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”
Category Archives: Made In Japan
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…”
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!”
The Shiba Inu Vending Machine
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 of eccentric that makes eel-flavored ice cream look like vanilla. What other dog would become more beloved for sticking its head where it doesn’t belong andContinueContinue reading “The Shiba Inu Vending Machine”
More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life
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 you who (like me) are not exactly goddess-like at reading handwritten Japanese, here are a few choice ones in translation! May it perk up yourContinueContinue reading “More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life”
Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts from Japan 2017!
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 driving me crazy, because I just can’t think of anything that will surprise and/or delight them. Or at least make them scream when they openContinueContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts from Japan 2017!”
Sweet Selfies On A Stick
This is the owner! 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 a photo and a little time to craft a mini-you out of sugar. The portraits are too complicated to make whileContinueContinue reading “Sweet Selfies On A Stick”
Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit
Aluminum skulls encrusted with tiny flowers? Yes, please! 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 Meiji-era woodwork, metalcraft and even (who knew?) embroidery with contemporary artists whose mindbending skillz rival those ofContinueContinue reading “Obsession, Thy Name Is This Exhibit”
Square Fruit Balloons
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! It was super hard to decide which was my favorite, so I had to buy them all. They come flat (for easy packing, in case you’reContinueContinue reading “Square Fruit Balloons”
The Meat Washcloth
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. •
The Host Club Vending Machine
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 it’s pretty happenin’ how they change color and all… …I wasn’t instantly throwing all my money at the coin changer. Until… …it hit me thatContinueContinue reading “The Host Club Vending Machine”
The Hypnotic Tail-Wagging Cat Clock
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 ITS MESMERIZING POWER: Can’t. Stop. Watching. (Except to scurry around online like a crazed, tail-wagging weasel to figure out who makes these and where to buyContinueContinue reading “The Hypnotic Tail-Wagging Cat Clock”
Tamao Shigemune: Modern Kimonos That’ll Knock Your Socks Off
Paris model photos all by the ultra-talented Tsubomi Photo Studio 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 can see them (and try her new summer collection on!) right now in Tokyo, through Sunday MarchContinueContinue reading “Tamao Shigemune: Modern Kimonos That’ll Knock Your Socks Off”
The Drunken Pet Vending Machine
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… These adorable animals are available at the Drunken Pet vending machine for just ¥200 each! This series may be sold out by the time you’re next in Tokyo, but thereContinueContinue reading “The Drunken Pet Vending Machine”
Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016
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 list who needs a MANEATING VAMPIRE PURSE, you need to make new friends. Nom…nom…nom. Spotted this at Design Festa, but it’s also available at malicious.fashionstore.jpContinueContinue reading “Top Ten Crazy Holiday Gifts From Japan 2016”
Samurai Sox
Who WOULDN’T want these ultra-swaggy samurai sox or kimono cuties in their holiday loot pile? Spotted all these sox at the Shimojima store in Asakusabashi. •
What NOT To Wear For Halloween
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. AIEEEE NOOOO! Can’t unsee! Who wants to think about Sexy Totoro? NOT ME Sexy Stormtrooper ai yi yi what next? Sexy 3PO? DO NOT TAKE THAT AS A SUGGESTION AContinueContinue reading “What NOT To Wear For Halloween”
The Peeing Statue Vending Machine
This month, the best dressed nude statue in all of Tokyo gets busy putting the weenie in 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 at Yodobashi Camera, I can take himContinueContinue reading “The Peeing Statue Vending Machine”
Essential Gear For The Corporate Warrior
For those times when you need to make a stealth dash to an important meeting through a forest of trees with blood…red…leaves…. And no one will dare question your commitment to the mission when you appear at the obligatory company ballgame outing wearing this samurai baseball cap Saw the red camo shoes at a shoeContinueContinue reading “Essential Gear For The Corporate Warrior”
Potatosaurus Rex
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. bwahahahaha EAT ALL THE CHIPS (This extinct denizen of the Junk Food Era was made by artist Katsutoshi Mutō) I admit, this makes me want meContinueContinue reading “Potatosaurus Rex”
It Must Be Fake Peach Flavor Season Again
The vending machines are suddenly stuffed with pink drinks. Of course, there hasn’t been a genuine fuzzy-skinned stone fruit within a thousand kilometers of these so-called “peach” libations, but that doesn’t stop them from making the point that even drinks flavored with highly unnatural chemicals must only appear when they’re “in season” in Japan. •
Kick That Bald Spot To The Curb, J-Style
Yes this beauty is from the Japanese doppelgänger of SkyMall, found in every bullet train seat pocket! Now THAT’s what I call a RUG. •
The Catzilla Vending Machine
Overcome with a burning need for yet more weird plastic toys (hey, don’t pretend this doesn’t happen to you!) I was poking around in my favorite Akihabara gachagacha emporium when I discovered THIS: Yes! It’s what Japan’s favorite irradiated lizard would look like if it were a cat! With two tails! (Rather a lucky mutation, since threeContinueContinue reading “The Catzilla Vending Machine”
The Gods Of Cuteness Anoint The Most Inexplicable Animal Yet
At the time I bought these, I thought I’d better snap them up, because I’d never see another piece of tapir-themed goods as long as I lived. Haha, I thought. Seriously? Tapirs? If there was a vote on which animal is least likely to be described as “fluffy, “winsome” and “cuddly,” I think tapirs would pretty much win the internet.ContinueContinue reading “The Gods Of Cuteness Anoint The Most Inexplicable Animal Yet”
Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie
The idea of being able to get a Barbie-sized clone of yourself has been an internet tease for so long that I almost walked past the studio displaying these super lifelike figures that had obviously been modeled on real people. Surely there would be the usual fine print: “GET A PERFECT PINT-SIZED REPLICA OF YOURSELF (for only $100,000,000,000)” or “NOWContinueContinue reading “Get Your Very Own 3D Selfie”
Finally, Girls’ Day For Goths!
Is your favorite lipstick color black? Do net quizzes always sort you into Slytherin? Would you rather eat deep fried cod testicles than be seen in a pink kimono? Then this set of Girls’ Day dolls is for you! Goto Dolls has done a major update on the whole thank you very much we’re just sitting here with ourContinueContinue reading “Finally, Girls’ Day For Goths!”
The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine
I thought I’d reached the highest level of gacha-gacha nirvana when I discovered the Angry Cat Ghost vending machine last year, but yesterday walking through what I’d previously thought of as the ninth-circle-of-hell Shinagawa station, I spied these: YOKAI FOXES! As you can see, they come in six, count ’em SIX, fabulous colors, three with lucky messenger-of-the-gods markings. And yeah, as youContinueContinue reading “The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine”
2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!
It’s time for Only In Japan’s yearly holiday gift round-up, and it looks like 2015 is holding its own! I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be the only one to bestow one of these awesome gifts from Japan on your nearest and dearest… 10. Warm in winter, cool in summer, give this CREEPY CONSTRUCTION WORKER HEAD TOWEL, so they can enjoy displaying their brains asContinueContinue reading “2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!”
Give Yourself A Tooth Manicure
Want to perk up those pearly whites a bit, but don’t want to choose between paying for cosmetic dentistry and getting a new car? This Japanese tooth makeup is for you! For less than twenty bucks, Tooth Makeup is basically nail polish for your choppers! Yes, just choose the shade you’d like your new smile to be, paint it on, and you’reContinueContinue reading “Give Yourself A Tooth Manicure”
Help, There’s A Hamster In My Drink!
Lately in Japan there’s been an explosion of vending machines selling little characters that perch on the side of your glass, so you never have to drink alone. But none of them has been nearly as cute as HAMSTERS. Well, okay, at first glance, spotting seven of them scrambling to get at your drink before youContinueContinue reading “Help, There’s A Hamster In My Drink!”
The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine
Walking through Shinjuku station today, I discovered I had a burning need for angry cat ghosts. Fortunately, there was a bank of gacha-gacha vending machines smack in the middle of the concourse, ready to cater to all my feline spiritual needs. OK, so maybe I went a little overboard trying to collect them all DON’TContinueContinue reading “The Angry Cat Ghost Vending Machine”
Taste Test: The Skinny On No-Alcohol Japanese Beers
You can tell it’s summertime in Japan, because your clothes stick to you the instant you walk outdoors and the entire populace flees to the rooftop beer gardens of Tokyo as soon as the sun dips below the yardarm. But if your liver is crying out for mercy after last night’s company drink-a-thon, and you’re queasily contemplating how to avoid pickling it any further,ContinueContinue reading “Taste Test: The Skinny On No-Alcohol Japanese Beers”
Least Cuddly Toy Of All Time
Once you’ve exhausted all the cute animals, blown through the vegetable kingdom, and even exploited raw fish as toy characters, what’s left? Why, bones, of course! Introducing the toys that put some backbone into the category of “action figures.” Enjoy some ribs with your new best friend this weekend! Watch out for that knuckleball… Being dead is no excuse.ContinueContinue reading “Least Cuddly Toy Of All Time”
Tokyo Design Festa 2015: Seriously, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
For all your Cat Butt Pincushion needs. Last weekend, Tokyo’s Design Festa delivered a level of craziness so far beyond words that once again, I’m just going to have to show you pictures. First, from the double rainbow world of animal goods… Think you can escape those pesky felines by locking yourself in the bathroom? Think again. The Cat TubContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Design Festa 2015: Seriously, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”
Sleeping Bags Of Yore
At first I thought this was some kind of wacky winter kimono from prehistoric, pre-Patagonia days, but no: it’s actually a futon built for two! This fancy sleeping bag was actually used by courtesans when they entertained their customers in Yoshiwara! The Sleeping Bag Of Yore in action! Back in the day, plenty of men wealthy enough to buy opulent mummy bags for theirContinueContinue reading “Sleeping Bags Of Yore”
Forever Alone Appliances
The Solo Oven: for making those lonely – yet manly – breakfasts Used to be – if you were a Japanese man – you had it made. Food magically appeared on the table every mealtime and you never even had to learn how to push the button on the rice cooker or face the pots & pans that becameContinueContinue reading “Forever Alone Appliances”
The Octopus Treatment…For Your Face
If you’re a little short on live octopus tentacles the next time you need a beauty treatment, Tokyu Hands will happily sell you this pink plastic Vacu & Lift Roller. I’m not sure what lasting beautification this device is supposed to deliver, but if I ever see someone walking down the streets of Shibuya looking like they just face-wrestled aContinueContinue reading “The Octopus Treatment…For Your Face”
Dang, If Only I Hadn’t Been Distracted By The Satan Horns…
Saw these at Design Festa. Having non-buyer’s regret! …I’d have realized I could have had a smashing set of ram horns to wear all day, to welcome in the Year Of The Sheep! •
Ten Best Stocking Stuffers From Japan!
10. SUSHI SOCKS Because who wouldn’t want their feet to look like two slabs of raw fish? (Seen at Loft in Shibuya) 9. DIY CROSS STITCH PHONE CASE Because: needlepoint phone case! (Seen at Loft in Shibuya) 8. ANIMAL SKELETONS Yes, Real animal skeletons. In pretty decorator colors. (Seen at Tokyu Hands in Shibuya) 7. DEVIL WAXContinueContinue reading “Ten Best Stocking Stuffers From Japan!”
More Christmas Hats From Hell
“What do you mean, you don’t want to sit in shiny alien elf Santa’s lap?” From the Tokyu Hands buyers who brought you the original Christmas Hats From Hell, behold the latest ways to say “Ho ho ho, suckers!” That little goatee of a tree allows the holiday thug to festively mimic O Tanenbaum while keeping his arms freeContinueContinue reading “More Christmas Hats From Hell”
Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2014!
10. What do you give the person who has everything? They’ve already got a one-shot coffee maker. And a one-shot tea machine. But I bet they don’t have a ONE-SHOT MISO SOUP MAKER! Because who doesn’t consume so much miso soup they need it instantly at all times? (Seen at Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara) 9.ContinueContinue reading “Top Ten Only In Japan Holiday Gifts 2014!”
Tokyo Design Festa: Zombie Matryoshika & More
You can do this with FELT?! If you’re in Tokyo, get thee to Design Festa RIGHT NOW! It’s on through Sunday the 9th, out in Odaiba at Big Sight. You definitely don’t want to miss seeing (and buying!): Handpainted zombie matryoshka dolls. Elfin anime-style figures, mind-bogglingly crafted from felt. Eyeball clasp purses, leaking a littleContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Design Festa: Zombie Matryoshika & More”
The Statue Of Too Much Liberty
These have got to be the most awesome gacha-gacha vending machine snags of all time! These little plastic figures depict Lady Liberty morphing into “Too-Free Goddess” and assuming unseemly poses! But forget trying to blackmail her with threats to tweet her indiscretions far and wide – there are already stop-action videos up on YouTube… The Cornholio Of Liberty Oh no, please tell me teaContinueContinue reading “The Statue Of Too Much Liberty”
Urban Assault Stroller…For Dogs
The next time you need to sneak your dog out for a stroll without the enemy suspecting, bundle it into this craftily camouflaged dog buggy and infiltrate the local park. •
Cherry Blossom Party Costumes I Would Regret
Having a bad hair day? Put this sakura-themed bag over your head and untag yourself from the cherry blossom festivities! The cherry trees are readying their onslaught, and it’s almost time for the annual beer-fuelled frolicking to commence. What better way to say, “I am a wild and crazy guy” than to don one of these festiveContinueContinue reading “Cherry Blossom Party Costumes I Would Regret”
Lego. Minifig. Popsicles.
Need I say more? Okay, actually, I also want the minifig & eight-brick ice cube trays. And the salt and pepper shakers. Thank you, Santa. In advance. •
Cuddle Up With An Adorable Slice Of Raw Fish
Okay, I thought the stuffed animal wizards were pretty much scraping the bottom of the vertebrate barrel when they came up with Kapybara-san a few years ago. I mean, how many of your childhood friends were really dying to invite the world’s largest rodent into bed with them? I rest my case. Of course theyContinueContinue reading “Cuddle Up With An Adorable Slice Of Raw Fish”
Fan-Built Lego Of Japan
Complete samurai suit of armor, Horned Minifig clan. I especially enjoy that it is fully jointed. I saw these fan-built designs on display at the Lego store in Odaiba! Experience the failure to grab any prize in miniature – just like the real thing! – with this fully operational Alien Claw model. Rollicking 3D actionContinueContinue reading “Fan-Built Lego Of Japan”
Only In Japan 