Patrick St. Michel - The Japan Times

November 22, 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

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse

Apr 4, 2020

Navigating the murky waters of social media in a pandemic

The frequent occurrence of disasters in Japan has ensured that netizens are constantly on the lookout for online hoaxes. Following any large earthquake or typhoon, social media is typically flooded with all kinds of misleading posts and doctored images. Some are posted in a deliberate attempt to stoke...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / Sound Off

Apr 3, 2020

Ensuring live music survives the pandemic

While the COVID-19 pandemic has all but shut down Japan's live music scene, innovative acts and labels are still reaching fans in the country.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Entertainment news

Mar 30, 2020

Ken Shimura’s entertainment legacy spans generations

Entertainer Ken Shimura didn’t belong to any single generation. Following news that the 70-year-old comedian had died on Sunday from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, TV broadcasters on Monday featured both Shimura’s contemporaries and much younger personalities visibly upset over his passing.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Mar 28, 2020

Chocolate, chips and coffee: The ideal snack combination?

Chocolate-covered potato chips aren’t a new idea. It’s a tried-and-true combination that has proven to be a delight over the years. How do you improve on that?

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse

Mar 28, 2020

Postponement of 2020 Olympics sends social media into a frenzy

It was only a matter of time before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to change tack. After months of speculation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Tuesday night that the games would be postponed until 2021.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / How-tos

Mar 26, 2020

Making sure you're prepared for a Japan-wide lockdown

With a lockdown looming, it has never been a better time to update your emergency earthquake kit.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 25, 2020

As COVID-19 cripples live music, hopeful promoters look ahead

This year’s edition of the Japan Nite event at the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) was going to be special. It would have marked the event’s 25th anniversary of showcasing Japanese artists to fans in Austin, Texas, with a North American tour to follow.

Japan Times

CULTURE

Mar 25, 2020

When a cartoon crocodile dies, give us time to mourn

While people on social media have largely been preoccupied with the pandemic, the most buzzed-about happening online in Japan involves a crocodile — don’t roll your eyes just yet — which, at some point, transformed into a commentary on the follies of capitalism and its drive for continuous growth....

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Mar 21, 2020

Have an at-home hanami with these cherry blossom-flavored sweets

This year's hanami season is shaping up to be a weird one. The beginning of spring rarely forces people to choose between having a good time under the cherry blossoms and grappling with a pandemic, but that's where we’re at in 2020.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 19, 2020

Nariaki Obukuro offers optimism with latest album, 'Piercing'

Nariaki Obukuro has been living in London for a little over a year now, and the Japanese singer-songwriter says the city routinely gets his imagination going.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Mar 14, 2020

The Sugar Forest's macaron sandwiches: Tokyo's next South Korean-inspired dessert trend?

So far, The Sugar Forest's cute and colorful mega-stuffed macaron sandwiches have avoided the limelight. But these sweets won't stay off the radar for long...

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse

Mar 14, 2020

Social media helps Japan's embattled parents connect over schools' closure

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recommendation that all elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan close through the end of their April spring break in order to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus caught nearly everyone in the country off guard when the news broke in late February.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Mar 11, 2020

Intersection: Bridging the Pacific through the medium of J-pop

Intersection's four dual-heritage members say they want Japanese music listeners to be more open to international culture and people with more diverse backgrounds.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Mar 9, 2020

Stockpiling food and keeping up appearances in Hokkaido's schools

English teachers in Hokkaido, which apart from the Diamond Princess cruise ship has been hit hardest with coronavirus cases in Japan, struggle to make sense of measures taken at their schools.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Mar 7, 2020

Perennially popular Pipeline Punch particularly punchy

Monster Energy is bringing its Pipeline Punch back to convenience store shelves. How long will it stay in stock this time?

Japan Times

JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse

Mar 7, 2020

YouTube content that attempts to find real Japanese opinions

A lot has changed over the past decade insofar as Japanese content on YouTube is concerned, with creators moving away from uploads that simply record personal experiences to posts that give viewers real insight into the lives and opinions of Japanese people.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / Sound Off

Mar 6, 2020

ASMR in Japan is burning brightly

Nippon Cultural Broadcasting jumps on the ASMR bandwagon with a weeklong special dedicated to the soothing sounds of bonfires.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Mar 3, 2020

With the coronavirus canceling classes, what are English teachers to do?

ALTs and English-language school employees are reporting confusion over what role their employers should play in a possible pandemic.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Feb 29, 2020

At Ochaba, food fads collide to create the ultimate trendy snack

Get your matcha, crepe or bubble tea fix simultaneously with Ochaba's green tea tapioca drinks or lineup of matcha-centric crepes.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music / Sound Off

Feb 26, 2020

COVID-19 fears hit live music in Japan

With fears over the COVID-19 outbreak increasing, a slew of overseas artists have cancelled live shows in Japan, while others are determined that the show must go on.

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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

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