author

 
Menu
Search
 
November 22, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Twitter

@mbmelodies

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 / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 11, 2016
Haagen-Dazs Japan's new ice creams mix things up
The latest ice cream range from Haagen-Dazs requires a little bit of work to appreciate. The "Decorations" mini-cup line features a decadent mix of flavors — banana caramel cake, cheese berry cake — that are ideally mixed together before eating.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 4, 2016
A timeline of how Pikotaro went viral
Internet memes often feel like they come out of nowhere, emerging from the digital ether at random before becoming inescapable fixtures of late-night comedy shows and social-network news feeds. Online ephemera tends to follow a clear path, however, journeying from obscure LOL-bait to something your grandparents...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 4, 2016
'PPAP' goes the world: How Pikotaro became a viral smash
Pikotaro still can't believe it all. Two days before he sits down with The Japan Times, the performer saw that American DJ duo The Chainsmokers had changed their Twitter name to "Pineapple & Pen," a nod to his song "PPAP." That pair previously claimed YouTube's most popular clip with "Closer" — until...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 4, 2016
Tokyo's first Russian-style maid cafe
Twelve men sit in silence at a new cafe in Tokyo's Shinjuku district as three women dressed in Russian attire start serving a sour-looking plate of borscht.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Nov 4, 2016
Ca Ca O finally brings its rich chocolate eclair to Tokyo
The newly opened Food Depot in the basement of Shinjuku's Lumine 1 department store features a lot of intriguing eateries, with a number of dessert shops among them. Ca Ca O, a chocolate store originally from Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, offers a variety of goods made from rich cacao beans. The Ca...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Oct 28, 2016
Halloween is almost over, but Lawson has one last seasonal treat
Halloween-themed goods will soon vanish from the shelves of convenience stores across Japan, so stock up on this year's vaguely spooky treats while you can. Lawson's new pumpkin roll cake is certainly worth picking up before November starts — and not just for its jack-o'-lantern design. This dessert...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2016
'Young Folks in Metropolis' is a great showcase for Japan's indie acts
Various artists "Young Folks in Metropolis" (Self-released)
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Oct 23, 2016
YouTube channel Life Where I'm From explores Japan from a kid's perspective
Greg Lam's YouTube channel Life Where I'm From started one morning with a simple idea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Oct 21, 2016
Dominique Ansel's Omotesando bakery is possessed by the Halloween spirit
The Omotesando branch of Dominique Ansel Bakery has an impressive and photogenic set of Halloween desserts available during October. The Halloween Religieuse (¥680) is the most flavorful and visually impressive. This double-decker dessert's bat-on-a-pumpkin design might look too quirky to eat, but...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 16, 2016
'Future R&B' trackmaker starRo makes a case for 'Monday'
Shinya Mizoguchi used to loathe the start of the week. "Everybody hates Monday. It's not a positive day of the week," he says via Skype from his home in Los Angeles. His perspective changed over the past year, however, when he quit his job as a project manager at a tech company to focus solely on his...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Oct 14, 2016
The Pumpkin Cream Puff joins Japan's mountain of Halloween-themed treats
With Halloween just around the corner, convenience stores are filling up with pumpkin-flavored treats. Seven-Eleven has rolled out several holiday-appropriate snacks this month, including its Pumpkin Cream Puff (¥135). It features a black cocoa exterior with pumpkin paste and whipped cream waiting...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Oct 7, 2016
Is the 'Phantom' the best spooky dessert this Halloween season?
The Dalloyau chain of sweets shops are officially in Halloween mode, with a new range of spooky seasonal desserts. The highlight of the bunch is simply called "Phantom": It's a cake made up to look like a ghost, with white frosting carefully folded around apple jelly and with pieces of chocolate fashioned...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 3, 2016
Netlabel Maltine mulls a move to the majors
Music runs online in 2016. Songs become smash hits via YouTube, while global superstars command attention by giving exclusives to streaming services. Looking back at a time when web-only artists were novel seems absurd now.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 30, 2016
Chewy treats that taste like barbecued guts aren't as bad as they sound
It was a bit disconcerting seeing chewy horumon (innard) treats stocked in the sweets section at my local FamilyMart. But this convenience store-only offering (¥168) isn't some quirky attempt to sweeten the taste of barbecued guts, it's more akin to beef jerky than anything else. These limited-edition...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2016
Oliver Heldens comes to Japan ready for clubbing and sushi
Few 21 year olds can hope to experience the sort of summer Oliver Heldens had in 2016. The Dutch producer and DJ spent the warmer months jetting around the globe to play at some of the world's largest summer festivals — from Belgium's Tomorrowland to Chicago's Lollapalooza. One of the stops was the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2016
Yasutaka Nakata crafts a music festival in his own digi-pop image
Yasutaka Nakata's schedule tonight is packed. He's being photographed by a Japanese magazine in a basement studio after 10 p.m. on a Friday, and it's taking a little longer than expected. After this he'll have a (very) late dinner before heading to Tokyo's east end to do an early-morning DJ set at club...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Sep 23, 2016
Mister Donut dresses doughnuts as Snoopy for Halloween
Halloween-themed desserts are starting to arrive in Japan. Mister Donut dressed up its doughnuts earlier than usual this year, introducing two whipped-cream-filled varieties shaped like the world's most famous beagle, Snoopy. These delicacies (¥183) come in two flavors: white chocolate and chestnut....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2016
Kana Nishino's 'Just Love' may drive cynics mad, but her pop formula is working
Kana Nishino has been a marquee name since debuting in 2008, but this July she finally owned the spotlight with "Just Love."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2016
Latest release from Snail's House is a love story for the 'kawaii' bass scene
Over the past year, an online-centric style of music dubbed "kawaii bass" ("cute bass") has grown in popularity among Japanese producers. Inspired by the playroom bops of Tomggg and the colorful sounds of Yoshino Yoshikawa, artists embracing this microgenre overload on the sugar, loading high-energy...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 16, 2016
Lawson's new Apple Custard Pie hits the spot when you are on the go
Ever wanted to munch on a apple pie while you're on the go? Well, Lawson has come closest to solving the problem — for now, at least — with its new Apple Custard Pie. It's sweet, full of apples, easy to eat and arrives just in time for the start of autumn. The Apple Custard Pie (¥150) boasts a...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Tokyo Metro’s overseas efforts begin in earnest with London deal
Tokyo Metro will soon have a role in the running of London's Elizabeth Line, a major train route serving the U.K.’s capital city and environs.
Russia fired experimental ballistic missile at Ukraine, Putin says
Ukrainian firefighters work on a spot following an airstrike in Dnipro on Thursday.
Ex-yokozuna Kitanofuji dies at 82
Yokozuna Kitanofuji enters the ring during the May 1970 grand sumo tournament in Tokyo.
Man charged with murder allegedly made victim date other men for money
A car carrying suspect Ryotaro Masuda, who was indicted for allegedly beating his 25-year-old girlfriend to death, leaves the Shibuya Police Station in Tokyo on Thursday.
The slow-burn success of ‘A Samurai in Time’
A 19th-century warrior gets struck by lightning and wakes to find himself in 21st-century Kyoto in Junichi Yasuda’s surprise hit “A Samurai in Time.”
Around a quarter of Japan married couples in their 20s met through dating apps
A survey released by an organization promoting “Good Couples Day” shows that 24% of couples in their 20s met their marriage partner through a dating app.
'Tokyo Swindlers': Get deep into the minds of real estate con artists
In Ko Shinjo's "Tokyo Swindlers," a group of con artists manipulates real estate giants into falsified deals within the highly competitive, quick market.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER