Patrick St. Michel - The Japan Times

October 22, 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

CULTURE / Music

Nov 20, 2016

Toyomu imagines life after Kanye

American rapper Kanye West's seventh album, "The Life Of Pablo," felt inescapable when it emerged this past February. But that wasn't the case in Japan. Streaming music service Tidal — which initially had exclusive rights to "Pablo" — isn't available here.

CULTURE / Music

Nov 20, 2016

The hushed ambience of Ex Confusion

As the summer of 2014 came to a close, Atsuhito Omori found himself in a good position. The Nara-based artist who records ambient music as Ex Confusion had released an album titled "Flow" through buzzed-about New York label Orchid Tapes. Artistically, however, things weren't clicking.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 19, 2016

Yoshino Yoshikawa switches up his 'kawaii' sound on 'Event Horizon'

The Japanese word for cute, "kawaii," has been popping up more and more in the English lexicon in recent years. From the popularity of Hello Kitty to singer Gwen Stefani's new kawaii-filled cartoon "Kuu Kuu Harajuku" being cute means making money, and it's no different in the world of music.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Nov 18, 2016

Vegan muffins on the far side of Tokyo

Far from Tokyo's dessert meccas of Harajuku and Omotesando, new bakery NY Muffin opened near Shin-Nakano Station in September. It sells a selection of vegan muffins — with no eggs, butter or milk. However, the shop doesn't make things easy for customers: besides the out-of-the-way location, it is...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Nov 11, 2016

Haagen-Dazs Japan's new ice creams mix things up

The latest ice cream range from Haagen-Dazs requires a little bit of work to appreciate. The "Decorations" mini-cup line features a decadent mix of flavors — banana caramel cake, cheese berry cake — that are ideally mixed together before eating.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 4, 2016

A timeline of how Pikotaro went viral

Internet memes often feel like they come out of nowhere, emerging from the digital ether at random before becoming inescapable fixtures of late-night comedy shows and social-network news feeds. Online ephemera tends to follow a clear path, however, journeying from obscure LOL-bait to something your grandparents...

CULTURE / Music

Nov 4, 2016

'PPAP' goes the world: How Pikotaro became a viral smash

Pikotaro still can't believe it all. Two days before he sits down with The Japan Times, the performer saw that American DJ duo The Chainsmokers had changed their Twitter name to "Pineapple & Pen," a nod to his song "PPAP." That pair previously claimed YouTube's most popular clip with "Closer" — until...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Nov 4, 2016

Tokyo's first Russian-style maid cafe

Twelve men sit in silence at a new cafe in Tokyo's Shinjuku district as three women dressed in Russian attire start serving a sour-looking plate of borscht.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Nov 4, 2016

Ca Ca O finally brings its rich chocolate eclair to Tokyo

The newly opened Food Depot in the basement of Shinjuku's Lumine 1 department store features a lot of intriguing eateries, with a number of dessert shops among them. Ca Ca O, a chocolate store originally from Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, offers a variety of goods made from rich cacao beans. The Ca...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Oct 28, 2016

Halloween is almost over, but Lawson has one last seasonal treat

Halloween-themed goods will soon vanish from the shelves of convenience stores across Japan, so stock up on this year's vaguely spooky treats while you can. Lawson's new pumpkin roll cake is certainly worth picking up before November starts — and not just for its jack-o'-lantern design. This dessert...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 23, 2016

'Young Folks in Metropolis' is a great showcase for Japan's indie acts

Various artists "Young Folks in Metropolis" (Self-released)

Japan Times

LIFE / Digital

Oct 23, 2016

YouTube channel Life Where I'm From explores Japan from a kid's perspective

Greg Lam's YouTube channel Life Where I'm From started one morning with a simple idea.

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Oct 21, 2016

Dominique Ansel's Omotesando bakery is possessed by the Halloween spirit

The Omotesando branch of Dominique Ansel Bakery has an impressive and photogenic set of Halloween desserts available during October. The Halloween Religieuse (¥680) is the most flavorful and visually impressive. This double-decker dessert's bat-on-a-pumpkin design might look too quirky to eat, but...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 16, 2016

'Future R&B' trackmaker starRo makes a case for 'Monday'

Shinya Mizoguchi used to loathe the start of the week. "Everybody hates Monday. It's not a positive day of the week," he says via Skype from his home in Los Angeles. His perspective changed over the past year, however, when he quit his job as a project manager at a tech company to focus solely on his...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Oct 14, 2016

The Pumpkin Cream Puff joins Japan's mountain of Halloween-themed treats

With Halloween just around the corner, convenience stores are filling up with pumpkin-flavored treats. Seven-Eleven has rolled out several holiday-appropriate snacks this month, including its Pumpkin Cream Puff (¥135). It features a black cocoa exterior with pumpkin paste and whipped cream waiting...

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH

Oct 7, 2016

Is the 'Phantom' the best spooky dessert this Halloween season?

The Dalloyau chain of sweets shops are officially in Halloween mode, with a new range of spooky seasonal desserts. The highlight of the bunch is simply called "Phantom": It's a cake made up to look like a ghost, with white frosting carefully folded around apple jelly and with pieces of chocolate fashioned...

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Oct 3, 2016

Netlabel Maltine mulls a move to the majors

Music runs online in 2016. Songs become smash hits via YouTube, while global superstars command attention by giving exclusives to streaming services. Looking back at a time when web-only artists were novel seems absurd now.

LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH

Sep 30, 2016

Chewy treats that taste like barbecued guts aren't as bad as they sound

It was a bit disconcerting seeing chewy horumon (innard) treats stocked in the sweets section at my local FamilyMart. But this convenience store-only offering (¥168) isn't some quirky attempt to sweeten the taste of barbecued guts, it's more akin to beef jerky than anything else. These limited-edition...

CULTURE / Music

Sep 29, 2016

Oliver Heldens comes to Japan ready for clubbing and sushi

Few 21 year olds can hope to experience the sort of summer Oliver Heldens had in 2016. The Dutch producer and DJ spent the warmer months jetting around the globe to play at some of the world's largest summer festivals — from Belgium's Tomorrowland to Chicago's Lollapalooza. One of the stops was the...

CULTURE / Music

Sep 29, 2016

Yasutaka Nakata crafts a music festival in his own digi-pop image

Yasutaka Nakata's schedule tonight is packed. He's being photographed by a Japanese magazine in a basement studio after 10 p.m. on a Friday, and it's taking a little longer than expected. After this he'll have a (very) late dinner before heading to Tokyo's east end to do an early-morning DJ set at club...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.

Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.

By Thu-Huong Ha and Mike Fu

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