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August 15, 2024
 

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Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
May 18, 2019
Ginza Cozy Corner's Jumbo Shu Cream: A cream puff made bigger and better
Whipped cream and salty chocolate fillings combine in this massive take on the Ginza Cozy Corner cream puff dessert.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 18, 2019
Elementary school kids can say the darndest things online
People usually don’t take the thoughts of a 10-year-old child too seriously. Elementary school kids can say the darndest things, and only the nastiest of bullies take any notice of them saying something stupid.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 17, 2019
Matsuyama: Under the radar, home to the contemporary
Although Matsuyama is known for its historical role in the Shikoku Pilgrimage and as a home for centuries-old onsen hot springs, there's plenty of modernity to be found in Ehime Prefecture's capital city.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
May 13, 2019
Episode 14: What's the deal with Terrace House?
Ahead of the new season of Terrace House — 'Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020' — Tom Hanaway and Patrick St. Michel join Oscar Boyd to discuss why the show has proved such a hit both here in Japan and internationally and what we might be able to expect from the upcoming season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 11, 2019
Tokyo's tapioca boom: Where to find bubble tea in the capital
Tokyo is in the middle of a 'tapioca boom,' and there are plenty of bubble tea options across the capital. Here's where to go for the best bubble tea concoctions — just in time for summer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
May 11, 2019
FamilyMart is making bubble tea more summer-worthy ... by freezing it
FamilyMart recently unveiled a tapioca tea latte kakigu014dri (shaved ice), transforming trendy bubble tea into a fully fledged dessert.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 11, 2019
Attempting to switch off from social media during Golden Week
As the relaxed vibe of the recent 10-day Golden Week holiday slowly fades, many commuters in Tokyo appeared to struggle last week to return to the rat race.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 11, 2019
'Trails': Blood spatters across an empty field of snow
After a decade of visits to annual deer culls in Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park, photographer Takashi Homma has recently released a photo book, 'Trails,' about the project.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2019
Scavenging for samples from the '70s and '80s with Night Tempo
Jung Kyung-ho came to an artistic crossroads last year. The South Korean producer creating music under the name Night Tempo was trying to figure out where to take the project, recording new songs while experimenting with a live band for his shows — a drastic departure from previous gigs that found...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
May 4, 2019
Social media fails to follow traditional news outlets' stricter approach to portrait rights in Japan
A man in Chiba Prefecture became irritated last month at how long it was taking for a barrier at a rail crossing to open. Losing patience, he fetched a hand saw from his van and removed the barrier arm so that he could drive through.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
May 4, 2019
The new McDonald's McFlurry tastes like caramel, caramel and, well, caramel
The recently released McDonald's McFlurry Nama Caramel delivers on its promise of caramel flavor and sweetness, but not much else.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 2, 2019
TikTok sets its sights on the music industry
Short-form video app TikTok isn't content being the center of online youth culture in Japan. Now, it's eyeing the music industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 2, 2019
Heisei offered a number of lessons J-pop artists should learn from going into the Reiwa Era
The past year in Japanese pop has felt like one big musical revue devoted to the Heisei Era (1989-2019), with TV shows reflecting on the biggest hits of that period. Now that Reiwa has finally started, the cultural discourse can turn to figuring out how this new period's sound will come together.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Apr 27, 2019
With convenience store onigiri, the devil's in the seasoning
FamilyMart and Lawson are dressing up the humble onigiri (rice ball) with new add-ons and seasonings, upping the ante on the snack's standard flavors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 27, 2019
Japan's internet took on a life of its own during the Heisei Era
The story of a recent online phenomenon offers a great snapshot of internet culture in Japan during the Heisei Era (1989-2019). Twitter user @Ninjamaaaaaan posted a blurry photo of a pooch in motion, with its tail swooping in front of its face. It looked vaguely like the canine in the image was throwing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 20, 2019
Gomaya Kuki takes the simple flavor of sesame to new heights
Tucked away in the Harajuku back streets, Gomaya Kuki offers ice cream and other unique desserts packed with a sesame-flavored punch.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 18, 2019
Japan to be given a lesson in idol pop with 'Produce 101 Japan'
Last week, Japanese talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo and South Korea's CJ E&M announced a new talent competition TV show for Japan, set to debut later this year. And it's not just another program to fill up the back end of 2019, but will be a test case to see if the traditional power structures of male...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 15, 2019
Bear essentials: A forthcoming animated series celebrates Rilakkuma's lackadaisical ethos in all its glory
Few fictional characters in Japan are as laid-back in their overall approach to life as Rilakkuma, which has attracted a loyal following over the years, rising through the ranks to sit alongside such established characters as Hello Kitty and Doraemon.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Apr 13, 2019
Lawson's corn pottage Kara-age Kun chicken is a cup of deep-fried nostalgia
To herald the end of the Heisei Era (1989-2019), Lawson is bringing back some retro flavors of its signature Kara-age Kun fried chicken, like corn pottage, and seaweed and salt.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Apr 13, 2019
Social media weighs in on design and purpose of Japan's new bank notes
Social media has been awash with posts following the public unveiling of Japan’s new era name, Reiwa, at the beginning of April. The announcement was almost the complete opposite of an April Fools’ Day joke and yet every detail has been picked apart online, from the way the name was officially unveiled...
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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