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July 16, 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
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2016
Crunch's 'Blue Blue Blue' embraces melancholy in true indie-pop style
Pairing skippy music with relatively sad-sack lyrics has always been one of indie-pop's favorite tricks, a clever way to ring out bad feelings in song without sounding like a total mope. Sometimes, however, just giving in and embracing your gloom can be OK. Nagoya trio Crunch has created plenty of up-tempo...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 19, 2016
Give a welcome smooch to Tokyo's newest natural-chocolate shop
Danish brand Summerbird Organic, which recently opened a new store in Aoyama (5-5-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku), makes 100 percent natural chocolate that it claims is at the same level of culinary excellence as Champagne or oysters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 12, 2016
Can instant vegan ramen satisfy like the meaty original?
Enjoying instant ramen might seem like a impossible situation for vegans living in Japan, considering nearly every option on convenience store shelves contains some sort of animal product.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2016
Megumi Wata goes dark in an effort to stand out from idols
...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 5, 2016
McDonald's insanely crazy chocolate-covered fries aren't what they seem
Reactions to the release of McDonald's new "McFry Potato Chocolate Sauce" (¥330) in Japan played out predictably. Many were shocked that this supposedly unholy union could exist, but chocolate-covered potato chips are neither new in Japan nor in many other countries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2016
Kyary ride does its part for 'Cool Japan'
"Cool Japan Heats Up" declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country's hottest pop culture exports.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 29, 2016
Pocky gets stuck into a new blueberry flavor
Glico has released numerous variations of its famous Pocky snack, though the special blueberry-flavored edition (¥162) on convenience store shelves now is one of the more simple efforts it has produced.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 22, 2016
The Original Pancake House in Tokyo gets extra sweet for Valentine's Day
Ah, mid-January, the perfect time for Valentine's Day food campaigns to begin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2016
In The Blue Shirt has a way with vocals on 'Cyanotype'
In The Blue Shirt "Cyanotype" (Maltine Records)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 15, 2016
Strawberry shortcake potato chips taste like you would imagine
Japanese snack maker Koikeya has mastered the mix-two-unlikely-flavors-together strategy over the past year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 10, 2016
Jayda B leaves a dent on Tokyo's electronic scene
Radio host Jayda B is wrapping up an interview with Japanese electronic artist starRo as I enter JBS, a cozy Shibuya bar where the walls are lined with records. Later, she'll edit the recording down for her self-produced program DENTradio, which airs weekly on a radio station in her hometown of Atlanta....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 8, 2016
Monkey business at Baskin-Robbins Japan
The new year has started, and so has the race to eat limited-edition desserts honoring the year's Chinese zodiac sign: the monkey.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 26, 2015
Tokyo digs: It's hosteling, but not as we know it
A line of around 30 people queueing for snacks snakes around the inside of Izakaya Bunka, a Japanese-style pub, during its packed opening night on Dec. 14. Staffers at the Asakusa Ward spot have laid out an impressive buffet-style spread for all in attendance, set in front of a stack of nihonshu (Japanese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Dec 25, 2015
White Cola Pepsi arrives just in time for Christmas
The recently released White Cola Pepsi isn't the first chance the Japanese market has had to experience a snow-colored carbonated beverage. A yogurt-flavored Pepsi White had a limited run in 2008 and a limited-edition orange flavor was released in 2012.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 20, 2015
Young music fans found their voices in 2015
...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2015
'Star Wars' fans turn out in force for first showings
A man dressed as Admiral Ackbar snapped a selfie in the lobby of the Nippon TV building early Friday afternoon.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 18, 2015
Vienna's chocolate cake gets the McDonald's treatment
One wouldn't normally turn to the Golden Arches for decadent desserts, but sometimes life surprises you. McCafe, McDonald's upscale chain of coffee spots, rolled out their winter collection recently, and the highlight is their take on the Austria's chocolate cake, the Sachertorte.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Dec 11, 2015
Roast beef dinners at your local Lawson
Eating a slab of roast beef in Tokyo used to require trekking to fancy schmancy parts of town and forking out a lot of money. Now you can just walk over to your local Lawson and grab the new Roast Beef Bowl (¥690).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 4, 2015
Bite into the enlarged head of 'Chibi Maruko-chan'
Floresta, a "natural" doughnut bakery, is celebrating the popular "Chibi Maruko-chan" cartoon series with a limited run of doughnuts shaped like the show's characters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 27, 2015
The future of conveyor-belt sushi
In October, U.K. sushi chain Yo! Sushi opened a new kaiten (conveyor belt) restaurant in a Florida mall. It is the third branch the chain has established in the United States this year, and more branches are slated to open in 2016. It is a reminder that this automated approach to dining continues to...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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