Jonelle Patrick's Only In Japan
Every day, stuff you'd never see anywhere else.
Usually you’d have to hie yourself all the way up to rural Aomori* to catch a glimpse of these epic glowing floats, but lucky for me, last fall I happened across an outpost of … Continue Reading Giant Paper Lanterns On Wheels
When winter finally lets go of Tokyo and the days start to get long and warm, it’s time to take the local deities out and show them a good time! But … Continue Reading Partying With The Gods
Every once in a while, Japan so wildly exceeds expectations, it’s hard to put it into words, so I’ll just show you pictures of last night’s Oeshiki Ikegami festival instead. Special thanks … Continue Reading Festival Of 10,000 Lanterns
It’s not every day I nip out to the local shrine for a little photo taking and run into gaggle of women dressed as eight foot tall birds. Japan can … Continue Reading Giant Faux White Herons
I was walking around the Decks shopping complex in Odaiba, and suddenly, MONKEY SHOW. Seriously. Right in the middle of the mall. A monkey show. Of course, trained monkeys have … Continue Reading Monkey Business
In Japan, February 8th is the day that old and broken needles are laid to rest. Anyone whose work involves sewing stuff together gathers at Awashima Shrine in Asakusa for … Continue Reading Funeral For A Pin
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 … Continue Reading Out, Troll, Out! Setsubun For The Modern Age
Seriously, which would you rather have? Long-faced celibate guys in brown robes or strapping Japanese dudes in fundoshi (see above)? It’s fall festival season here in Japan right now, and … Continue Reading In My Next Life, I Definitely Want To Come Back As A Shinto God
Today was the official day of Shichi-Go-San, but for weeks families have been dressing their 7-year-old girls, 5-year-old boys, and 3-year-old girls in traditional finery and taking them to shrines … Continue Reading Mini Kimonos
