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July 07, 2025
 

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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
Mar 4, 2016
Japan's bearded cream-puff papa tries to replicate the taste of an Oreo
Beard Papa's, a local chain serving cream puffs, always has a few special varieties of its treats available. But the current limited-run cookies-and-cream flavor (¥230) is worth going out of your way for if you've got a sweet tooth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2016
City pop revival helps Suchmos at just the right time
Walk into a Tower Records store in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you'll eventually come across the apparel section. The current fashion aesthetic here leans retro: Hoodies and T-shirts come emblazoned with text highlighting throwback music signifiers, from equipment ("cassette tape," "analog") to genres ("surf...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 26, 2016
Don Tacos' new quesadilla chips try to satisfy Mexican food cravings
Finding fantastic Mexican food in Tokyo isn't easy — the hunt to find authentic cuisine seems to consume many non-Japanese living here.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2016
Omake Club helps Zombie-Chang escape down her own artistic rabbit hole
Midway through our conversation at a dimly lit Shibuya cafe, Meirin Yung offers to break down any song on her recently released album under the name Zombie-Chang. I choose the slacker-inspired "Semete Kanashii Tokiniwa" (loosely translated as "At Least in Sad Times") that served as the advance preview...
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.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2016
Megumi Wata goes dark in an effort to stand out from idols
Megumi Wata didn't want to be a typical idol. "I see it as twinkly and fuwa fuwa (soft), very pastel. My idol of idols is someone like Seiko Matsuda, who is so different than groups today," she says at a cafe in Ikebukuro, a neighborhood she prefers to the usual idol haunts of Harajuku and Akihabara....
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
The music industry in Japan has long been seen as lagging behind the times. Once every six months there is an article that marvels at the supremacy of CDs, and new albums from acts that were big in the 1990s tend to dominate charts alongside idol-pop groups that few would label "musically progressive."...
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 braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Global matcha 'obsession' drinks Japan's tea farms dry
Matcha is added to beverages on offer at Kettl Tea in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 20.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

Podcast

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

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

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