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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
Jul 29, 2017
Pikachu Choco Banana McFlurry: Celebrating 'Pokemon Go' with a sugar infusion
This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of the arrival of "Pokemon Go" in Japan. There is no shortage of ways to celebrate this milestone, ranging from visiting one of the city's Pokemon Centers to pick up some merch to trying out the smartphone app's latest features ... assuming the network doesn't...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 26, 2017
Figuring out who to watch at this year's Fuji Rock Festival
The 2017 edition of Fuji Rock Festival boasts one of the more eclectic lineups the long-running gathering has had in recent years. The headliners tell the tale: Cartoon rockers Gorillaz share the same font size as electronic pop star Bjork and dance music weirdo Aphex Twin. Dig deeper and you'll find...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 22, 2017
Lemon No Baumkuchen: Not all that glitters is snack gold
Family Mart is putting forward some sophisticated sweets for the next few months. The chain recently debuted its new "Jewelry Sweets" line, which are premium items accented by shiny but edible flourishes. The line gets its own special area in the store (at least the one I went to) and an increased price,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 15, 2017
Mango Grapefruit Snowflakes Sherbet: Sweet, tart and perfect for summer
One of the most popular desserts to take off in Tokyo over the last two years has been shaved ice from outside Japan. Taiwanese baobing, via the chain Ice Monster, kick-started the trend, and a few others have appeared as of late. Korean chain Sulbing, which creates bingsu (Korea's take on the treat),...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jul 12, 2017
Joey Bizinger sees his YouTube following grow amid an 'anime renaissance'
"The Anime Man" has a busy summer ahead of him. The 23-year-old, whose real name is Joey Bizinger, will be on the road over the next two months making stops at anime conventions across the United States and Europe. It sounds like the kind of itinerary a musician would embark on.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 8, 2017
Okinawa salt beef wasabi chips: For those who like heat in the summer
Sometimes, you have to stack as many signs of summer onto your product as possible. Snack producer Yamayoshi is celebrating the hotter months of the year with a special-edition potato chip tied to Japan's southern islands. Their Okinawa salt wasabi beef offering hit store shelves at the start of last...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jul 6, 2017
Twice shows just how resilient K-pop can be
Last week, Korean pop group Twice made its "official" debut in Japan, featuring the release of a Japanese-language best-of compilation and a showcase at Tokyo Gymnasium on July 2. In between, the members appeared on the popular weekly TV show "Music Station" and posed in front of Tokyo Tower, which displayed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2017
Tricot fine-tunes a formula that got the trio noticed overseas on '3'
It has never been easy for Japanese bands to find success both domestically and abroad. For the most part, they can muster notable attention on one side or the other, but rarely both — regardless of how many awkward English-language songs or cringe-worthy collaborations they attempt. However, tricot...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 24, 2017
Colorful Shower Pocky: Lemon cream flavor just in time for summer
Pocky has a few approaches to summer 2017. The first is a campaign where the time-honored snack comes in limited-edition wrappers featuring 27 different designs, which can also activate various augmented reality features on a special smartphone app. Sounds complicated! Glico, which makes Pocky, is urging...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 22, 2017
Overseas pop acts need a funny bone
The first half of 2017 hasn't produced much in the way of compelling music stories in Japan. By this time last year, we were coming down from the Enon Kawatani-Becky affair, and behind-the-scenes intrigue was bubbling up around SMAP (who broke up at the end of the year). These past six months have been...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 22, 2017
One year after changes to the 'anti-dancing' law, clubbers are hopeful
Around two dozen people shuffle about the dark interior of Alzar, a recently opened nightclub on the eighth floor of a building in Osaka's Chuo Ward that also features a capsule hotel and sauna. Most hover near the concrete wall, watching a European DJ play house music. A group orders Champagne, taking...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 17, 2017
Le Pain Quotidien's lemon tart: Solving the sweetness equation
International bakery Le Pain Quotidien opened up its third shop in Tokyo recently, right near the main entrance to Tokyo Midtown. The hook with this latest location is that it's the first to serve dinner, offering a variety of hearty meat-centered dishes pushing the ¥10,000 barrier. It's also one of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 10, 2017
Frozen Mango drink: Somewhere between too sweet and just right
Lawson's Machi Cafe brand is getting serious for the summer. Recently, they've introduced a new "caffeine-less ice coffee" alongside a "mega" ice coffee, covering all their bases when it comes to answering the question "How badly do you want to fidget today?" Their newest offering is a pair of sweet...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 8, 2017
Tilt toward domestic acts risks watering down uniqueness of Japan's big music fests
Japan's 2017 summer music festival landscape has mostly settled into place. The Fuji Rock Festival, after an upbeat 20th anniversary last year, kicked up excitement thanks to a top-heavy bill headlined by Gorillaz, Aphex Twin and Bjork, along with the promise of more left-field fare down in the smaller...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 3, 2017
Panbo's pancake on a stick: tricky to eat, worth the effort
Turns out Tokyo isn't the only place with eyebrow-raising food trends. One of the more buzzed-about treats in Osaka this year has been from Panbo, a small store in the city's America-mura neighborhood. It is basically a pancake on a stick.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 1, 2017
AI celebrates East, West identity on new album
There was a time when Japanese music labels were concerned that Ai Carina Uemura's music sounded too American due to her R&B style.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
May 27, 2017
Pineapple potato chips push flavor envelope
A few years back, Japanese snack maker Koikeya released a series of fruit-flavored chips. They were billed as a "breakfast snack," but mostly got attention for their novelty blend of potato and peach. It was interesting but made for a weird flavor combination. Was that the end of fruit-flavored crisps?...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 23, 2017
Tofubeats: the art of reality in an era of 'post-truth'
The final months of 2016 left Yusuke Kawai feeling confused. The electronic artist who records under the name tofubeats came across a BBC news segment touching on the concept of "post-truth" — the Oxford Dictionary named it word of the year and defines it as "relating to or denoting circumstances in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
May 20, 2017
Garrett Popcorn's Stripes & Stars: Sweet patriotism in a tin
A few years ago, Garrett Popcorn in Harajuku boasted one of the longer lines in that ever-trendy neighborhood. Yet walking by it recently there was barely any wait to get a bag or tin of the Chicago-born snack.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
May 13, 2017
Chocomint Frappe: The cure for Japan's mint condition
At long last, the winter has thawed out and the warmer months have arrived in Japan. Accordingly, the convenience store shelves are filled with mint-flavored products, ranging from an assortment of chocolates infused with the herb to one of the most celebrated desserts around, Crunky's chocolate chip...
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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