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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 / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 18, 2015
Vienna's chocolate cake gets the McDonald's treatment
One wouldn't normally turn to the Golden Arches for decadent desserts, but sometimes life surprises you. McCafe, McDonald's upscale chain of coffee spots, rolled out their winter collection recently, and the highlight is their take on the Austria's chocolate cake, the Sachertorte.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Dec 11, 2015
Roast beef dinners at your local Lawson
Eating a slab of roast beef in Tokyo used to require trekking to fancy schmancy parts of town and forking out a lot of money. Now you can just walk over to your local Lawson and grab the new Roast Beef Bowl (¥690).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 4, 2015
Bite into the enlarged head of 'Chibi Maruko-chan'
Floresta, a "natural" doughnut bakery, is celebrating the popular "Chibi Maruko-chan" cartoon series with a limited run of doughnuts shaped like the show's characters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 27, 2015
The future of conveyor-belt sushi
In October, U.K. sushi chain Yo! Sushi opened a new kaiten (conveyor belt) restaurant in a Florida mall. It is the third branch the chain has established in the United States this year, and more branches are slated to open in 2016. It is a reminder that this automated approach to dining continues to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 27, 2015
Haagen-Dazs unleashes limited-run flavors on Tokyo
Convenience stores have become a little more decadent since Haagen-Daz released its new limited-run flavors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2015
Namie Amuro returned to form this year with '_genic'
Ten years ago, Namie Amuro's star appeared to be fading fast. The pop singer's massive popularity in the 1990s helped cement the rise of sleek J-pop, but by 2005, sales of her albums and singles were starting to come back to Earth. Worse still, the former "Queen of J-pop" was seemingly being lapped by...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Nov 20, 2015
Prepare for autumn in Tokyo with Magnolia Bakery's Harvest Apple Cupcake
The transition from fall to winter may have started the day after Halloween, but you don't have to join every department store in Tokyo in embracing the Christmas spirit just yet.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2015
Spangle call Lilli line returns with a new sound and a familiar vibe
'Ghost Is Dead," the 10th album from Tokyo's Spangle call Lilli line, shouldn't exist. Regular life caught up with the trio, leaving them with little time to contemplate creating new music: Lead singer Kana Otsubo had a baby and her bandmates saw their day jobs eat up more and more of their personal...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2015
Acidclank knows when to look up from its shoes on 'Inner'
Acidclank "Inner" (Self-released)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 13, 2015
Coconut Popcorn is deliciously bad for you
If you buy a bag of Coconut Popcorn, don't look at the calorie count on the back before eating. Snacks from the convenience store are rarely healthy choices, but even by those low standards this snack (¥298) will make your eyes pop out a little.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Nov 6, 2015
"Star Wars" droid cakes are invading Ginza Cozy Corner
The new "Star Wars" film is being advertised with full force, and Japanese confectionery store Ginza Cozy Corner has joined in with a new series of sweets themed on the classic trilogy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2015
Turntable Films compile folksy pop vignettes for sophomore album 'Small Town Talk'
Today's music industry demands a constant churn of new content from artists, whether that be songs or videos or something else that can connect with fans immediately. Yosuke Inoue is understandably taken aback when asked what he and his band, Turntable Films, got up to in the three years since they released...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Oct 30, 2015
Spooky snacks will soon be vanishing from Seven-Eleven
The chance to stockpile Halloween-themed snacks from your nearby convenience store will soon be over — really, you should run out now if you are serious about spooky snacks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Oct 23, 2015
Pepsi Japan creates a new 'mystery flavor' cola for Halloween
To coincide with Halloween, Pepsi has rolled out the classic "mystery flavor" trick to promote its new limited-edition Pepsi Ghost cola (¥151).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015
Kero Kero Bonito blend English and Japanese rap into bouncy pop tracks
Sarah Midori Perry remembers checking MixB, an online bulletin board for Japanese expats in London, almost every day ... and feeling underwhelmed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015
'Jack' event declares: ‘Let there be J-pop!’
Over the past two years, Simon Whybray's monthly club night and online mix series “Jack” (stylized in all caps) has featured high-energy songs from around the globe, including a healthy dose of J-pop. It's surprising, then, when he reveals his gateway into Japanese music was a delicate piano number...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015
Taquwami takes familar sounds into his own distinct territory
Taquwami
 "Moyas”
 (Self-released)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Oct 16, 2015
Harajuku is devouring Lola's Cupcakes
London bakery Lola's Cupcakes emphasizes freshness, but the sweets on offer at its recently opened Tokyo store are disappearing almost as soon as they come out of the oven.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Oct 9, 2015
An ice cream 'donut' with a hole lot of almond chocolate
Doughnuts might remain a strong seller at Japanese convenience stores, but the initial hoopla for them ended months ago. Which is why, at first, it seems that frozen-treats maker Akagi is late to the game with its new Crunch Donut. Thankfully, looks can be deceiving: This snack (¥140) is ultimately...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 7, 2015
Red flags and exit strategies: advice for English teachers in Japan
It's important for new instructors in Japan to know when they are being exploited, and, if so, how to improve their lot or extricate themselves from the situation as painlessly as possible.
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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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