Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 48
November 3, 2014
「Yokohama Smart Illuminations 2014」: Wow. Just…wow.
Last night I went to see what I thought was going to be a modest art-light event on the Yokohama waterfront, secretly expecting that the photos from past years were exaggerating the quality of the illuminations. I was SO WRONG! This event was spectacular. See for yourself!
You know you’re in the right place when you chance across a plaza lit up in ever-changing colors.
Suddenly, a voice boomed out from one of the buildings and a living face materialized in the wall!
Then another one joined it, and they began to insult each other!
A crowd gathered nearby to watch a man in a fantastically illuminated suit. Wherever he walked, he took a little island of light with him.
This field of eerily glowing mushrooms had a pressure pad set in their midst. If you jumped on it, tiny blue lights embedded in the ground flashed all around you.
Behind the café, an ever-changing wall of neon became the selfie background of choice
This glow-in-the-dark elephant squirted water from its trunk when its tail was cranked.
A garden of neon goth bunnies springs up in the middle of a lawn.
Lanterns made from odd materials float against the Yokohama skyline.
Under the old train bridge, a rippling curtain of glowing panels flutters in the wind.
Even the sightseeing boats were bedizened with neon and fairy lights.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
October 30, 2014
Knick-Knacks Of The Damned
Be forewarned all ye who enter here: Strange Love is the spookiest store in the world. And I don’t mean cute-spooky, I mean spooky-spooky. The owner combs the flea markets, haunted estates and Transylvanian castle garage sales of America and Europe to bring together the weirdest, creepiest and most awesome collection of odd-gothic memorabilia I’ve ever seen. From headless dolls to stuffed gophers wielding machine guns, it’s your one stop shop for all things macabre.
Knick-knacks of the Damned
All things horned…
…and stuffed. I’m especially fond of the two fierce little gopher heads under the alligator. And, wait…is that a COW?
Incongruously tucked behind the parade of cookie cutter fashion shops at the Venusfort mall in Odaiba, Strange Love sneaks up on you like Narnia in a coat closet. Suddenly, after endless displays filled with tasteful togs, a series of windows stuffed with dismembered mannequins, encoffined Barbies and genuine gargoyles. And there’s no front door. In order to be admitted, you have to find the red footprints in front of the blue light and hit the big brass bell in front of you with a hammer (provided). If you pass muster with the owner (who checks you out from the murky depths of the store beyond), he’ll admit you through a locked door that can only be opened from the inside.
See the blue light? And the bell? Right under the store’s creepy address?
Everything inside this Goth Aladdin’s cave is for sale. If your decorating taste runs to Addams Family (or you’re propping a horror film), Strange Love had better be your first stop off the plane when you land in Japan.
This lovely end table will certainly be a conversation piece. If your favorite topic is dismembered dolls, that is.
Miss Piranha Boobs welcomes you to her lair.
A fine selection of crucifixes for every decorating need, plus this one-of-a-kind light-up mission painting.
There’s an even MORE secret part of the shop that’s known as the Masonic Crypt. Store members and customers who bought something at the shop can be admitted free; all others can pay ¥1000 for a peek.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. If you’d like to visit Strange Love the next time you’re in Tokyo, get off the Yurikamome Line monorail at Aomi Station and head into the 2nd floor of the Venusfort mall. Make a beeline for the Lego store, but keep going, and you’ll see the forbidding windows of Strange Love on your right. Also, the owner gave me special permission to take pictures in his store, but usually they’re not allowed, so please respect his wishes and don’t get me in trouble for telling you how to get there! (>
STRANGE LOVE: The Spookiest Store In The World
Be forewarned all ye who enter here: Strange Love isn’t cute-spooky, it’s spooky-spooky. The owner combs the flea markets, haunted estates and Transylvanian castle garage sales of America and Europe to bring together the weirdest, creepiest and most awesome collection of odd-gothic memorabilia I’ve ever seen. From headless dolls to stuffed gophers wielding machine guns, it’s your one stop shop for all things macabre.
Knick-knacks of the Damned
All things horned…
…and stuffed. I’m especially fond of the two fierce little gopher heads under the alligator. And, wait…is that a COW?
Incongruously tucked behind the parade of cookie cutter fashion shops at the Venusfort mall in Odaiba, Strange Love sneaks up on you like Narnia in a coat closet. Suddenly, after endless displays filled with tasteful togs, a series of windows stuffed with dismembered mannequins, encoffined Barbies and genuine gargoyles. And there’s no front door. In order to be admitted, you have to find the red footprints in front of the blue light and hit the big brass bell in front of you with a hammer (provided). If you pass muster with the owner (who checks you out from the murky depths of the store beyond), he’ll admit you through a locked door that can only be opened from the inside.
See the blue light? And the bell? Right under the store’s creepy address?
Everything inside this Goth Aladdin’s cave is for sale. If your decorating taste runs to Addams Family (or you’re propping a horror film), Strange Love had better be your first stop off the plane when you land in Japan.
This lovely end table will certainly be a conversation piece. If your favorite topic is dismembered dolls, that is.
Miss Piranha Boobs welcomes you to her lair.
A fine selection of crucifixes for every decorating need, plus this one-of-a-kind light-up mission painting.
There’s an even MORE secret part of the shop that’s known as the Masonic Crypt. Store members and customers who bought something at the shop can be admitted free; all others can pay ¥1000 for a peek.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. If you’d like to visit Strange Love the next time you’re in Tokyo, get off the Yurikamome Line monorail at Aomi Station and head into the 2nd floor of the Venusfort mall. Make a beeline for the Lego store, but keep going, and you’ll see the forbidding windows of Strange Love on your right. Also, the owner gave me special permission to take pictures in his store, but usually they’re not allowed, so please respect his wishes and don’t get me in trouble for telling you how to get there! (>
Halloween Costumes I Would Regret
Just because it’s Halloween doesn’t mean you get a free pass in the career-killing costume department. Photos of you wearing any of these are pretty sure to digitally haunt you for the rest of your life.
Because all Men Pirates wear plunging v-neck purple vests. And eyeliner.
The Scary Doctor, complete with DIY blood.
The Splatter Nurse. Because being sexy and scary is such a natural combination.
And in the scar-your-children-for-life department, get this attractive reversible witch costume for your son. Maybe he’ll grow up to be…
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. More career-destroying costume suggestions at:
For All Your Crossdressing Costume Needs
Costumes I Would Regret, Part Deux
Various Acts Of Santa Blasphemy
October 29, 2014
The Universal Garnish Strikes Again
All my life, I knew my coffee was missing something…
Yes, it’s Honey Caffé Latte with…PARSLEY.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
October 28, 2014
Fake Eyelashes For The Halloween Win
Whether you’re batting them at that cute guy from Accounting, or giving the stinkeye to your rival from Marketing, these Halloween-themed lashes will boost your superpowers 1000%.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
October 20, 2014
Ye Olde Vending Machines
In the cosmic battle between epic thirst and historic preservation, these vending machines make a heroic effort to deliver the goods in stealth mode.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
October 16, 2014
The Statue Of Too Much Liberty
These have got to be the most awesome gacha-gacha vending machine snags of all time! These little plastic figures depict Lady Liberty morphing into “Too-Free Goddess” and assuming unseemly poses! But forget trying to blackmail her with threats to tweet her indiscretions far and wide – there are already stop-action videos up on YouTube…
The Cornholio Of Liberty
Oh no, please tell me tea ceremony isn’t going to be the new national pastime…
Collect ‘em all! Trade ‘em with your friends!
For even more weirdness, there are videos that go with each of these! They’re in Japanese, but I’ll explain what’s happening:
The kneeling Lady is the model at a photo session, and the photographer’s assistant is apologizing that because some of the crew overslept, the shoot is going to run late. She says no worries, she didn’t have any plans. He says really? I thought you were going to the Daibutsu’s group blind date meet-up. (The Daibutsu is a famous gigantic bronze statue of Buddha and a strangely appropriate match for Lady Liberty HAR.) Oh no, she remembers he’s right! She blasts off.
The Cornholio Lady is put out that the photo assistant isn’t laughing at how funny it is that she’s wearing her toga like Beavis & Butthead. She commands him to laugh, which he does, ineptly. She says she can tell he’s not really laughing, because his eyes aren’t laughing. Commands him to laugh harder. He does, and she says, “I’m not THAT funny!” and flames him with her torch.
The reclining Lady is complaining to the photo assistant that she’s tired because she was up all night at a Shibuya club. He retorts rather indignantly that the whole photo team was up all night working, so they’re tired too. Infuriated, she blasts them all with sonic sleep beams.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
October 12, 2014
Festival Of 10,000 Lanterns
Every once in a while, Japan so wildly exceeds expectations, it’s hard to put it into words, so I’ll just show you pictures of last night’s Oeshiki Ikegami festival instead.
Strong men twirling pikes announcing the names of their temples danced through the streets ahead of their lanterns.
Every lantern was different. This one was fantastically decorated in gold.
Intricately constructed wooden models of each participating temple glowed with inner light, festooned with garlands of paper flowers.
Some were dramatically lit so they alternated light and dark.
Look at the colored lanterns on the eaves of this one!
The hits just kept on coming, as the lanterns were paraded through the streets of Ikegami, wending their way to the temple where famed Buddhist monk Nichiren breathed his last.
Even the streets were lined with pink lanterns as far as the eye could see.
Not surprisingly, a festival of 10,000 lanterns also attracts thousands and thousands of people. This is the view from the stairs you climb to get to the temple.
At the base of the stairs, we suddenly encountered a frighteningly large police presence in a glaring pool of light. The Japanese friend I was with said that crowds of people eating and drinking and making merry can turn ugly fast, and the police buses parked in an adjacent shadowy street were there to cart away arrestees if things went south. But my friend who blogs as Tokyobling said that actually those are the buses that transport police to the festival from all over the Kanto region to help out (see his comment below). He says the bright lights are necessary to keep accidents from happening at the foot of the stairs. That makes sense to me, because people slow down to start climbing, but the crush of festival-goers keeps pushing from behind.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. Special thanks go to Tokyobling’s Blog, where I learned about this fantastic festival. I suggest taking a look at his posts, because he takes gorgeous pictures and explains what’s going on better than I can. If you’re in Tokyo at the right time and would like to go to the Oeshiki Ikegami festival, directions and a map are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
The Festival Of 10,000 Lanterns
Every once in a while, Japan so wildly exceeds expectations, it’s hard to put it into words, so I’ll just show you pictures of last night’s Oeshiki Ikegami festival instead.
Strong men twirling pikes announcing the names of their temples danced through the streets ahead of their lanterns.
Every lantern was different. This one was fantastically decorated in gold.
Intricately constructed wooden models of each participating temple glowed with inner light, festooned with garlands of paper flowers.
Some were dramatically lit so they alternated light and dark.
Look at the colored lanterns on the eaves of this one!
The hits just kept on coming, as the lanterns were paraded through the streets of Ikegami, wending their way to the temple where famed Buddhist monk Nichiren breathed his last.
Even the streets were lined with pink lanterns as far as the eye could see.
Not surprisingly, a festival of 10,000 lanterns also attracts thousands and thousands of people. This is the view from the stairs you climb to get to the temple.
But not all was sweetness and light: at the base of the stairs, we suddenly encountered a frighteningly large police presence in a glaring pool of light. Apparently, crowds of people eating and drinking and making merry can turn ugly fast. Parked in an adjacent shadowy street were rows of detention buses, ready to cart away arrestees if things went south.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. Special thanks go to Tokyobling’s Blog, where I learned about this fantastic festival. I suggest taking a look at his posts, because he takes gorgeous pictures and explains what’s going on better than I can. If you’re in Tokyo at the right time and would like to go to the Oeshiki Ikegami festival, directions and a map are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
