Tag Archives: everyday life in Japan

March 18

Jobs I Do Not Want To Have When I Grow Up

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Walking back from the Nezu Museum this week, I was crossing the street behind this official government worker. Yes, his job is to walk around my neighborhood in a flourescent yellow windbreaker, picking up soggy cigarette butts with industrial-sized tongs. • Jonelle Patrick tries to avoid all gainful employment by writing novels set in Tokyo When Detective […]

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January 06

More Hilarious Haiku About The Small Mysteries Of Modern Life

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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 your […]

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July 22

Hilarious Haiku About The Small Embarrassments Of Modern Life

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Last week I discovered Yamada Zenjido, an artist who pens haiku-like truisms paired with pitch-perfect drawings, and they are SO FUNNY…if you can read handwritten Japanese, that is. Fortunately, I have a friend who helped me with the more opaque characters (and because no good deed goes unpunished, will be pestered to do so maybe […]

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May 05

I Never Thought I’d Be Excited About A Fire Escape

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But isn’t this the best fire escape EVER? I mean, it’s a SLIDE. (And a fast one too. I know. I was a childhood slide junkie.) If I lived here, I’d want to have fire drills every day. • Read a novel set in Tokyo

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February 04

Every Japanese Room I’ve Ever Lived In

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If I were Queen Of The World, there would be a Japanese Complaints Choir* and they would sing about this. If anyone’s ever invented a more feeble excuse for a heating/cooling unit than the ones that supposedly make buildings in Japan habitable by humans, I never want to see it. And while we’re complaining (because you’re totally nodding […]

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May 16

Former Home Of The Haunted Toilet

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The bathroom that used to be on this spot in Inokashira Park was inhabited by an obake. In addition to the obvious creepitude of the sensation that an invisible something was watching you when you weren’t in the most flattering of circumstances, this ghost slammed doors and walked around if you went in alone. I have […]

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April 04

Always Carry Your Washcloth, Your Pink Chat Ad Tissues, and a Yardstick

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If you’re going to be out and about in Tokyo, be sure you have the necessary equipment for visiting public bathrooms. A washcloth is a necessity for drying your hands, since paper towels are few and far between. You also need a pack of the tissues that are pressed into your hand outside nearly every […]

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