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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
Oct 7, 2017
Caramel Chocolate Cookies: Worth the trip to Haneda Airport
The airport might not be the first place you think of when craving sweets. Yet all those souvenir stores dotting the concourse conceal some truly tasty treats. It might not be socially acceptable to tear in to a box of individually wrapped goods, but you can always save some for when you get to your...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Oct 5, 2017
AmPm's Spotify strategy bears fruit
Japan's biggest breakout musical act of 2017 wear polar bear masks. The duo AmPm debuted this past spring, cloaked in fuzzy headgear and withholding all biographical information. In just over six months, the pair have had their easy-breezy electronic music released via Dutch label Armada Music and performed...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 30, 2017
Pepsi Halloween Cola: Pink drink may be too sweet for some
Halloween is now an established event here in Japan. While the revelry differs greatly compared to other places (it's less about collecting candy and more about clogging Shibuya crossing), the country has got the marketing part of it down pat. Companies now roll out special items featuring ghosts and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Sep 28, 2017
'Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light' shows how Japanese TV is moving from 'sadistic' to 'charming'
"Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light" follows a story familiar to anyone who knows Japanese TV dramas. A son and father grow distant, so the young man thinks up a convoluted plan to bond with pops. In this case, the plan involves him secretly playing online video game "Final Fantasy XIV" with his Dad, which...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Sep 23, 2017
'Koara no Machi Yaki': A cream-filled tribute to the well-known koala cookie
Attached to the Lotteria fast-food restaurant in Nakano's Sun Road shopping street is a special stall selling a special bear-shaped treat. They make a taiyaki variant shaped like Lotte's famous Koara no Machi ("Koala's March") cookie snack, called "Koara no Machi Yaki." The regular flavors on offer err...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2017
Ultra stakes a claim on Japan's music festival throne with help from Chainsmokers, Tiesto and more
Security tugs a woozy-looking man toward the exit of Odaiba Ultra Park after he got in a scuffle with another festivalgoer. His opponent, only steps behind, has bright red bumps on his face. He approaches a guard and, with a smile, snaps a selfie.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 16, 2017
Beverage giant looks to spread the intricacies of washoku abroad
Seventeen students from the United States stare at a garden of eggplant. "You can take pictures, just don't touch anything," the group's translator informs them, most of whom are in their early 20s. A minute of silence passes as they gaze at the circular vegetables. Then they pull out their smartphones...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 16, 2017
Natural Lawson's Pizza Roll tastes almost as good as the real thing
We've all been there — you're hungry, but don't want to cook. The idea of ordering a pizza is initially tempting, but what about all those calories? These are the dilemmas that haunt one's laziest nights.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 14, 2017
AKB48 sets a chart record, but Daoko and Kenshi Yonezu are playing the long game
Call it the end of an era. Last week, AKB48's 49th single "#Sukinanda" sold over 1 million copies to take the top spot on the Oricon singles chart. Besides being the first song in the No. 1 position to feature a hashtag in its title, it also propelled the idol group over J-pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Sep 9, 2017
Bear's Sugar Shack: Bite-sized pancakes that melt in your mouth
Tokyo's love affair with pancakes appears to be waning and lines outside trendy stores for the decadent dessert have thinned significantly in 2017. Enter Bear's Sugar Shack in Shinjuku, which looks to buck this trend with one simple change: Instead of a offering a couple of regular-sized pancakes on...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 2, 2017
7-Eleven's coffee cream treat: Leveraging the success of 'konbini' coffee
Convenience stores in Japan hit on a winner a few years back when they introduced fresh-brewed coffee machines. These chains realized folks want cheap and drinkable caffeine fixes before they begin their day. The next jackpot, however, has proved elusive.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Aug 26, 2017
Ringo Dome cake: Tart dreams of autumn
Don't look now, but here comes the fall. Seasons always arrive early in the Japanese food scene, with store shelves already displaying seasonally flavored goods and drinks boasting fitting designs. The weather might betray it, but at least your shopping cart can feel like autumn.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 24, 2017
Animated pop star Hatsune Miku is only 10, but she has had a huge impact on music
People rarely geek out over the 10-year anniversary of a specific instrument, but Hatsune Miku isn't your usual music store purchase.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 22, 2017
Babymetal, Foo Fighters and Rick Astley make Summer Sonic a fun weekend
This year's Summer Sonic had its craziest moment on Sunday night when 1980s singer Rick Astley joined the Foo Fighters for the latter's headlining performance.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Aug 19, 2017
Citrus KitKat: Latest twist is flavor home run
Japan's array of quirky KitKat flavors has become a cliche, to the point where your aunt can probably tell you about the dozens of unique varieties. But the candy's latest variant offers something new: kindness. Sales of their new citrus-flavored offering will go to support youth baseball and softball...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 12, 2017
Long a hit in Kyoto, hearty 'hamo' eel finds home in Tokyo restaurant
The Gion Matsuri came to a close at the end of July, but there's still time to enjoy one of the dishes most closely associated with that famous festival. Hamo, called dagger-tooth pike eel in English, has long been one of the Kansai region's summer specialities, especially in Kyoto, where the city's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Aug 12, 2017
Sesame seed-flavored soft cream: Designed with Instagram in mind
Harajuku has gone gaga over food designed for Instagram. Walk down Takeshita Street and you'll probably see people snapping shots of giant, rainbow-colored cotton candy and the like.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Aug 10, 2017
Fuji Rock's closing act was a load of trash
By all accounts, this year's Fuji Rock Festival was a success. Punters of all ages and demographics enjoyed the laid-back vibe at the three-day music spectacular — give or take the constant rain — and most social media posts about the event focused on good times. Not everyone was happy, though.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 8, 2017
Parkgolf and other netlabel acts are seeing more success offline
Tokyo's first netlabel parties were filled with nods to internet culture. You'd see customers ordering their drinks via Twitter, robotic hands clapping in time to DJ sets, and people live-streaming themselves from the dancefloor.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Aug 5, 2017
Black Seafood Cup Noodle: A cosmetic change at best
Japanese netizens have noticed something strange about Nissin's latest special edition of it's venerable Cup Noodle brand.
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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