Tag Archives: How to…

Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party

Kicking back under clouds of pink blossoms in the warm spring sun, eating a picnic and drinking with friends – it’s something you always dreamed of doing in Japan, isn’t it? And then you get here, and you discover that unless you’re a member of a work group that puts on a hanami party, you’ll beContinue reading “Hacking Hanami: How To Get Yourself Invited To A Cherry Blossom Party”

Make Your Own Plastic Food…At Home!

Okay, as the self-diagnosed Queen of Fail when it comes to Japanese crafts (remember the “rabbit” from the animal lollipops workshop?), I was pretty sure that any fake food I made without the experts at the Make Your Own Plastic Food Workshop would look more like something from the compost bin than a reputable kitchen. But so many people told me they were dyingContinue reading “Make Your Own Plastic Food…At Home!”

How To Walk Across The Rainbow Bridge!

This has to be the most gorgeous walk in Tokyo. If you start at twilight, you can see the entire Tokyo waterfront slowly light up like the best holiday light show ever! Here’s how I do it: I get off the train at Tamachi station and go out the main exit. There’s about a five minute walk, across two canals, untilContinue reading “How To Walk Across The Rainbow Bridge!”

How To Make A Wickedly Scary Gash On Your Arm In Seven Easy Steps!

Looks totally real, doesn’t it? In fact, it’s the artistry of one of the students at the Amazing School JUR’s special effects table at Design Festa! I opted for the ¥500 standard slasher attack, but you could also sign up for the ¥1000 “X-marks-the-psycho” gashes or a gaping wound that looked like the velociraptors gotContinue reading “How To Make A Wickedly Scary Gash On Your Arm In Seven Easy Steps!”

Make Your Own Goth Sushi

Okay, bento warriors, here’s your chance to show the lunchroom what you’re really made of! Step by step instructions for making skull-tastic sushi rolls from any old scraps of rice, omelet and seaweed you happen to have lying around the house! No need to painstakingly translate all that pesky Japanese – just make like aContinue reading “Make Your Own Goth Sushi”

Doll Eyes

I’ve always wondered, how do ordinary 100% Japanese women get that round-eyed babydoll look? Fortunately, Ageha magazine hired a pro makeup artist to spill all the secrets! Here’s where she started: Okay, here’s the step by step transformation! 1: The key point is to glue on the fake bottom lashes BELOW your actual eyelid! SeeContinue reading “Doll Eyes”

Instaboobs

No matter how unlucky you were when they were handing out the bodacious ta-tas, in less than five minutes – without any miracle creams, thighmasters-for-the-boobs, or push-up bras – you too can sport some righteous cleavage! All you need is the handy makeup instructions in Gal Mori magazine and a few carefully chosen shades ofContinue reading “Instaboobs”

The King Tut of Lunchboxing

I didn’t think making a Japanese bento box could get any MORE labor intensive, but bless my tweezers and nail scissors, yesterday I saw The King Tut Bento. Feast your eyes on that pharaoh-sized nori-maki, plus a pair of hieroglyphic eye-rolls, suitable for sumo wrestler-size appetites! The hand-rolled works of art alone would require me toContinue reading “The King Tut of Lunchboxing”

Cooking With Junk Food

From the test kitchens of intrepid single guys come these taste treats, made solely from junk food obtainable at any corner convenience store! Let’s accompany the judges as they determine just what combos deliver a flavor bomb that has nothing to do with the ingredients! ••• Sticky Fermented Soybeans + Vanilla Ice Cream = TurkishContinue reading “Cooking With Junk Food”

Make Your Own Adorable Butt Pudding

Of all the WTF Japan products I’ve seen, this has to be the absolutely WTFiest. JIGGLY. WHITE. BUTT. PUDDING. According to the directions on the back, using only this mix, a microwave and a mold shaped exactly like the well-know derriere of the beloved comic book and anime character, Crayon Shin-chan, one can be biting intoContinue reading “Make Your Own Adorable Butt Pudding”

A Whole New Kind Of Fast Food

If you’ve got a need for speed when lunchtime rolls around, what could be faster than a couple of bullet train rice balls? And just so you don’t have to be up at 5:00 a.m. with your tweezers and nail scissors, this little bento-making set comes complete with a mold for the sticky rice andContinue reading “A Whole New Kind Of Fast Food”

A Day In The Life: What’s It Like To Be A Host?

Join veteran host Sakura-san as he teaches his new recruit “Yua-kun” the ropes! First, a run-down of a typical day in Yua’s life: 11:00 a.m.: Wake up* Noon: Go to the hair salon to get his tresses waxed, teased, arranged and sprayed. 1:00 p.m.: Go home and relax until it’s time to go to workContinue reading “A Day In The Life: What’s It Like To Be A Host?”

Lunchboxing Power Tools

Are the kids at school making fun of your progeny because the Pikachu rice ball you tried to make looked more like Godzilla? Did the teacher send home a note about not making lunch characters that scare the other children, when all you were tying to do was make that hot dog look like aContinue reading “Lunchboxing Power Tools”

Out, Troll, Out! Setsubun For The Modern Age

While everyone was congratulating themselves on demon possession being at an all time low…damn! The pesky oni sneaked out and rebranded themselves! But that doesn’t mean we have to just lie back and let ourselves get trolled! Setsubun is the perfect holiday for showing those rickrollers the door. Here’s how: Chances are, you have aContinue reading “Out, Troll, Out! Setsubun For The Modern Age”

More Japanese Lunchbox Madness

Now that I’m about to reveal to you the secrets of making this twin tiger Japanese bento lunch, there’s no excuse for you not to pull an all-nighter to whip one of these up for your little darlings! 1: Trace the tiger face patterns in the back of the magazine onto baking grade tissue paperContinue reading “More Japanese Lunchbox Madness”

How to Survive a Company Drinking Party

How hard could it be? Gallop with your co-workers to a nearby watering hole, then eat, drink & be merry until they kick you out. But like the seasonal cherry blossom party, nomikais are not for the weak, and if you happen to be the junior member of the team, your duties will require staminaContinue reading “How to Survive a Company Drinking Party”

Make Your Own Pikachu Lunchbox!

Want your kid to blow away the cafeteria crowd when they open up their Pokemon lunchbox tomorrow? Fill it with this outrageous labor of love! Your child might even be distracted enough to eat that big hunk of squash, fake crab legs and seaweed it’s made from. In twelve elaborate steps (from the pages ofContinue reading “Make Your Own Pikachu Lunchbox!”

Weapons For The Lunchbox Arms Race

Aieeee! Is the mom who made this Anpan Man lunch a graduate of the Harvard School Of Lunchmaking? No, but she knows that in the bentō box cuteness wars, you have to stay on top of the latest technology! Today at the Shibuya Loft store I discovered a few of the secret weapons Japanese moms use to turnContinue reading “Weapons For The Lunchbox Arms Race”

Anime Lunchboxing

There’s even a makkuro kurosuke seaweed-covered rice ball (staring up with little nori eyes off to the right),  from “Totoro!” Ordinary Japanese moms were undoubtedly up before dawn with their nail scissors and tweezers, crafting these astonishing Miyazaki tribute bento boxes! And check out what they’re incidentally sneaking into their kids’ stomachs: seaweed, green beans, pickled radishContinue reading “Anime Lunchboxing”

Have You Got What It Takes To Be A Host?

Sleep ’til noon, start work at 5:00, get paid to look like a visual kei star and drink champagne with an endless parade of women. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it. And apparently, that someone could be YOU.  According to this ad, those who pass the Host Challenge will be wearing expensiveContinue reading “Have You Got What It Takes To Be A Host?”

Extreme Lunchboxing

If Japan wanted a sure sweep of every medal in an event, they ought to promote the making of school lunches as an Olympic sport. Not only do Japanese moms slave away making not one, not two, but three or four different dishes to include every day, elementary school lunches are essential equipment in the middayContinue reading “Extreme Lunchboxing”

How To Survive A Cherry Blossom Party

It looks easy, right? Meet friends at park, spread out tarp, drink beer, admire cherry blossoms. But o-hanami parties are fraught with hidden dangers. Allow me to save you from certain disaster. 1: Bring appropriate reading material Be sure you tote along something to read while standing in line for the bathroom. Recommended titles areContinue reading “How To Survive A Cherry Blossom Party”

How To Ship A Live Fish

Today at FoodEx Japan – the once-a-year trade show where everyone from honey pepper vodka producers to octopus distributors show their latest and greatest – I discovered how they ship live fish! The dude in the picture above was just looking around, like, “What’s that strange animal floating around up there? I’ve never seen anything likeContinue reading “How To Ship A Live Fish”

How to Glue Your Eyelids

I’ve always wondered how to use eyelid glue. I knew it was a prime  tool in the make-up kits of Japanese gyaru seeking that perfect babydoll look, but never understood just how it worked. Then I discovered this handy guide in Kera magazine! Basically, “Western” eyelids have a deep fold above them and Japanese eyes don’t.Continue reading “How to Glue Your Eyelids”

Make Your Own Plastic Food!

Last week I jumped at the chance to visit a place that makes fake food models for Japanese restaurants and learn the secrets of making tempura and lettuce! Making fake lettuce is so much easier than making real lettuce. No need to acquire the superpower to create life, no need to construct a carefully balancedContinue reading “Make Your Own Plastic Food!”