Category Archives: Just another day in Japan

May 18

How Superheros Find Their Perfect Match

posted by

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, who […]

»»
April 13

Subway Manners…For Ghosts

posted by

I’m afraid this subway manners poster isn’t going to do much to convince Things That Go Bump In The Night to stop harassing passengers – in fact, it’ll probably infuriate them to learn that they are merely as annoying as a wet umbrella or an overstuffed backpack, thus triggering a supernatural reign of terror. Don’t […]

»»
April 01

The Scourge Of The Orange Jacket

posted by

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 […]

»»
January 13

Before There Was Uber Eats, There Was…

posted by

…this. • When not craving sushi delivery, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo  

»»
January 08

Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!

posted by

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 shrine […]

»»
December 30

How To Survive New Year’s In Japan

posted by

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 January […]

»»
November 11

Gateway To Chrysanthemum Bliss?

posted by

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 other […]

»»