Jonelle Patrick's Only In Japan
Every day, stuff you'd never see anywhere else.
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
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
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
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
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
The Mori Museum’s current exhibit, Future and the Arts: AI, Robotics, Cities, Life – How Humanity Will Live Tomorrow pushes all my favorite buttons: food, fashion & WTF! It’s a satisfyingly … Continue Reading At The Mori Museum: 3D-Printed Sushi & Other Glimpses Of The Future
From the nation of insane Japanese modelmakers, this. The artist known as “Karabako Shokunin Harukiru” (That’s “Empty Box Craftsman Harukiru” to you), snips and folds and glues the unlikely medium … Continue Reading Insanely Detailed Sculptures Made From Japanese Snack Packages
Tired of being the same old sexy skunk or slightly NSFW goose in a tutu for Halloween? Keep your fellow costume partiers guessing with these only-in-Japan puzzlers! I found these … Continue Reading The Most Only-In-Japan Halloween Costumes Ever
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. And then … Continue Reading Tokyo Cake Show: So Gorgeous, So Japanese
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? There was only … Continue Reading The Cat Shaming Vending Machine
I hope you’re in Japan right now, because dinosaurs are invading the Marui Annex in Shinjuku! These delightfully believable photos of the archaic denizens mingling with the good people of Earth … Continue Reading Dinosaurs Delightfully Invade The Real World
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 … Continue Reading Japanese Gift Boxes of Overwhelming Cuteness
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. … Continue Reading Move Over, Monkeys! See-no Evil, Hear-no-Evil, Speak-no-Evil Cats Are Here
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 … Continue Reading Crispy Intestine Snacks
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 … Continue Reading Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART TWO: Just Beautiful
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 … Continue Reading Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts
In for the gold by a mile: the Electric Sweet Potato Roaster In the steamy competition for Most Japanese Appliance Ever, I think you’ll have to agree that the electric sweet … Continue Reading And This Year’s Winners In The Tournament Of Weird Japanese Appliances Are…
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 … Continue Reading Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2018
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 … Continue Reading Department Of Seasonal Pet Humiliation: This Year’s Santa Cat Costume
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 … Continue Reading Cat Feet Chair Socks!
I can’t say I’ve ever had a massive craving for an ice cream sundae that resembles a pile of spaghetti with meat sauce, but at least this isn’t ACTUAL spaghetti-flavored … Continue Reading Spaghetti Ice Cream
Seriously, if you come to Tokyo and see nothing else, see THIS When was the last time you went to a museum and totally lost track of time because it … Continue Reading TeamLab Borderless: Best Digital Museum EVER!
Aww, a pillow that looks like a cat, just sitting there all furry and begging to be petted. What the…! Yes, the entire purpose of this robot pillow is to … Continue Reading The Wagging Cat Tail Pillow
Finally! A series of shiba inu gachagacha toys made by an artist who understands that these devilish dogs are not just unbearably adorable, they come packed with a level … Continue Reading The Shiba Inu Vending Machine
Machines may not be able to find you the date of your dreams, but they sure can paint. This art is being made by an algorithm. A “life game” algorithm, … Continue Reading A Portrait Of The Algorithm As A Young Man
I know you’ve just been WAITING for more amusing observations and subtly ironic drawings about modern life from Yamada Zenjido (the artist who goes by y_haiku), so for those of … Continue Reading More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life
It’s that time of year, when everyone who’s easy to buy presents for already has a big satisfying check mark next to their name, but the ones who don’t are … Continue Reading Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts from Japan 2017!
There’s a little shop near Sendagi Station called Amezaiku-ya where you can order the ultimate sweet selfie! Most often commissioned for wedding cake toppers, all the resident artists need is … Continue Reading Sweet Selfies On A Stick
Okay, I really want to hate the Mitsui Memorial Museum (because see below) but they keep putting on shows like this. The idea behind “Amazing Craftsmanship!” is to pair mad … Continue Reading Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit
In the I-totally-don’t-need-this-but-am-strangely-compelled-to-buy-it-anyway category, these square fruit balloons are a quirky modern take on kami fusen, a cheap, Meiji-era toy. Of course, in true ultra-Japanese style, they’re made of paper! If … Continue Reading Square Fruit Balloons
Still looking for that perfect souvenir to surprise your friends back home? Well, they certainly won’t be expecting this. Saw these at Don Kihote store in Shibuya. If you’d like … Continue Reading The Meat Washcloth
When I first saw this gachapon machine filled with little plastic champagne towers, I thought WAT? Who needs a set of miniature, light-up, host club furniture? I mean, even though … Continue Reading The Host Club Vending Machine
Okay, I’m going to come right out and admit I don’t actually have a dog. You would, however, be forgiven for assuming that I was knee-deep in shiba inus, on account of I own a … Continue Reading Confessions Of A Shiba Stalker
I’ve seen fruit for your patootie and warriors for your derriere, but this is the first time I’ve encountered top-of-the-food-chain predators for your butt. Am trying hard not to imagine the Japanese bathroom … Continue Reading A Leopard For Your Butt
Walking down the street in Ome, I discovered something that totally flipped my three-hour trip to see a garden filled with no blooming azaleas into the win column: the tail-wagging cat clock! BEHOLD … Continue Reading The Hypnotic Tail-Wagging Cat Clock
GLAMPING. Camping + Glamour = Glamping? No. In fact, all flavors of charcoal-toasted NO. On a stick. Those two words don’t belong together EVER. Except, maybe, in Japan. Where you can purchase rugged tents like these: … Continue Reading Please Tell Me This Isn’t Really A Thing
I don’t usually crave a quarter pounder of rice and seaweed in the middle of my day, but if I knew one of these was in my brown bag, I’d be counting … Continue Reading Shiba Inu Rice Balls
So you think you can’t rock a kimono because you’re not Japanese? Think again! Tamao Shigemune designs modern versions of traditional Japanese women’s wear with a distinctly Parisian twist, and guess what? You … Continue Reading Tamao Shigemune: Modern Kimono To Die For
I scoured the drugstores at obscure Tokyo subway stops so you don’t have to. This face wash disappears off the shelves as fast as it’s put out, because who WOULDN’T want … Continue Reading Rose Foam Beauty Whip!
Strolling through the toy aisles of Yodobashi camera one rainy day (as one does), I was stopped in my tracks by this. Disney goes pocchari! Mocchi-mocchi Pooh! Not to be outdone … Continue Reading Inexplicable Toy Trends Of Japan
Am I right or am I right? • Read a novel set in Tokyo…
So, today I came home and found THIS. I don’t know what kind of shenanigans YOUR gacha-gacha toys get up to when they’re alone in the house, but… This series may be … Continue Reading The Drunken Pet Vending Machine
Yes, it’s that time of year again, when you comb your list of friends & family for those who truly deserve that rare and awe-inspiring gift from Japan… 10. If there’s nobody on your … Continue Reading Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016
Who WOULDN’T want these ultra-swaggy samurai sox or kimono cuties in their holiday loot pile? • Always clothed in the finest of samurai sox, Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Tokyo “A … Continue Reading Samurai Sox
As you can imagine, in the land where Sexy Santa and Sexy Skunk are a Thing (why, Japan, why?), Halloween is the premiere season for Costume Don’ts. Saw these at Don Kihote … Continue Reading What NOT To Wear For Halloween
It’s always hard to say goodbye to my favorite costumed peeing boy statue when I leave Tokyo, but now I don’t have to! Thanks to the awesome vending machine I discovered … Continue Reading The Peeing Statue Vending Machine
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that my sympathy runs deep for the poor toy designers who have to churn out new adorable stuffies when all the … Continue Reading Uncuddly Stuffies
Saw the red camo shoes at a shoe store in Skytree, and the samurai b-ball hats at Tokyu Hands in Ikebukuro • Read a novel set in Tokyo…
A few days ago I was climbing the escalators in the hated Skytree* in search of the Sumidagawa Aquarium, and was stopped in my tracks by this. An exhibition of fake food art! Best. Idea. Ever. All … Continue Reading Potatosaurus Rex
