The day after Halloween, I knew it was a bad sign when I heard music in my local supermarket that sounded suspiciously like “The First Noel,” but when I spotted The Colonel duded up in his Santa suit today, Season Creep was confirmed. Without Thanksgiving as a sort of cultural moat between Halloween and Christmas, JapaneseContinueContinue reading “Colonel Santa”
Author Archives: Jonelle Patrick
Mini Kimonos
A 7-year-old in her first grown-up kimono and obi. Today was the official day of Shichi-Go-San, but for weeks families have been dressing their 7-year-old girls, 5-year-old boys, and 3-year-old girls in traditional finery and taking them to shrines to wish for long life and good health. No expense is spared. The 7-year-olds have beenContinueContinue reading “Mini Kimonos”
Zombie Sardines
This was the scene when I got off the train at Shibuya this morning. Japanese trains are legendary for the number of people packed into each car during commute hours, so you can imagine how quickly things get out of hand when there’s even a slight delay anywhere along the line. Late trains are such aContinueContinue reading “Zombie Sardines”
Doggy Dinner
While many dog owners here do cook meals for their pooches – dogs here enjoy lives that would be envied by many children – this nabe pot just looks like a cheerful shiba-ken. It’s really for making hotpot stews and cook-at-the-table meals like sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. Nabe pots are made of special hardened clay so they can beContinueContinue reading “Doggy Dinner”
Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?
It’s the season when warm drinks reappear in vending machines all over Japan, offering morning jolts of coffee, black tea, cocoa, green tea and…red bean soup? Yes, it’s time for shiruko, that wintertime favorite made from crushed sweet red beans, thinned so it can be slurped from a can in an alleyway on the wayContinueContinue reading “Coffee, Tea, or a Shot of Hot Red Beans?”
No Seaweed, Extra Chili Peppers
In the battle for the hearts and minds of Japanese midnight noshers, Pizza Hut fights back with the Gorgeous Four, the Melting Camembert and the Super Korean Purokoki! This flyer landed in my mailbox yesterday, promising that with a single phone call, I could be dining on a pie topped with Korean BBQ beef andContinueContinue reading “No Seaweed, Extra Chili Peppers”
Next I Want To See The Bonsai Tulip
Yep, it’s a bonsai chrysanthemum. I saw this prize specimen at the Yasukuni Shrine last weekend. It’s the wickedly competitive chrysanthemum exhibiting season in Japan right now, and shrines all over Tokyo have erected little huts filled with obsessively nurtured flowers. Not only do the un-bonsaied varieties have to be perfectly symmetrical, with their bloomsContinueContinue reading “Next I Want To See The Bonsai Tulip”
Rockabilly Daruma
If you had a burning desire for Elvis to be alive and running a ramen shop near Yoyogi Park – conveniently located, of course, for the leather-jacketed, ducktailed rockabilly dancers’ Sunday evening afterparty – this is exactly the sort of Daruma figure you might need. If your hearts’ desire is more pedestrian, you can stillContinueContinue reading “Rockabilly Daruma”
Obscure Stuffies
Japanese toy makers can usually rise to the challenge of making a cute stuffed animal out of even the most unappealing lifeforms – witness Capybara-san, a surprisingly popular character even though World’s Biggest Rodent is not exactly anybody’s idea of a heartwarming claim to fame. So whose idea was it to produce the anatomically correctContinueContinue reading “Obscure Stuffies”
Happy Death Anniversary
This invitation to a death anniversary arrived in yesterday’s mail. I love the idea of death anniversaries. In Japan, people don’t forget all about you after you die. One year after, they throw a party. Family and friends are invited, a plate of your favorite foods and a cup of your favorite refreshment is setContinueContinue reading “Happy Death Anniversary”
No Rescuing Allowed
Tokyo Metro subway poster at Ichigaya station, Yūrakachō line. This is the first time I’ve seen a Japanese subway poster advising people NOT to follow their noblest instincts. Usually the general public is being admonished to silence their cell phones, put their makeup on at home, crank their earphones down, not pass out on theContinueContinue reading “No Rescuing Allowed”
Speedboat Sushi
See my four-plate order on the red boat under the touchscreen? Conveyor belt sushi joints are a fast food fixture in Japan, but I’d never been to one that delivered the special orders on a red speedboat before. This place near my Japanese school in Takanobaba has a system: each setting is outfitted with its ownContinueContinue reading “Speedboat Sushi”
Elvis is Alive and Performing in Yoyogi Park
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon yesterday in Yoyogi Park, and the rockabilly clubs were out in force. These guys gather around boom boxes near the Harajuku Station entrance, occasionally swigging from a bottle of whisky, taking turns dancing their hearts out to “Blue Suede Shoes” and other classics from when The King was king.ContinueContinue reading “Elvis is Alive and Performing in Yoyogi Park”
The Ur-Vending Machine
I was walking along a little back street in Tama when I came across the great grand-daddy of vending machines: this little neighborhood vegetable hutch. People leave their backyard surplus in the bins and anyone can buy it by dropping ¥100 in the slot marked “Put Money In Here.” I know that there are lots ofContinueContinue reading “The Ur-Vending Machine”
Mozart-san
Yep, it’s the profusely be-wigged, all-Japanese production of Amadeus. •
Dessert Pizza from Hell
Yes, those ARE marshmallows joining the pumpkin and red bean paste topping, drizzled with black sesame sauce. I’m sure you’re craving an extra large. •
The Vinegar Cafe
Some of the house-made fruit vinegars at Marusan Vinegar is not my favorite thing. Not even close. So I was kind of lukewarm on the idea of going to a café where the house specialty was drinks based on fruit vinegar. How could I have been so wrong? The drinks were so delicious, I’ve beenContinueContinue reading “The Vinegar Cafe”
King Of Tattoo
Taiwanese artist Horian working on a full-body piece. People from all over the world flew in to be worked on by the international artists at the King of Tattoo three-day inkfest in Daikanyama yesterday. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but I’ve always been interested in art that has to adapt to its environment (like,ContinueContinue reading “King Of Tattoo”
More Alike Than You Might Think
This week my friend Tomoko and I searched out a tiny vintage kimono shop in Shimo-kitazawa that was featured in Yamato Kimono-hime, the magazine from which I scanned the fabulously styled photo on the left. That article made me think differently about kimonos, and I got to thinking about how Kalico Delafay’s Dollymop designs made me think differently about a western garment that historically defined female beauty:ContinueContinue reading “More Alike Than You Might Think”
Midnight Mess
Me, La Carmina and Yukiro outside Club Marz in Shinjuku Saturday night I went to the monthly Goth party at Club Marz and met up with famed author/journalist/TV host La Carmina, who was filming a segment for NHK Tokyo Kawaii TV. The fabulous outfits and makeup of everybody there – especially La Carmina and YukiroContinueContinue reading “Midnight Mess”
Whale Bacon
The friend I went to the Tsukiji Outer Market with this week told me that when she was growing up in Kyushu, the only kind of bacon they ever had at home was whale bacon. Apparently, it’s always eaten raw, so when she was reading an American book years later and the dialogue was aboutContinueContinue reading “Whale Bacon”
Giddyup, Giant Insect
From the wear and tear on this piece of playground equipment, I’d say that lots of stag beetle grubs have been lassoed and branded by local 3-year-old cowboys. •
Would You Like A Giant Bug With Your Coffee?
I know, I know, they put it in the window because the cicada is the quintessential symbol of Japanese summer, but even prettying it up with pinkness and flowers does not disguise the fact that it’s a gigantic BUG. •
Love’s Eternal Flame
Okay, actually it’s eleven waiters bearing blazing baked Alaskas into the banquet hall at the excellent wedding I went to yesterday. At all the Japanese weddings I’ve been to, the photo op “wedding cake” is made of plaster. It’s always perfect for the picture, no messy cutting and distributing, no temptation to smash the newContinueContinue reading “Love’s Eternal Flame”
Pikachu, Wedding Crasher
Today I went to the most excellent Japanese wedding ever. In addition to the usual Japanese wedding reception elements – the announcements to get out the video cameras because a precious moment was about to happen, the cutting of the plaster cake, the lengthy toasts by bosses and other worthies, the professional-quality video resumes –ContinueContinue reading “Pikachu, Wedding Crasher”
Little Red Riding Colonel
In Akihabara, apparently even Colonel Sanders is into cosplay. This is a somewhat homemade-crafty-looking attempt to draw attention to KFC’s current apple pie promotion. Must check my other favorite life-sized Colonel in Hiroo to see how widespread this little costume is! He always dons a Santa suit in December at the Hiroo branch, but I’veContinueContinue reading “Little Red Riding Colonel”
Geek is the New Blonde
I wish I could sell you the phone app that magically removes glasses glare from photos, but alas, the reason this girl’s aren’t lighting up like a full moon under the glaring subway lights is…they have no lenses. I was walking down the street in Harajuku when I first spotted a girl wearing a pairContinueContinue reading “Geek is the New Blonde”
Goth Yukata
What Goth girls wear on romantic dates to watch the traditional fireworks of summertime. Love that Kera magazine suggests accessorizing it with a black and white polka dot water pistol. •
Need. Wooden. Keyboard.
Saw this in the window of a shop at the Aki-Oka artists’ colony under the train tracks in Akihabara. Hacoa specializes in beautiful modern things made of wood: computer stuff (keyboards, mice), iPhone covers, pens and more. If you’d like to visit Aki-Oka Artisan the next time you’re in Tokyo, visit my website, The Tokyo GuideContinueContinue reading “Need. Wooden. Keyboard.”
Origami/Skirt
Walked into one of the Issey Miyake shops on Omotesando yesterday afternoon and walked out with a piece of origami. The 1325 Collection is kind of boggling, because all the skirts and pants etc. fold down to beautiful flat pieces of geometry. The summer offerings are all made of precisely folded gray and black andContinueContinue reading “Origami/Skirt”
Personal Size Incinerator
Last night this was: four slices of fish past their eat-by date, a banana peel, three used teabags, two handfuls of soybean pods, an eggshell, and various don’t-look-too-close flotsam caught by the kitchen sink strainer. This morning: dry, crumbly compost, suitable for feeding to your plants or storing until next week when the day rollsContinueContinue reading “Personal Size Incinerator”
Pizza Taco
Sometimes “foreign food” is REALLY foreign in Japan. Like “Mayo Con Beef Tacos.” Or, even more mysterious, “Egg Feeling Tacos.” Basically: Anything in a folded tortilla? It’s a taco! A first I was puzzled by why “pizza” was mentioned – since it seems to be missing from the menu altogether – but I bet they’reContinueContinue reading “Pizza Taco”
Winter In A Can
Used to be that Japanese people kept cool in the summer by hanging little bells that rang in the barest breeze, gazing at goldfish in clear globes, and listening to ghost stories that sent shivers up their spines, but now technology has had its evil way with tradition. Behold…Ice Wear! It’s only one of manyContinueContinue reading “Winter In A Can”
Failing at Putting Out The Trash
Tomorrow’s trash challenge, as outlined on my handy garbage guidelines poster. Foreigners are legendary at garbage fail in Japan, but anxiety about Doing Trash Right runs deep here, even among native-born Nihon-jin. In a Japanese soap opera I watched recently, one housewife mercilessly bullies her neighbor by sneaking The Wrong Kind Of Trash into herContinueContinue reading “Failing at Putting Out The Trash”
Canine Dining At The Dog Café!
Fuki and Sala’s gourmet cheesy bites at the Puppies Café After cavorting at the Dog Petit Resort Joker, Yoko and I took Fuki and Sala to their favorite Odaiba lunch spot: the Puppies Café. Every table comes equipped with a water dish for the dogs and a canine menu. While we ate indifferent “American style”ContinueContinue reading “Canine Dining At The Dog Café!”
The Most Expensive Bonito Guts I Ever Ate
The first course of kaiseki at Hamada-ya In case you didn’t immediately recognize the gourmet tidbits in the lovely dishes above, the one on the left is “Shrimp and udo plants dressed with salted and fermented bonito guts” and the one in the center is “Hairy crab and butterbur dressed with egg yolk and vinegar.”ContinueContinue reading “The Most Expensive Bonito Guts I Ever Ate”
Bottle of Dom, Anyone?
Got to bed last night at 2:00 after passively breathing in about two packs-worth of cigarette smoke at a most excellent host club. These days in Kabuki-chō, it’s illegal to smoke out on the street, but inside a club? Fire ‘em up! It was pouring rain and freezing cold outside. I thought it’d be aContinueContinue reading “Bottle of Dom, Anyone?”
Make Your Own Sushi With Faces!
Now any kid can whip up sushi rolls that look like Anpan Man’s face after school. Or maybe they can be enticed to eat some nice raw fish for dinner if you deliver it by bullet train… Saw these in the toy section of the Labi electronics megastore in Ikebukuro today. •
Host Club 101
Tomoya-san, me, and my second cousin Yuki enjoying ourselves beyond the call of duty at the Excellent Club Zero in Kabuki-chō. I’m happy to report that the geisha world is alive and well in Kabuki-chō…only these days it’s populated by gorgeous young guys decked out in visual-kei style whose job it is to entertain women like the princesses weContinueContinue reading “Host Club 101”
Only In Japan 