desperate to get out after months of quarantining and can’t resist that invite to a good old-fashioned Halloween party, the ace variety store Don Kihote suggests some costumes … Continue Reading Perfect 2020 Halloween costumes from Japan
You’ve probably seen these adorable tanuki figures outside of your favorite Japanese bar or restaurant, but did you happen to notice how, er, well endowed they are? Yeah. Can’t unsee. … Continue Reading When Nothing But Unnecessarily Large Tanuki Testicles Will Do
The new book is a two-timeline tale, with one thread taking place in the samurai era, and the other unspooling in modern-day Tokyo, where two women from opposite sides of … Continue Reading The World of The Last Tea Bowl Thief
Subway manners posters have admonished commuters not to whack fellow commuters onto the tracks with their rockabilly hair, avoid grabbing the station employees by their neckties, and stop dying from … Continue Reading Subway manners meet covid—with a side of prejudice—in these new posters
Twitter user Derek Wessman is a genius to have spotted (and appropriately translated) these brilliantly vandalized Japanese missionary signs that change the word “god” into the word “cat” by removing … Continue Reading Entertainingly altered missionary signs elevate cats to their rightful place
As we slide into fall, how are you doing? I hope you’re not in the path of any of the disasters that have been coming at us from all directions. … Continue Reading A town full of tricksters, strange Japanese beauty goals, and humble fall flowers that become spectacular in numbers
The Japanese design firm Triad just released one of the most Japanese products ever: the Hogwarts Castle notepad. Wait, that’s not Japanese! But…it is. Obviously, people who just need to … Continue Reading Amazing scenes emerge as you use this notepad
When your parents agonized over the perfect name for you, I hope they avoided all the usual pitfalls—initials that accidentally spell swear words, traumatizing nicknames, monikers that belong to disgraced … Continue Reading How lucky is YOUR name?
The talented artist known as y_haiku on Twitter and Instagram does it again! Why is it that… Movie hackersalways commit their crimesin dark rooms? • Why is it that… I … Continue Reading Hilarious haiku ask those burning questions about modern life
Are you still hanging in there, as we continue our wild ride through the Wonka tunnel and (hopefully soon!) pop out the other side? In a quest to make it … Continue Reading Surrounded by a waterfall, what to serve for Japanese dessert, and how to get the all-new, not-for-sale Yumi & Kenji short for free
For three hundred years, an elusive masterpiece passes from one fortune-seeker to the next, indelibly altering the lives of all who possess it… I’m so excited that I can finally give you … Continue Reading Potter, Poet, Warrior, Thief
I don’t know about you, but this year has given me a lot more respect for luck than I used to have. In Japan, people are a lot more comfortable … Continue Reading When you wish upon a…monk?
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
• 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
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”
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
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
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
Take care of two pressing needs at once with the ideal Japanese product for these troubled times: Professor Poop kanji-studying toilet paper! Schools are closed, but that doesn’t mean kids … Continue Reading Kanji Drill Toilet Paper: For All Your Quarantine & Japanese Study Needs
I don’t know about you, but these days escapist genre fiction is about the only thing keeping me sane. Historical, space opera, international, all good. (Anything but those science-gone-wrong epidemic … Continue Reading What’s On YOUR Quarantine Reading List?
Hi, it’s me again, Jonelle How are you doing? I hope that you and yours are finding new ways to enjoy life while we weather the current storm! In case … Continue Reading April Japanagram Preview
Hey, just because we all have to wear masks now doesn’t mean we have to look like grim extras from ER. In Japan, face masks have been a fashion go-to … Continue Reading Kawaii Masks
If I had to nominate one artist for Most Sanity-Saving In The Time of Coronavirus, it would absolutely be @meetissai, whose miniature sculptures inspired by pet tweets never fail to … Continue Reading Artist Turns The Best Pet Tweets Into Hilarious Tiny Sculptures
One of the most entertaining things you can do in Tokyo is wander around the city after the sun goes down, if you know where to look. The wizards of … Continue Reading Every year, in every season: These lovely Tokyo sites light up at night
I thought I’d seen it all when it comes to Japanese curry rice molds, but these two cuties redefine ADORABLE. The only problem is that it comes in both cat … Continue Reading Cutest Curry Rice Molds On The Planet
It’s already that time again! The March Japanagram is out, and if you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s what you’re missing: I’m sorry that these aren’t clickable like last month … Continue Reading Nine spectacular cherry blossom gardens, a firewalking field trip & a book giveaway!
If you have to postpone your Japan trip and miss the cherry blossoms this spring, don’t despair! There are other flower seasons you can catch after the current contagion dies … Continue Reading Five Japanese flower seasons that will make you happy you missed the cherry blossoms
Elderly uncle buying sake. Do I really have to Check his ID? • This odd store. I’ve never seen a customer here, Yet, it survives. • The forecast changes To … Continue Reading More Haiku Musings On The Ironies Of Modern Life
Today I was beelining toward a garden, through a neighborhood I never visit, when I was stopped cold by the kimono lovers’ equivalent of Aladdin’s Cave. Before I knew it, … Continue Reading Feast Your Eyes On This: A Shop Full Of Taisho, Meiji & Showa Era Kimonos
Just when you’re beginning to long for spring but it’s still shivery and damp and gray outside…Flowers By Naked arrives! The projection-mapping environment group Naked is staging its annual flower-themed … Continue Reading Spring Arrives Early: Flowers by Naked 2020
A n d . . . we’re live! Japanagram is my new monthly newsletter, featuring different stuff than you’ll see here on Only In Japan or on The Tokyo Guide … Continue Reading Japanese Home Cooking, Weird Chocolate, Thousands Of Tiny Igloos & More!
The question isn’t really “Do I really need more gachapon capsule toys?” but “How did I ever communicate without them?” This series may be sold out by the time you’re … Continue Reading How Did I Survive Before There Were Standing Cat Toys?
• Hello, fellow lover of all things quirky and Japanese! Would you like a chance to win a copy of a new Japan-centric book every month? That’s one of the … Continue Reading Japanagram Book Review & Giveaway!
I won’t be in town for the Tokyo International Quilt Festival next week <sob!> but if you are, go. The hundreds of quilts on display will be world-class quality, and … Continue Reading If You Miss The 2020 Tokyo International Quilt Festival You Will Have REGRETS
If it’s mid-January, you know where to find me: Tokyo’s biggest eye-candy car event of the year, Tokyo Auto Salon! Unlike the more stuffy Tokyo Auto Show (where big makers … Continue Reading It’s Time For The Craziest Car Show In Tokyo
Ever since I discovered that one of the most inspiring kimono stylists I know offers private tour and photo sessions, I’ve been dying to swan around Tokyo in a gorgeous … Continue Reading Kimono Princess For A Day!
