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November 23, 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
Aug 21, 2015
Various artists "Fogpak #13"
Since 2012, the "Fogpak" compilation series has promoted independent electronic acts from Japan (and, lately, abroad). In recent months, Fogpak's support of fledgling producers has become crucial — the Internet used to be a real alternative to the musical mainstream, but major labels have gotten keen...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Aug 21, 2015
Chip burgers and burger chips hit convenience stores
Fast-food chain Lotteria is currently selling a limited-edition burger containing a handful of Calbee potato chips placed on top of the meat patty. For those not ready to sink their teeth into that crunchy creation, Lotteria and Calbee have also teamed up on a special chip that tastes like Lotteria's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Aug 14, 2015
Ice Monster pops its head into Roppongi's Mercedes-Benz dealership
Ice Monster, a Taiwanese shaved-ice store with a branch in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood, has opened a new pop-up restaurant in the Mercedes-Benz Connection store in Roppongi.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 9, 2015
Even if you don't see Yasutaka Nakata at Summer Sonic, you'll probably hear him
Punters heading off to Makuhari Messe this weekend for SonicMania — the all-night event preceding the annual Summer Sonic music festival — should try to arrive at the venue early to secure a prime spot for the evening's first act: pop trio Perfume.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Aug 7, 2015
Tokyo's gourmet popcorn trend gets convenient
Has Tokyo's infatuation with gourmet popcorn ended? The line outside the Garrett popcorn branch in Harajuku still snakes around the corner, but other hyped popcorn outposts in the city are often empty out front.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 31, 2015
Ben & Jerry's may have cooked up their best ice cream pun yet
Ben & Jerry's ice cream-flavor puns have always been top-notch ("Cherry Garcia" is a prime example), but its latest Japan-only flavor takes things to a new level.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 24, 2015
Fruit candy that tastes like salmon
Here's an appealing idea: candy containing small amounts of fish. That's exactly the draw of the limited-edition "salted salmon flavor" variety of Puccho, a popular soft candy usually available in fruit flavors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2015
Ten years on, Maltine sticks to its guns on free music
Tomohiro Konuta sometimes imagines an alternate world where he's not running a music label.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 17, 2015
Mister Donut is building a pastry bridge to Brooklyn
Mister Donut recently unveiled their summer doughnut roster and it's themed on Brooklyn, New York. Well, it's "Brooklyn themed" in the sense it combines several foodstuffs together into one, in the style of New York-born fusion treats such as the Cronut.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 10, 2015
'Super sour lemon' potato chips are not an entirely terrible idea
In the crowded and frequently disappointing world of novelty potato chips, a "super sour lemon" flavor seems especially unneeded.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jul 3, 2015
Stratified flavors in Seven-Eleven's new Japonais ice cream
For the last few years, Haagen-Dazs has been teaming up with Seven-Eleven Japan for a special series of ice creams called Japonais.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2015
Rap gets a new delivery from a wave of female artists
Hip-hop is a major force on the American music charts, but its presence has been less prominent in Japan. Elements of the wider culture have found their way into teenage wardrobes and pop-video dance routines, but even Japanese rappers admit they have a hard time grabbing the attention of new fans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 26, 2015
Pirate ships, cruises, riverbanks and urban campsites: New twists on the beer-garden formula in Tokyo
One way to look at the arrival of summer in Japan is to focus on the bad side of the season, such as the sticky humidity, the need to have the air-conditioner blasting cold air for the next three months. All power to you, but consider how no other time of the year can you enjoy drinking and eating outdoors...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 26, 2015
'Gelato on a stick' comes to Tokyo
The first Japanese outpost of Popbar — a franchise offering "handcrafted gelato on a stick" — opened June 26 in Shibuya, Tokyo (www.pop-bar.com/japan), and early reports indicate the line snakes well around the corner.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2015
Noah takes inspiration from Hokkaido on 'Sivutie'
The way Ayuko Kurasaki, who creates music as Noah, describes her childhood home of Chitose in Hokkaido is so lovely that I'm surprised it isn't being used in tourism ads.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jun 19, 2015
Pokka Sapporo's vanilla-flavored cola may float your boat
Pepsi's Strong Zero soda — a zero-calorie cola boasting increased amounts of caffeine — was the biggest soft-drink release of the week. But it's really a tasteless beverage that will give you a bellyache. So let's focus on a pleasant alternative, available only at FamilyMart.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jun 18, 2015
A festival for every weekend of your summer
Festivals (matsuri) of all kinds are a staple of Japanese culture and summer is the premier season to experience them. In recent years, the country has seen a bit of a boom in cultural festivals, to the point that it's possible to book every weekend of your summer around them. We're here to help by highlighting...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 12, 2015
Krispy Kreme attempts to knock the Cronut from its doughy throne with "Waffnuts"
Move over Cronut, there's a new, wacky hybrid sweet in town. Krispy Kreme Japan has begun selling its new "Waffnuts" creations, which blend the venerable waffle together with the doughnut.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2015
Rush hour with bangin' bass: My night on ageHa's EDM train
A woman with purple hair sits in the waiting room on the platform at Nerima Station, surrounded by salarymen who look exhausted from their workday. Nearby, a private security guard herds four friends wearing matching floral-print pants and light-up shoes toward a line. An assortment of middle-aged workers...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jun 5, 2015
Fruit-flavored potato chips you can eat for breakfast
It's an idea that could only come from a truly desperate board meeting: "What if we sold potato chips for people to eat at breakfast?" The Koikeya snack company has taken this proposition and turned it into a terrifying reality with its new banana-and-peach-flavored chips, which are marketed as breakfast...
Japan approves ¥21.9 trillion stimulus plan
The policy chiefs of the Democratic Party for the People, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito — Makoto Hamaguchi (left), Itsunori Onodera (center) and Mitsunari Okamoto — shake hands after reaching an agreement on an economic stimulus package on Wednesday.
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.
Saitama court bans demonstrations over anti-Kurd hate speech
Kurdish people in Japan in 2015. A court injunction has banned acts that defame the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner flags or handing out fliers with hate speech like “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
China reinstates visa-free travel for Japanese nationals
Beijing Daxing International Airport
U.S. aircraft carrier returns to Japan carrying navy’s ‘most capable fighter’
U.S. 7th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Fred Kacher speaks to reporters shortly after the arrival of aircraft carrier USS George Washington at Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Friday.
Shohei Ohtani wins National League MVP award
Shohei Ohtani celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Padres during the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last month.
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.

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

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