January 31

New “Digitized Lakeside and Forest” Outdoor Art Installation!

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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. […]

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January 25

Tokyo International Quilt Festival 2019 PART ONE: Eyepopping Japanese Motif Quilts

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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 two […]

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January 19

Lighting Up The Winter Night

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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 Fair warning: […]

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January 13

Before There Was Uber Eats, There Was…

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

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January 08

Dogs In Kimonos: Shiba Edition!

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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 […]

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January 03

And This Year’s Winners In The Tournament Of Weird Japanese Appliances Are…

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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 potato roaster owns the podium. Not only is it good for making one thing (and one thing only), that thing is the most Japanese winter […]

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December 30

How To Survive New Year’s In Japan

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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 […]

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