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July 06, 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 / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 3, 2015
Oktoberfest comes early with Munchner Dunkel at Seven-Eleven
Those living in Japan know that when it comes to Oktoberfest, dates aren't much of a consideration. Past Oktoberfests have run anywhere between April and October.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 27, 2015
Pommeke makes fries the main dish
Tokyo boasts plenty of Belgian culinary spots, from beer bars to chocolate shops. Chef Bart Sablon even points out that there is a Belgian waffle store right around the corner from Pommeke, a recently opened operation where the 39-year-old works as executive chef. "That's a total coincidence, though,"...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 27, 2015
Mister Donut seeks borough cred in Brooklyn D&D
The New York borough of Brooklyn has been a hotbed of culinary trends over the past decade. And now Japan's Mister Donut wants to cash in on the city's brand of cool.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 27, 2015
Sugar's Campaign come up with some sweet city pop for debut album 'Friends'
Seiho Hayakawa and Takuma Hosokawa think modern pop music is "grotesque," but that's exactly how they wanted the debut album by their band Sugar's Campaign to sound.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 20, 2015
Every day is "fry" day at Lawson
It's a weird time to be a lover of french fries in Tokyo. On one hand, a string of fancy-pants stores are charging ¥600 for a handful of deep-fried spuds. On the other, you may find a tooth in an order at McDonald's. Lawson convenience stores offer an elegant solution — the "premium fried potato"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2015
Shigge "SunLimeJuice"
Since emerging in the summer of 2013, Fukuoka label Yesterday Once More has made some of the country's most intriguing electronic music in recent memory. The artists hovering around this Internet imprint embraced styles that have been in vogue with the Japanese do-it-yourself dance scene for a while...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2015
E-Girls "E.G. Time"
Idol group E-Girls have a knack for covers. On last year's "Colorful Pop," they opened with a song borrowing the main synthesizer line from Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Rydeen" before later transforming Japanese disco tunes and Bananarama singles into tightly crafted blasts of electro-pop. It made for one...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 13, 2015
A treat so cute you'll want to eat it up
The new year is barely two weeks old, so there's still time to earn good vibes for 2015.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 6, 2015
Pepsi's pink drink is a major dose of sweetness
Pepsi Japan's seasonal cola specials, appearing on convenience store shelves for about a month or two at most, are always a viral hit.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 23, 2014
Lower sales affected acts worldwide
The Japanese music market has faced hard times as of late. Starting with an announcement from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry in March that the country's music sales dropped 16.7 percent in 2013, the past 12 months saw no particular upswing in physical or digital sales, therefore...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 16, 2014
Rock, J-pop and dance: Albums we liked in 2014
The year-end album charts in Japan have a tendency to prop up the same acts year after year: Exile, anything that ends in a "48," and almost every group from the Johnny & Associates stable of boy bands. Writers at The Japan Times, however, spent the year looking past the charts to find a few gems lurking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 2, 2014
Taking vocal software beyond Miku
Tokyo-based electronic musician mus.hiba has worked with a handful of vocalists during his short stint as a producer. However, many of them haven't been human.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 18, 2014
Sumi surprises with impressive debut
Sumi "Resurrect My Independence" (Self-released)
CULTURE / Music
Nov 18, 2014
Arashi sure to delight fans with typical fare on 'The Digitalian'
Arashi "The Digitalian" (J Storm)
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Oct 24, 2014
Nico Nico moves into Ikebukuro
Since launching in 2006, online video-sharing service Nico Nico (originally Nico Nico Douga) has become one of Japan's central hubs for aspiring artists and entertainers to share their talents with users across the country. They've fostered a millions-strong community capable of influencing mainstream...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 14, 2014
Takeuchi sticks to what she knows on 'Trad'
Mariya Takeuchi "Trad" (Warner Music Japan)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 14, 2014
Smany's sophomore outing shows subdued promise
Smany "Polyphenic" (Bunkai-kei records)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 7, 2014
Ryan Hemsworth gives Japan's budding music producers some support overseas
Canadian music producer and DJ Ryan Hemsworth is always on the move. He's zig-zagged across North America, Europe and Australia multiple times over the last two years, an endeavor he has said is "such a crazy luxury, but the most exhausting thing as well." His upcoming trip to Japan, however, is special....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 30, 2014
tofubeats calls on pals for his 'First Album'
Yusuke Kawai tries to start a para para dance halfway through his Sept. 5 DJ set, but the inside of an Apple Store isn't an ideal space for this endeavor. Kawai, who records under the name tofubeats, is performing a special show at the recently opened Omotesando store. Half of the floor eagerly watches...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 23, 2014
Remaking the EDM experience for Japan
Glitter showered the crowd at August's all-night Sonicmania event as electronic artist Zedd cued up his hit song, "Stay the Night." The crowd bobbed along at first, but as the track built and let loose in a whirlwind of bass and synthesizer the audience followed suit with fists pumping in the air and...
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.
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.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
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.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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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