Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 37
January 19, 2016
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.
January 16, 2016
Bling ALL The Rides
Q. What’s got four wheels and sparkles and can totally give you ear damage?
A. The cars on display at Tokyo Auto Salon, of course!
Yes, there’s a gigantic car show dedicated to over-the-top blingmobiles. Sure, there were plenty of ho-hum cars there too, but it’s the lowered, skirted, spoilered, rhinestoned-encrusted, flame-covered, subwoofer-blasting eye candy that everyone pays good money to see.
Hostly car accessory favorite DAD brought their gold and silver twinklemobiles, completely paved with crystals…
…right down to the tailpipes!
Crazy holofilm made an appearance…
…and they didn’t cut corners when it came to lighting up every corner of the interior either.
This boombox on wheels was all business in the front…
…and all party in the back.
And this ultimate tailgate wagon added monster subwoofers and video, so you wouldn’t even have to leave the parking lot to catch the game.
If you’re really serious about urban assault, this one has a machine gun mounted on the roof.
Or you could blast your way out of those inevitable Tokyo traffic jams by smothering them with roses.
Pocket Rocket Jr. Because it’s never too early to start the training.
And of course, no auto show would be complete without flames.
Did I mention flames?
And goombas. Did I forget the goombas?
There’s still time to go see these delights for yourself if you’re in Tokyo right now, because the Tokyo Auto Salon continues tonight until 20:00 and tomorrow (Sunday 1/17) from 9:00 – 17:00 at Makuhari Messe. Admission is ¥2200 at the door. 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.
January 14, 2016
Setagaya Boroichi: The Grand Pooh-bah Of All Flea Markets
I’d heard about the Boroichi Flea Market for ages, but never made it to one until today. Yikes, it filled every street and alleyway for BLOCKS! In classic flea market style, there was loads of crap studded liberally with actual finds, but I think I can pretty much guarantee that somewhere within this maze you can satisfy your burning desire for…
Porcelain head pillows
Enormous bobble-head tigers
Kokeshi dolls
Demon masks w/ nose slings
Soulful cat purses
Kimonos of yore and not-so-yore
Useless but irresistible netsuke
Life-size pet statues
Traditional molds for the kind of candy that looks beautiful but tastes meh
Oddly disturbing 1940s kewpie figures
Shinto household shrines made of rare yukusugi cedar
Hoarder stashes
And of course, military surplus wookie suits
Not to mention retro toys, politically incorrect fur things, little plants that will certainly die when you forget to water them, gas masks, homemade pickles, antique pruning saws, helium-filled beetles, obi cords, lucky cat teacups, gooey rice cakes on a stick, wooden abacuses, cheap puffy jackets, drinking gourds, and much, much more.
Like all good flea markets, you have to hunt for the gems. Neener, neener, I saw this tanuki tea kettle before you!
The Setagaya Boroichi Market is every January 15-16 (so there’s still time for you to go tomorrow, if you’re reading this promptly!) and if you miss it this time, they have another one December 15-16, just in time for holiday shopping. Admission is free, and it’s open from 9:00 – 21:00. If you’d like to go the next time you’re in Japan, 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.
January 12, 2016
Flowers By Naked
(I put together this one-minute video because seriously, stills just couldn’t capture how awesome this show is YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY)
The name of this exhibition only makes sense if you recognize that the digital artists known as Naked are the hottest projection-mapping badasses in Tokyo right now.
HOO BOY they did not disappoint!
I’m always ready to be un-wowed by projection mapping, because if it’s not installed meticulously, the animation spills off onto whatever’s behind, and if it’s not shown in pretty serious darkness, it’s wimpy and washed-out looking. But the good folks at Coredo (the same place that hosts the awesome Art Aquarium every summer) helped Naked avoid all that krand, and this animated flower-themed extravaganza is truly spectacular from beginning to end.
But enough blabbing, seriously, here are some pictures! (If you can spare a minute and twenty-five seconds, watch the highlights video, because the illuminations are MAGIC in motion.)
This giant book comes alive, with petals that fly off the page and swirl around the room…
…bringing these flowers to life with crazy colors as the petals whiz past.
Stand inside the Dandelion Clock column and watch the seeds swirl up and around you.
Sorry ARG this little piece of “Frozen Roses” fairyland is impossible to capture in a still – watch the video to see it sparkle and come to life!
The fibonnacci spiral pulls you deeper into flowerland through this jungle of lilies with a flurry of projected blooms
Naturally, there’s a bar mid-exhibit, so you can rest your reeling senses before diving in for more…
…and it serves original cocktails plus a non-alcoholic tea with flowers frozen into the ice that “bloom” as it melts.
And finally, the alchemist’s workshop, where cherry blossoms are gathered in gaint bunches, then set free.
Flowers By Naked is ¥1300 for adults at the door, open every day until February 6, 2016 from 10:00 – 20:00 (Fridays and Saturdays until 21:00) on the 5th floor of the Coredo Building (1-4-1 Nihonbashi). A map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
The video music isn’t from the show, it’s “Porcelain” by Helen Jane Long. Because if they’d known about Helen Jane long, they’d have used her music too, just sayin’.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 8, 2016
Yomiuriland Illuminations
By the time I took four trains and a bus to the gates of the aging amusement park Yomiuri Land, I had already decided that no illuminations could possibly be worth the schlep. Good thing I was SO WRONG!
As you can see, no surface in the entire park was spared, and Scrooge was definitely not consulted.
Just try to be jaded while walking through a tunnel pulsing all around you in an ever-changing light show.
See what I mean?
Even the white parts were actually a rainbow mix.
They took full advantage of handy reflecting pools to double the bling (a feature I’ve noticed more and more in selfie-conscious Japan).
The stage pool offered three (count ’em THREE!) different shows rotating every fifteen minutes at :00, :15, :30 & :45. The one I saw had colored dancing fountains (I’m a complete sucker for dancing fountains) combined with dancing people. Win.
Then there were the waterfalls of animated lights & music that popped up where you least expected them.
The view from behind the veil!
Hats off to whoever produced this kerbillion-light extravaganza – it totally exceeded expectations. Best ¥1000 entertainment I’ve seen in ages. I’m sure my impression was helped by the wickedly warm winter Japan is experiencing right now – I’m the world’s biggest weenie when it comes to shivering my oshiri off while ogling the sparkly bits – but even if the weather turns subzero, I’d say GO, if you’re in Tokyo!
The Jewelumination show at Yomiuri Land runs until Valentine’s Day, and if you’d like to go, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. (Note: Yomiuriland-mae station is not at all right in front of Yomiuri Land as the name so falsely suggests – you have to take a bus to get to the park. It takes about 20 minutes, and there are helpful red-jacketed Yomiuriland employees at the station to guide you to the nearest bus stop down the street. You can use cash or your regular Suica or Pasmo card on the bus, same price as in Tokyo.)
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 7, 2016
Not Your Nonna’s Spaghetti
But no, I couldn’t bring myself to order it. Because a) civet poop coffee was enough excitement for one week and b) don’t you think there’s a reason that oysters + seaweed + cream linguini is not exactly a staple menu item in Italy…?
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 4, 2016
How About A Nice Cup Of Civet Poop Coffee?
Yes, I know this rare and elusive cat-snake lives in Bali, but because Japan is the world magnet for weird food experiences, the only place I’ve ever discovered a shop where I could order a cup of civet poop coffee is in Tokyo.
The kopi luwat civet poops coffee. Or, to be more precise, it climbs to the top of coffee trees, eats the ripest beans, digests the fruity bits around the seed and, er, leaves the rest for industrious pooper-scoopers to turn into the world’s weirdest brew.
The poop in its native habitat. You’re welcome.
Of course, once I spied a weird old-fashioned coffee bar near Shinjuku station with a kopi luwak coffee bag in the window, I knew I had to take one for the team. The shop was closed when I saw it, but I girded up my coffee tastebuds and went back the next day.
This is the Tajimaya Coffeeten. (Why is it that all the serious coffee bars in Tokyo seem to have been caught in some sort of 1940s timeslip?)
I took a deep breath, boldly went in, sat down at the counter, waved away the menu and ordered the house specialty. It was only then that I noticed that AIEEEE all that combined cat-snake and pooper-scooper effort doesn’t come cheap!
OMG, $30 for a cup of coffee? Too late to back out now, though – the coffee lady behind the counter hands me an official-looking document* to read while I’m waiting, and begins hand dripping my precious beans. By now I’m watching anxiously, really really really hoping that I don’t detect any notes of dog park or litter tray in that first sip.
It looks reassuringly like the thing you can get at any Starbucks. Which you can’t, because $30 poop coffee.
Okay. This is it. The moment of truth. Grandmotherly china cup? Check. Silver spoon? Check. It looks like coffee. It smells like coffee. And…it tastes like coffee. Actually, it tastes like really good coffee. Pretty delicious, in fact. Not even a whiff of poopiness detected.
For the sake of science, I doctor it with a little cream. Yep, still good.
So, was it worth $30? As cups of coffee go, I’ve honestly gotta say it was good, but not THAT good. As a way to win every dinner party forever, though? Priceless!
*The certificate attests that the beans were collected ethically from wild civets, not from questionably farmed animals, which sort of explains why it’s so expensive. You know, fair trade and all, which made me feel a bit better about the crazy price.
If you’d like to visit the Tajimaya Coffeeten the next time you’re in Tokyo, it’s at 1-2-6 Shinjuku, and a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. Tip o’ the Thank You Beanie to valbemar.com for the poop photo.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 1, 2016
Midnight Fox Parade
Middle school boys in foxface and golden skirt-pants carrying gigantic fox heads through the streets of Tokyo? Can you think of a better way to ring in the new year?
Every December 31st at midnight, the good citizens of Oji gather at the local inari shrine to show the furry-tailed messengers of the gods a good time. Like all Shinto festivals, this one features copious amounts of sake (in this case, they’re ladling out the hot, sweet, so-unfiltered-you-nearly-have-to-chew-it brew called amazake), flutes & drums, and people dressed in period costume and sneakers. But that’s just for starters!
Participants and spectators alike wear fox masks, but the thing I love about this festival is that under the fox masks people are all wearing…fox makeup!
Foxmobile!
No shrine parade would be complete without flute-playing vixen.
The venerable fox figure itself gets a ride through town…
…as do children of all ages, even the littlest nipper, who got carried in style.
The many faces of Japan’s most elusive trickster are in attendance, including Mr. Giant Scary Fox there, in the white hakama.
Fox goods were all around, but the ones I was most coveting were these puppets.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
December 15, 2015
The Best Tokyo Winter Illuminations 2015!
Are you ready once again to have holiday lights spoiled for-e-ver by the insanely great Tokyo Illuminations? This year, the old favorites do not disappoint, but there are a couple of new contenders amid the light-up extravaganzas going on right now in Tokyo! Feast your eyes on…
GUNDAM PROJECTION MAPPING
Holiday lights don’t get any more only-in-Japan than this – the five-story tall Gundam robot in Odaiba has been custom projection mapped with a brand new holiday show (with music!) The Japan Times put up a video, that you can check out for even more wow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCzNVmoxKxI&feature=youtu.be
December 1 – February 14
18:00-21:00 – The projection sequence starts again every half hour at :00 and :30
Admission: Free
•
TOKYO DOME CITY
Photo thanks to muza-chan.net
Photo thanks to mcha-jp.com
Photo thanks to japanfly.co
Photo thanks to planetyze.com
Tokyo Dome City puts on a lights and fountains extravaganza every year, and it’s all in the parts that anyone can walk through for free!
November 10 – February 14
17:00 – 25:00
Admission: Free
•
And, of course, the perennial favorites, spiffed up for a new year:
TOKYO MIDTOWN
Photo thanks to jpninfo.com
I didn’t think it was possible to outdo last year’s show, but the 2015 show has a planet theme that looks spectacular. Once again, this mesmerizing field of lights is choreographed to an ethereal wintry soundtrack.
November 12 – December 25
17:00 – 23:00
Admission: Free
•
SHIODOME
Photo thanks to jpninfo.com
This year’s illumination at Shiodome Caretta is a new version of the “Canyon D’Azur,” with towering jellyfish-like fantasies and a tunnel of glowing blue light. Once again, it’s animated and set to music.
November 19 – February 14 (closed 1/1-1/2)
17:00 – 23:00
Admission: Free
•
ROPPONGI HILLS
Photo courtesy of JapanToday
Over at Roppongi Hills, Keyakizaka-dori’s avenue of lights is always beautiful. The best place to see the promenade (and get a view of Tokyo Tower) is from the bridge over the street by the Louis Vuitton store.
November 4 – December 25
17:00 – 23:00
Admission: Free
•
SHINJUKU
Photo courtesy of JapanToday
Once again, the trees lining the promenade between Shinjuku South-East Exit and Times Square are strung with lights, and Mosaic Street (the walk that goes through MyLord) is festooned with stars and planets.
November 12 – February 25
17:00 – 24:00
Admission: Free
•
EBISU GARDEN PLACE
This display doesn’t change from year to year, but if you haven’t been there, the view from the red carpet that leads from the Christmas tree to the gigantic Baccarat chandelier is worth seeing once.
November 7 – January 11
16:00 – 24:00
Admission: Free
•
Sadly, they decided not to illuminate the Meguro River in Nakameguro this year, so we’ll have to hope they do it again next time…
•
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
December 11, 2015
2015 Top Ten Crazy Gifts From Japan!
It’s time for Only In Japan’s yearly holiday gift round-up, and it looks like 2015 is holding its own! I can pretty much guarantee you’ll be the only one to bestow one of these awesome gifts from Japan on your nearest and dearest…
10. Warm in winter, cool in summer, give this CREEPY CONSTRUCTION WORKER HEAD TOWEL, so they can enjoy displaying their brains as well as their brawn.
The gift of gray matter. From Village Vanguard.
9. After eating their way through the holidays, your loved ones will thank you for these zero-calorie DIY FOOD MODEL KITS of their favorite noshes.
From spaghetti to melon soda, the Ganso Sample Shop sells food model kits that even an idiot can make.
8. It wasn’t on their list, but you know they’ll thank you for their very own CAT BUTT PINCUSHION.
Because CAT BUTT PINCUSHION. Which you can stock up on twice a year at Design Festa.
7. Even the crankiest Scrooge won’t want to exchange THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL LOLLIPOP.
Goldfish, unicorns, bunny rabbits – the artist at Ameshin makes them all. Or you can try your hand at doing it yourself, at one of his workshops!
6. And what dog lover doesn’t need an ADORABLE PUPPY SCULPTED ENTIRELY FROM CHARCOAL?
These are often sold at street fairs in Japan, GO FIGURE.
5. If they don’t want to cephalopod their own face, they can aways torture their little brother with this OCTOPUS TENTACLE FACE ROLLER THING.
From – where else? – Tokyu Hands! Maps & directions to all stores.
4. Blow your siblings’ ties out of the water when dad unwraps this AUTHENTIC MILITARY CAMO KIMONO.
Accomplish your gift-giving objective with honor. From Kyoto Kimono Sai.
3. The kale-eater on your list will be proud to tell people they start every day with their newest gourmet discovery: toast and HONEY WITH HORRIBLE FURRY BEE PARTS.
Fortunately for the foodies on your list, these are only available once a year from the farm stand at the shibazakura festival in Hitsujiyama.
2. Your gf will never know how she managed to accessorize each morning before she had this TAXIDERMIED FOX GLOVE THAT CAN ALSO BE WORN AS A HAT.
You can try on every model at Design Festa, or order off the website at Kaze-taka
1. Give your mom the luxury of using the snooze button – she’ll no longer have to get up before dawn to make your lunch with this labor-saving PENGUIN RICE BALL MOLD AND SEAWEED CUTTER.
Most recently spotted at the Loft in Ikebukuro.
In case you’re geographically challenged and not able to nip over to Japan to take care of all your gift-giving needs, you can always get White Rabbit Express to shop and ship for you.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
