Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 36

Fox Village: Even Better With Snow On Top!

I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I finally made it to Zao Fox Village last spring, but it’s a good thing I didn’t actually shuffle off this mortal coil due to fox-induced bliss, because then I would have missed seeing all these fluffy vixen in the SNOW!

In the winter, they’re at their fattest and furriest!

With tails set to maximum fluff

Sleepy fur pillows were everywhere

But there were plenty of foxes running around, scampering to the feeding platform when they heard the telltale crinkle of a snack bag

I guess all those squee-worthy baby foxlets grew up, because it seemed like there were a lot more loafs of ginger goodness this time

s-t-r-e-e-e-t-c-h

*yawn*

*zzzzzzzzzz*

Mine!

I choose to believe these foxlings were not trashtalking my ugly snow boots

This is just the first installment of fox-centric posts, because the second I walked through the Fox Village gate, my camera was possessed by some sort of  snap-happy demon, and it took HUNDREDS of pictures all by itself. I’m still wading through them, and will post more soon!

If you’d like to go to Fox Village, detailed directions are here. Getting there is a major schlep (two hours by bullet train from Tokyo, then a ¥4000 taxi ride), and sometimes the roads aren’t passable in the winter because of snow. Be sure to check the weather forecast and the Fox Village website before you leave, because it would be terrible to get all the way to Shiroishi and NO NO NO SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR AIEEEEE!

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

 

Honest Abe Gets An Extreme Makeover

I thought playing Rhett Butler in an all-Japanese, all-female production of Gone With The Wind was about as gender-bendy as you could get, but now one of the esteemed actresses in the famed Takarazuka troupe is donning beard and top hat to portray America’s most gangly abolitionist!

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Thousands Of Glowing Igloos, Oh Yeah

Assorted igloos pose shamelessly next to the local castle for maximum photo op

How could you not love a 400-year-old festival that’s all about glowing igloos inhabited by children serving sweet sake, and a tournament that features teams of guys battling each other with giant decorated q-tips? The only catch is that the Kamakura Matsuri takes place in northiest north Yokote on only two days a year, so START PLANNING NOW!

For two days a year, these jumbo-sized igloos spring up all over town…

…staffed by middle school kids in festival coats, who invite passersby in to take off their shoes and drink sweet (barely alcoholic) sake. (And lucky for me, this event is not on the Extreme Festival-going Circuit, so there were rice straw mats between my tender tootsies and the subzero snowpack.)

Igloos come in all sizes. These weensy ones light the way to…

…a little lesson in how vast the Great Snowiness is, beyond the wall of flickering lights.

The local school is surrounded by a sea of mini-igloos…

…each with a child’s wish inside

On the darker back streets, I admit to scurrying toward the islands of warmth, even though I was wearing my uncool uncle stomach-warmer under my jacket

Here, the mini-igloos were stuffed with everything the water gods might require to put them in a good mood WTR the rice-growing season

And go figure, this tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere has its own castle! Besieged for two days, of course, by igloos and sake-drinking festival goers.

The road to the castle is lined by monster trees, which are more dangerous than they look, because you might die from PICTURESQUE OVERLOAD

Also, this festival had the coolest police box in the land, am I right?

Sadly, I did not get to stay for the bonten competition the next day because I had to leave early for Fox Village (yes! vast numbers of FOXES IN THE SNOW, coming soon!), but these are the things that teams of manly men use to joust with each other in the town square.

The Kamakura Festival is held every year in Yokote (Akita prefecture), on February 15-16, with the bonten tournament taking place the next day on the 17th. Yokote is a little over three hours from Tokyo by bullet train, and although it’s a small town, there are pretty decent hot springs inns you can stay at.

My only complaint is that although Akita is the birthplace of Akita dogs (think shiba inu, Costco-size version), I didn’t see even ONE while I was there. Judging by the number of local businesses that use cartoon versions as mascots, the least they could do is have vast herds of them roaming the streets, right?

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Manly Chocolate

There aren’t many things that Japan gets tragically wrong, but Valentine’s Day is one of them. Not only does the chocolate-giving flow only one way, it flows from the gender that DOES like chocolate to the one that (supposedly) DOESN’T, thus posing an even more vexing conundrum for the women cornered into buying Obligation Chocolate for the men in their lives.

But this year, FINALLY, relief! Behold the sweets that those of the XY chromosome persuasion can enjoy in plain sight without having their manliness questioned:

Nobody would fault you for pounding down a sixpack of Troublemaker

Or wolfing down a platter of Sushi Choco

And who could pass up a Special Time with FUN & DELICIOUS medical supplies?

And for the truly anxious, these slightly TOO realistic fish chocolates, that even come packaged in supermarket wrapping.

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Pink Pepper Milk Coffee

In case a shot of caffeine isn’t quite enough to get you going in the morning…

(If you’re braver than I am, you can find it this month at your nearest Precious Coffee Moments shop.)

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Snow Aquarium

Because what do snow and tropical fish have in common? They both make killer themes for a bar!

Yes, this aquarium has a bar (because Japan). Usually it’s called the Coral Bar, but until mid-April, the same artists who brought you Flowers By Naked have worked their projection mapping magic on Shinagawa’s Aqua Park, and transformed the place into a winter wonderland. With, uh, tropical fish.

The bar room becomes an animated whirl of snowflakes, which you will be very sorry you didn’t see if you’re too busy to watch the 20-second video JUST SAYIN.

The rest of the Coral Bar looks like this. The tables are all tropical aquariums filled with friendly fishlets, so you never have to drink alone.

The carousel has been tarted up with blue and white lights.

And this gallery is a lovely but slightly confusing mashup of fish/flowers/snow, but since Aqua Park is all about entertainment, we don’t even care.

Taking a page from the fabulous Art Aquarium‘s playbook, the jellyfish are displayed like jewels in an ever-changing snow-themed light show of a room

No color was spared

Can’t. Stop. Watching.

Beyond the Snow Aquarium part are the usual tanks of fish, the Tunnel O’ Fishy Luv, and of course, the dolphin show (in case you were about to complain about the rather steep ¥2200 entrance fee.)

And secretly, my favorite part of the whole shebang (after the bar) was this highly un-educational display of touchscreen fish tanks. Real fish swim around behind, of course, but if you touch the front of the tank, hundreds of CGI minnows dart in from all directions and school around as you move your finger over the glass. These are always on display and have nothing to do with Snow Aquarium, but they’re a primo consolation prize if you miss the projection mapping thing.

Snow Aquarium runs until April 10, 2016 (to be replaced by a cherry blossom themed projection mapping show afterwards, I hear. Because cherry blossoms and fish go together like, well, snow and fish.) Admission is ¥2200 for adults, ¥1200 for kids, ¥700 for kids under 4. Open every day from 10:00 – 22:00, and there are dolphin shows at 11:30/13:00/2:30/4:00, plus an Aurora-themed night performance from 6:00-8:00. If you’re in Tokyo and would like to go, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Every Japanese Room I’ve Ever Lived In

TOP VIEW

If I were Queen Of The World, there would be a Japanese Complaints Choir* and they would sing about this. If anyone’s ever invented a more feeble excuse for a heating/cooling unit than the ones that supposedly make buildings in Japan habitable by humans, I never want to see it.

And while we’re complaining (because you’re totally nodding your head along with me in sympathy, right?) I also feel compelled to mention this:

 

It’s like they think putting a lot of buttons on the remote will make beleaguered users believe it’s their own damn fault for freezing to death. Like, “If I’d only been able to figure out how to use the combination of controls that adjust the angle of the fins while also disabling the feature that randomly switches to blasting unheated air around the room, I’d still have most of my toes.”

I’d say that I can’t wait for summer, but you know that diagram up above? Pretend it’s Opposite Day and you’ll get an idea of how pleasant August will be. grr.

*If you’ve never heard the Helsinki Complaints Choir, you should. Because hilarious.

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

Epic Japanese Quilt Show

“Flowers Of The Cosmos” by Fumiko Nakayama

Let me just say right up front that this quilt show exceeded expectations in every way. Something I really love about Japan is that Art-With-A-Captial-A is defined so generously, and artists whose work requires many years of mastering the technical parts of making it are not dismissed as “craftsmen” but given full respect. And when that happens, you get this level of mind-boggling!

So, first of all, it’s no surprise that any showcase of Japanese quilts is going to feature insanely fractal levels of piecing and stitching perfection.

I do not want to know how many hours this took. (“Countless Flowers Blooming” by Kazuko Tanaka)

And this. Yeah. (“Jack In The Box” by Keiko Ike)

And did I mention this? (“Mother’s Favorite Winter Peonies” by Mineko Miyashita)

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here are a few I thought you might enjoy, because they were especially Only In Japan delights.

This one is simple, but it not only has a super Japanese theme (those oddly compelling orange paper lantern thingies), it shows them in a very “autumn” way, with end-of-the-season, bug-eaten leaves. (“Silver Hammock” by Kumiko Morita)

This one takes the J-theme all the way, even using quilting patterns that are traditional washi paper and kimono motifs. (“Distant Memory” by Kumiko Tada)

This one turns some typical “autumn” motifs into a slice of graphic goodness. Bonus points for the hand-dyed indigo bits. (“Soon The Wind Will Bring Winter” by Kumi Ohkawa)

And of course, there were cherry blossoms. On steroids. (“Cherry Blossoms” by Masako Sakagami)

This lovely manages to use traditional piecing, but the design and colors were gorgeously Not Your Usual Western Choices. (“Infinite” by Etsuko Ishitobi)

Some of the subjects felt poignantly Japanese, and I was surprised when the artist wasn’t. (“Garden Nasturtium” by Jungsun Jung)

This Japanese forest landscape really stopped me in my tracks, because I RECOGNIZED it! I’ve been to that place! (“Sunbeams Between The Trees” by Hiroko Oouchi)

Speaking of landscape quilts, a few artists have pioneered completely new techniques of stitchery. This one is made of THOUSANDS of cloth snippets, in a sort of avant garde form of applique. The photo really can’t do it justice – IRL it was astoundingly painterly and quilt-y at the same time. (“The Street of Golden Leaves” by Keiko Kimura)

Others were amazing because all those pieces that look like printed fabric were actually…

…hand-embroidered, using traditional Japanese sashiko techniques. O_O (“Kaleidoscope” by Hideko Onozaki)

This is what might happen if Escher had made quilts using Japanese maple and ginkgo leaves and carp (“Ultimate Autumn” by Reiko Nakahara)

And yeah, I know they have cats outside of Japan but…cats. (“Tea With Mom” by Naoko Suzuki)

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

In Which We Try Those Wicked-Looking Chocolate Covered French Fries

 

Drizzled in two – count ’em TWO – flavors of chocolate (bitter and white)

Aieeee, it’s true! McDonald’s is selling chocolate covered french fries in Tokyo! These are so clearly a frontrunner for the All Flavors Of Nope Award, I feel I must selflessly step up and take one for the team…

The DIY choco-fry kit. Yes, it comes with a fork because Japan.

Okay, dual choco pack mastered (not without some monkey-like poking DON’T JUDGE), the deep-fried goldenness and gleaming chocolate are sending EAT ME NOW messages to the most lizard-like part of my brain. Cognitive dissonance is fighting back, but must be overcome in the interest of science.

So, this is actually Bite #2 (because I forgot to take a picture of Bite #1) but it just confirmed the impression that – no surprise – the choco-fries look better than expected, but fall short of being either a salt-encrusted guilty pleasure or a wickedly sweet bringer-of-remorse. (Plus, they cost ¥330, which is THREE BUCKS for an order of fries WAT!)

Also, in case you were wondering, this is how you open the dual-choco drizzle pack. Naturally, you crack it open pointing toward your fries, not your coat, so it doesn’t go all over you instead of your food. (NOT THAT WE KNOW ANYONE WHO WOULD DO SOMETHING SO LAME SHUT UP.)

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.

 

The Angry Fox Ghost Vending Machine!

I thought I’d reached the highest level of gacha-gacha nirvana when I discovered the Angry Cat Ghost vending machine last year, but yesterday walking through what I’d previously thought of as the ninth-circle-of-hell Shinagawa station, I spied these:

YOKAI FOXES! As you can see, they come in six, count ’em SIX, fabulous colors, three with lucky messenger-of-the-gods markings. And yeah, as you can see, neener neener I got all six SHUT UP.

Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series,  published by Penguin/Intermix.