How can you tell a professional baking conference is in Tokyo? Because among the fantasy wedding cakes, there’s a Shinto shrine wedding, complete with marzipan bride and groom. From the roof tiles, to the torii gate tunnel, it’s pretty clear that this loving couple isn’t getting married in Winchester Cathedral That pink cake is 100%ContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Cake Show: So Gorgeous, So Japanese”
Author Archives: Jonelle Patrick
This Year’s Burning October Question: What’s The Peeing Statue Wearing For Halloween?
I had to go check to make sure that the best-dressed nude statue in Tokyo made it through the typhoon safely. And he did! Not only that, he already knows what he’s going to be for Halloween. But…huh? Retro-70s disco witch? As you can see, “witch” costumes in Japan are subject to the same considerable creativeContinueContinue reading “This Year’s Burning October Question: What’s The Peeing Statue Wearing For Halloween?”
Typhoon Aftermath
That’s how high the Tama River was yesterday, near Futako-Tamagawa Station Today when I woke up, it was hot and sunny. It didn’t seem possible that twelve hours ago, the biggest typhoon in sixty years was raging through Tokyo. So I went out to take a look at one of the places that had beenContinueContinue reading “Typhoon Aftermath”
In Which We Report On Being Hammered By Typhoon Hagibis In Tokyo
This is from the most awesome weather watch site on the net, windy.com. That’s Typhoon Hagibis (am I the only one who keeps wanting to call it Typhoon Haggis?) approaching Tokyo with a vengeance FRIDAY Pre-typhoon festivities: At Meidi-ya (the swanky “Japanese” supermarket): Lines fifteen deep with bulging baskets as every Japanese person in myContinueContinue reading “In Which We Report On Being Hammered By Typhoon Hagibis In Tokyo”
Dahlia Bonanza At The Toshogu Shrine
Every fall, this exquisitely curated exhibition happens at the Toshogu Shrine in Ueno Park, at the same place that hosts the eye-popping peony specimens in May. This “garden” only exists for a few weeks every year, when the patiently nurtured dahlias are coaxed into bloom by their owners and brought to the shrine. Each plantContinueContinue reading “Dahlia Bonanza At The Toshogu Shrine”
The Eleven Strangest Shrines In Tokyo
Tokyo is stuffed with gorgeous shrines and temples, but some of the gods in residence have hilarious and entertaining specialties! Here are the ones dedicated to my favorite kami-sama and how to snag some of their favor for yourself: • THE WART SHRINE Resident kami-sama’s superpower: Curing warts How to get your warts cured: Throw aContinueContinue reading “The Eleven Strangest Shrines In Tokyo”
Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels
Usually you’d have to hie yourself all the way up to rural Aomori* to catch a glimpse of these epic glowing floats, but lucky for me, last fall I happened across an outpost of the Nebuta Festival right in my own backyard! For some mysterious reason, six of the outrageously great floats were swanning down the shopping street near NakanobuContinueContinue reading “Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels”
I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!
There I was, drinking in the serene green at the Kiyosumi Garden… (Where, I might add, the herons on the far island were prancing around doing the “my genes are better than yours” dance) …when I nearly stepped on this. It’s a Northern Chinese Softshell turtle, and if Wikipedia is right, this one is settingContinueContinue reading “I Saw Another New Wild Animal In Tokyo!”
Jazz Age Paintings Of Beautiful Women And The Real Kimonos They Were Wearing
If you love kimono – and especially if you love Taisho and Showa-age kimono – don’t miss this exhibition! Right now, the Yayoi-Yumeji Museum – where over 3,000 of artist/illustrator Takehisa Yumeji’s works are archived – is displaying the actual kimonos and accessories worn in his paintings, side by side. I’m a huge fan of TaishoContinueContinue reading “Jazz Age Paintings Of Beautiful Women And The Real Kimonos They Were Wearing”
The Tool For All Your Chrome-plated Outdoor Needs
The must be the tool you’d need when pulling into the glamping spot in your pristine 4-wheel drive, to, I dunno…shovel a few more steaks onto the barbie? Return your cocktail garnishes to the earth from whence they came? Bury bodies above your pay grade? •
3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?
Doth my eyes deceive me? Riusuke Fukahori paints 3-D goldfish so real you can’t believe they’re not wriggling. And I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but the exhibit of his work going on RIGHT NOW at the Sano Art Museum in Mishima is so astounding, that in real life, the fish look more realContinueContinue reading “3-D Goldfish Art: Wait, Those Are PAINTINGS?”
When The Gods Decide To Plant A Lotus Garden, They Don’t Mess Around
It was construction as usual in the town of Gyoda, until an excavation for a new building hit a layer of lotus plants that had been dead for thousands of years. They didn’t think much of it, until the rain came, and the ancient lotus seeds began to sprout. When the plants bloomed, the flowersContinueContinue reading “When The Gods Decide To Plant A Lotus Garden, They Don’t Mess Around”
If Only Japanese Rock Gardens Were Filled With Cooling Mist & Illuminations…
Oh. Wait. At Tokyo Midtown this summer, they are! On the lawn that hosts those amazing winter illuminations, they’ve constructed a wide wooden veranda enclosing a “rock garden,” complete with clouds of mist and a fireworks-themed lightshow. And the best part is, you can sit and dangle your feet for as long as you like,ContinueContinue reading “If Only Japanese Rock Gardens Were Filled With Cooling Mist & Illuminations…”
Rice Field Art
In what has to be the weirdest creative medium next to the Seed Art Pavilion at the Minnesosta State Fair, Japanese farmers have taken to making large-scale art by planting some of their fields in different strains of rice. The only problem is, in order to even see what the picture is of, you haveContinueContinue reading “Rice Field Art”
Floating Lanterns
Candle-lit lanterns floating across a pond in the moonlight? Yes, please! This Toro Nagashi lantern ceremony was at the Ueno temple that sits amid the nodding lotus heads of Shinobazu Pond, and it was lovely. What I didn’t know was that it signals the end of annual O-bon festivities, the three days in summer when theContinueContinue reading “Floating Lanterns”
Viva la Revolućion…Diva Style
I’ve got to hand it to the fearless players of Takurazuka – they might be the only women in the world who regularly get up on stage and play the parts of men with iconic beards and legendary moustaches. Their current musical production features everyone’s favorite Cuban revolotionary, who rocks the glam eye makeup aContinueContinue reading “Viva la Revolućion…Diva Style”
Where To See The Most Divine Lotus Blossoms In Tokyo
Most flower seasons in Japan are like hitting the jackpot, but lotus season is more of a treasure hunt. Instead of fields of I-can’t-believe-my-eyes color, you have to hunt for the sublime pinkness amid a sea of green. But when you find it… <swoon!> Lotus flowers open at first light, are at their best fromContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Most Divine Lotus Blossoms In Tokyo”
Things I Did Not Know You Could Do With A Lotus Leaf
This morning I was at the Sankei-en garden in Yokohama at the ungodly hour of 7:00 a.m. to see their field of lotus in bloom, but it was the bonus attractions that really made my day! Sankei-en has special early weekend opening hours during The Season, because (who knew?) lotus flowers only bloom in theContinueContinue reading “Things I Did Not Know You Could Do With A Lotus Leaf”
The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest
The spring rainy season isn’t the most delightful time to be in Japan…unless you’re hiking through a shady forest, surrounded by heaps and heaps of blue hydrangeas! Minamisawa Ajisai Mountain’s groomed trails wind up the side of a mountain, through a silent and stately cedar forest that’s robed in countless poufs of cooling blue andContinueContinue reading “The Enchanted Hydrangea Forest”
Under The Umbrella Sky
If there’s a better way to celebrate Japan’s summer rainy season, show me! This is the latest environmental art exhibit at Metsa Village, the same place where Digitized Lakeside and Forest happened last winter. The exhibit is constructed from hundreds of tinted umbrellas, linked invisibly overhead, between the trees You enter beneath the warm endContinueContinue reading “Under The Umbrella Sky”
The Cat Shaming Vending Machine
How did you guess that the moment I caught a glimpse of this vending machine filled with cat shaming gachagacha, all my laundry coins would be history? “I played with the tissue” “I ate your snack” “I broke the dishes” “I clawed the wall” There was only one problem… I got the first four beforeContinueContinue reading “The Cat Shaming Vending Machine”
The Secret Facelift Belt
Not content to merely give people taller noses, smaller faces, and glued eyelids, now there’s a Japanese beauty appliance that irons out saggy face parts! Depending on which wrinkly bit most offends you, the elastic “facelift” belt comes in both “face” and “eye” packages… …although it looks like it’s the same product inside, just withContinueContinue reading “The Secret Facelift Belt”
Japanese Gift Boxes of Overwhelming Cuteness
Gifting in Japan requires that the wrapping be nearly as precious as what’s inside, but I can never remember how to tie a traditional silk furoshiki without the book that reminds me how to fold and tuck the corners so it doesn’t turn out looking like I’m offering someone a wad of laundry. But evenContinueContinue reading “Japanese Gift Boxes of Overwhelming Cuteness”
Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here
Sticking to the straight and narrow has never been cuter, thanks to these adorable kittycat gacha-gacha toys, and the vending machine that dispenses them on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street. And each comes with an object of mid-century tech to remind us that seeing, hearing, and speaking evil has never been harder to avoid SeeContinueContinue reading “Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here”
Crispy Intestine Snacks
Despite the fact that this new snack is called “Addictive Intestines,” I’m afraid you won’t find me bingeing a bucket ‘o crispy innards while Netflixing my way through a Saturday night, even though they boast not just one, but two kinds of squicky bits. They do make it easy to pick through the mix forContinueContinue reading “Crispy Intestine Snacks”
How Superheros Find Their Perfect Match
I had to laugh when I saw these ads on the subway for the Partner Agent dating service. It features famous manga characters who ordinarily would never meet because they occupy totally different Japanese comic book series. She’s a villain named Doronjo, known for being smart, take-charge, and vain. He’s an renegade medical mercenary, whoContinueContinue reading “How Superheros Find Their Perfect Match”
Azalea Pilgrimage 2019
I know you’re exhausted after elbowing your way through the crazy crowds instagramming the cherry blossoms, which is why you should take a deep breath and go see the azaleas. Like cherry blossoms, the all-flowers-all-the-time spectacle will knock your socks off, but unlike the famous fluffy things, you can enjoy them in blissful near-solitude. HereContinueContinue reading “Azalea Pilgrimage 2019”
Subway Manners…For Ghosts
In case you aren’t familiar with the traditional Japanese bugaboos in the above illustration, the umbrella monster is known to spread terror (or at least disgust) by sneaking up on people and licking them with its oily tongue, and the long-necked woman’s head is able to roam about freely on its own, biting small animalsContinueContinue reading “Subway Manners…For Ghosts”
The Best Places To See Pink Rivers of Cherry Blossom Petals
Photo thanks to the Hikawa Shrine Facebook page, which (thanks to their position right on the banks of the Shingashi River in Kawagoe) got the pink river timing perfect (unlike, uh, moi) The leaves are greening, hangovers cured, blue tarps furled, the madness over. Right? Wrong! Because as soon as the petals begin to fall,ContinueContinue reading “The Best Places To See Pink Rivers of Cherry Blossom Petals”
The Scourge Of The Orange Jacket
Okay, I know you think I’m a whiner because I went off on this guy wearing an orange jacket, sitting right in the middle of a shot I wanted to take during cherry blossom season at Shinjuku Gyōen. I mean, one guy, minding his own business—so what if his head’s inside his phone instead ofContinueContinue reading “The Scourge Of The Orange Jacket”
Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party
Kicking back under clouds of pink blossoms in the warm spring sun, eating a picnic and drinking with friends – it’s something you always dreamed of doing in Japan, isn’t it? And then you get here, and you discover that unless you’re a member of a work group that puts on a hanami party, you’ll beContinueContinue reading “Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party”
Soft Drink Flavors I Do Not Want To Try
In the scraping-the-bottom-of-the-flavor-idea-barrel sweepstakes, a clear winner. As if banana-flavored soda isn’t nauseating enough, they paired it with that nasty sour-milk yogurt flavor for good measure This yogurt-banana mash-up surfs in on the enduring popularity of the local favorite soft drink, Calpis, which inexplicably established sweetened sour milk as a delightful flavor in Japan. InContinueContinue reading “Soft Drink Flavors I Do Not Want To Try”
Spot The Elvis
If you’re looking for a country with absolutely zero junk food guilt, you found it. Behold the bagel sandwiches available at this shop I spotted while walking through Azabu Juban last week. Yes, in addition to the Elvis (#15: peanut butter/bacon/banana) they also offer The Rainbow Colored (#20), which features a multi-colored bagel filled withContinueContinue reading “Spot The Elvis”
Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night
The Yushima Shrine is famous for its plum blossoms, and until the end of February, you can see them lit up at night! Even if you’re a cherry blossom loyalist (in which case I sentence you to visiting all my favorite plum tree gardens and upgrading your flower preferences JUST SAYIN’) it’s a grand opportunity toContinueContinue reading “Plum Blossoms Lit Up At Night”
Flowers By Naked 2019
This year’s Flowers by Naked (at the same Coredo venue that hosts Art Aquarium during the summer) was better than last year but not as engaging as the first year I saw it. The art of projection mapped animation has taken such huge strides in three years that it kind of amazes me how wowed I wasContinueContinue reading “Flowers By Naked 2019”
Shirakawago In The Snow
For years, I’ve wanted to see the old-fashioned farmhouse hamlet of Shirakawa-go all lit up at night in the snow, and this week I got half my wish. It turns out that ever since it was named a Unesco World Heritage Site, viewing the farmhouses lit up at night has become such a crazy tourist madhouseContinueContinue reading “Shirakawago In The Snow”
Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART TWO: Just Beautiful
It was so hard to choose only a few quilts to feature from the embarrassment of riches at this year’s Tokyo International Quilt Festival, but here are some of the overall stunners, and a couple that had details to die for. • You can see why this piece won the 2018 Machine Quilting Award… “LifeContinueContinue reading “Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART TWO: Just Beautiful”
“Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation
If ogling giant resonating eggs and gawking at color-changing trees isn’t what you’re planning to do this weekend, cancel your plans and get thee out to Hanno to see this new digital art installation instead! It meanders halfway around the small lake in the Metsa Village recreation area, and it’s everything glow-in-the-dark entertainment should be.ContinueContinue reading ““Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation”
Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts
I didn’t think it was possible to be more blown away than I was in 2016, by the sheer artistry and sewing chops I ogled at the Tokyo International Quilt Festival, but yesterday it happened again. In fact, there are so many quilts I want to show you, I’m going to break this into twoContinueContinue reading “Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts”
Lighting Up The Winter Night
Because I’m helplessly drawn to things that glow in the dark (gee, ya think?), I recently returned to two of my favorite lit-up-for-winter amusement parks, because I’d heard that they’d updated their gazillion-fairy-twinkle extravaganzas. (And you can check them out too, if you’re anywhere near Tokyo, until Valentines Day!) SAGAMIKO “ILLUMILLIONS” THEME PARK This yearContinueContinue reading “Lighting Up The Winter Night”
Before There Was Uber Eats, There Was…
Sushi delivery vehicle, on the streets of Tokyo …this. •
Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!
The only thing in all of Japan that might be cuter than huskies in kimonos is a parade of shiba inus in kimono. Shibas are well-known for making like the Petrified Forest and refusing to budge until even the tiniest hint of humiliating costumery is removed, but the noble beasts I caught making their first shrineContinueContinue reading “Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!”
And This Year’s Winners In The Tournament Of Weird Japanese Appliances Are…
In for the gold by a mile: the Electric Sweet Potato Roaster You know you want one. Get it at Yodobashi Camera, in Akihabara In the steamy competition for Most Japanese Appliance Ever, I think you’ll have to agree that the electric sweet potato roaster owns the podium. Not only is it good for making oneContinueContinue reading “And This Year’s Winners In The Tournament Of Weird Japanese Appliances Are…”
How To Survive New Year’s In Japan
Seriously. The fear is real. New Year’s is one of those times in Japan when it’s a real liability to be thousands of miles away from people who might loan you embarrassing essentials or feed you in a pinch, because everything – and I do mean everything – shuts down from December 31 to JanuaryContinueContinue reading “How To Survive New Year’s In Japan”
Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018
These days, everyone wants “experiences,” not “stuff,” so how about digging into your Santa sack for presents that deliver #youllneverguesswhatwedids that could only come from (where else?)…Japan! This year, give the gift of… 1 …making your own Panda Face sushi and finding out who’s the fastest panda-grabber in the land Seen at the Akihabara Yodobashi CameraContinueContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018”
Department Of Seasonal Pet Humiliation: This Year’s Santa Cat Costume
Sporting all the premium quality you’d expect from a ¥400 vending machine, this Santa Claws capelet just might be the perfect gift for someone who dreams of #catsofinstagram glory (and is willing to risk the kind of revenge that will certainly be extracted after uploading Growler’s humiliation for all the world to see). Not recommendedContinueContinue reading “Department Of Seasonal Pet Humiliation: This Year’s Santa Cat Costume”
Cat Feet Chair Socks!
I know that you’ll be super envious to hear that my kitchen chairs are now prancing around on little cat feet! Gone are the days when the awful screeching sound of chair on floor could drive guests away faster than a pot of soup generously endowed with all four kinds of cow stomach. And they comeContinueContinue reading “Cat Feet Chair Socks!”
Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018
Free displays of holiday illuminations have become a huge attraction in Tokyo – probably because they’re the most instabae invention since selfie sticks – and every year they get bigger and better. Here are this year’s offerings from my favorite places to see them… • • Most Entertaining • TOKYO MIDTOWN Midtown’s “The Universe” is myContinueContinue reading “Where To See The Best Illuminations In Tokyo 2018”
Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?
Okay, what do you think THIS floral designer got in trouble for drawing in the margins of his schoolbooks…? If I’d come in through this portal, I might never have made it to the annual Shinjuku National Garden chrysanthemum displays, because I’d have died laughing, so it’s a good thing I entered from the otherContinueContinue reading “Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?”
Remote Control Hell At The Traditional Inn
On Tuesday I arrived at a fabulous onsen in Tateshima, expecting to simmer in their hot spring, gaze at splendid autumn leaves in luxurious quietude, and stuff myself with regional specialties, but when I got to my room I found…this. I mean, what the heckin’ heck? Five remotes to control a tatami-floored room at aContinueContinue reading “Remote Control Hell At The Traditional Inn”
Only In Japan 