Giddyup, Kabutomushi
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. • Read … Continue Reading Giddyup, Kabutomushi
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 … Continue Reading Would You Like A Giant Bug With Your Coffee?
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 … Continue 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 … Continue 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 … Continue 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 … Continue Reading Geek is the New Blonde
Oktoberfest in…September?
Yep, it’s pretty much Oktoberfest all summer long in Tokyo, where a roving beer party moves around from district to district between May and November. It’s set up for 10 … Continue Reading Oktoberfest in…September?
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. … Continue Reading Goth Yukata
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 … Continue Reading Need. Wooden. Keyboard.
Akihabara In the Rain
Tonight I was hurrying home from Akihabara, the famous electronics district, when I was caught in a downpour. It was raining so hard that even people with umbrellas stopped at … Continue Reading Akihabara In the Rain
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 … Continue Reading Origami/Skirt
Your Very Own Made-To-Order Fangs
Picked up this flyer yesterday at the Deorart Punk-Lolita boutique. For only ¥7000, you can avoid that awkward moment when you bite into someone’s neck and experience fang fail. If … Continue Reading Your Very Own Made-To-Order Fangs
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 … Continue Reading Personal Size Incinerator
Say It With Camouflage
There’s nothing that screams “traditional summertime festival” like a yukata printed with chains and camouflage, accessorized with a pink obi and porkpie hat. • Read a novel set in Tokyo … Continue Reading Say It With Camouflage
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 … Continue Reading Pizza Taco
Phrases Every International Traveler Will Never Need
My temporary rental cellphone has an “Interpreter” tool that translates hundreds of useful phrases into English, Chinese or Korean. All the Japanese traveler has to do is search the situation … Continue Reading Phrases Every International Traveler Will Never Need
Flying Bugs As Big As Your…
Cicadas. A seasonal fixture of Japan so relentless that centuries of haiku masters had only to mention the word to conjure up all the steamy lethargy of summertime. If you’ve … Continue Reading Flying Bugs As Big As Your…
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 … Continue Reading Winter In A Can
Failing at Putting Out The Trash
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 … Continue Reading Failing at Putting Out The Trash
Gum Syrup Goodness
Good morning from the civilized land of gum syrup! No more painfully sweet strawfuls of grit at the bottom of my iced coffee! • Jonelle Patrick is the author of … Continue Reading Gum Syrup Goodness
For only $1400…
You too can look like Shō from Alice Nine in this handsome ¥109,200 crucifix motif shorts suit. Don’t forget to accessorize with purple leopard leggings. • Read a mystery set in … Continue Reading For only $1400…
What’s this supposed to do? Shame you into shape?
Picked up a flyer at Loft today for this revolutionary new slimming device, the Boneless Belt Series. Just looking at myself in the mirror while wearing this might make me … Continue Reading What’s this supposed to do? Shame you into shape?
Ice Ball Smokes
Saw this new kind of cigarette in a vending machine today. You crush the x-marks-the-spot “ice ball” before lighting up and get a righteous hit of menthol with your nicotine. … Continue Reading Ice Ball Smokes
Canine Dining At The Dog 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 … Continue Reading Canine Dining At The Dog Café!
The Hot Spring Resort For Dogs
Just because you’re off for a day of enjoyment at the Oedo Onsen hot spring theme park doesn’t mean your dog has to mope around at home. Right next door is … Continue Reading The Hot Spring Resort For Dogs
Black Rage Of Satan Pizza & Other Delicacies
Um, that would be “brand” as in “home on the range,” not as in “Louis Vuitton,” in case you were wondering which kanji character was used for the “Jesus Brand … Continue Reading Black Rage Of Satan Pizza & Other Delicacies
The Most Expensive Bonito Guts I Ever Ate
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 … Continue 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 … Continue Reading Bottle of Dom, Anyone?
Dancing with the Fangirlz
Tonight my friend Ayumi and I odori-ed ourselves to happy exhaustion with the fangirls at the Shibuya O-West. It was the annual visual kei Zany Zap Summit, and it did … Continue Reading Dancing with the Fangirlz
Make Your Own Sushi With Faces!
Now any kid can whip up sushi rolls that look like Anpan Man’s face after school. Saw these in the toy section of the Labi electronics megastore in Ikebukuro today. If you’d … Continue Reading Make Your Own Sushi With Faces!
Host Club 101
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 … Continue Reading Host Club 101
Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
Not many Lolitas gather at the Meiji shrine bridge anymore, but I saw a couple there today. One of the things I love about the whole Lolita subculture is that … Continue Reading Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
Boyz in Pink Hair and Eyeliner
Tonight I saw Duel Jewel at the Liquidroom in Ebisu, a ‘live house’ with standing room for about 400. The band is a classic example of visual kei: glam metal overlaid with … Continue Reading Boyz in Pink Hair and Eyeliner
Every Day, One New Thing
From August 16th on, I’ll try to find one new thing every day that I couldn’t see/hear/eat/experience outside of Japan. Between now and the 16th, I’m going to post a … Continue Reading Every Day, One New Thing
Jonelle Patrick's Only In Japan 