Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 61
January 29, 2014
For Charcoal-Fresh Breath…
…get thee to the closest Tokyu Hands and get your paws on some Natamame toothpaste! It claims to smite your bad breath in four different flavors: Rose, Aloe (does aloe have a flavor?), Persimmon and Bamboo Charcoal. Yes, the black kind. Even stranger, guess what this toothpaste is made from? Sword beans!
Bad breath, I strike thee down in the name of sword bean!
Believe it or not, these jumbo legumes are known throughout Asia for banishing bad breath (although one wonders exactly how that works, in the absence of these big boys being processed down into nice little toothbrush-friendly tubes.)
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 28, 2014
Nose Training
“Choose your shape! Two-way style!”
I don’t know which is weirder, the idea that you’d want your nose to be bigger, or that you think you can “train” it into pulchritude by using one of these pink plastic torture devices! Longing for a tall nose is nearly as common as the fervent wish for a small face among Japanese women, and judging by the constant stream of products on offer, someone must believe you can teach it to be pointier by snapping a glorified clothespin onto it every night.
This one promises to deliver a shapelier schnozz in only 20 minutes a night!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 26, 2014
The Lucky Cat Temple
In a corner of Gotokuji Temple, I discovered a Kannon figure totally surrounded by maneki neko lucky cats! Their raised paws are believed to beckon money and good luck into the owner’s business, so shopkeepers from all over Tokyo come here to buy a cat figure and offer it to the bodhisattva, hoping for a big uptick in the bottom line.
Cats, cats, and more cats (plus a few strings of those ubiquitous origami cranes).
The bigger the cat, the bigger the wish!
Racks and racks of cats!
Even the prayer plaques at Gotokuji feature cats. My favorite one, though, is the one someone drew on the back of the ema in the upper right!
Cats for your every business-building need!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 24, 2014
Make Your Own Goth Sushi
Okay, bento warriors, here’s your chance to show the lunchroom what you’re really made of! Step by step instructions for making skull-tastic sushi rolls from any old scraps of rice, omelet and seaweed you happen to have lying around the house! No need to painstakingly translate all that pesky Japanese – just make like a monkey and follow the pictures! Protective surgical gloves are, er, optional.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. This great step-by-step is from 巻きずし magazine.
January 23, 2014
On Second Thought, Maybe Not
Hmm, don’t you think the thought of having a permanent, red, itchy condition around one’s eyes rather puts one off the idea of having longer, sexier lashes? O_O
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. Her eyelashes are naturally fabulous, so she’s not even tempted.
January 22, 2014
The Annual Host Convention!
Picture this. It’s a quiet Monday night in January. Usually the hosts who work in the Zero Group’s bars would be giving their hair a much-needed rest, kicking back to annihilate some video game zombies, and ordering take-out. But tonight is different from all other Monday nights. Tonight is The Annual Meeting!
In any business, it’s important to set production goals, vow to outperform the graphs from last quarter, and boost sales, but in the case of host clubs, this turns into a ballroom full of the hottest guys in Kabuki-cho, getting pumped up to out-bling, out-drink and out-flirt themselves in the new year! Let’s get out there and chug one for the team, boys!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. Many thanks to my friend Kiichi-san, the clubs’ manager, who took this awesome picture!
Fallen Angel readers often ask me what it’s really like to go to a host club. If you’re curious too, here’s a slide show and answers to the TOP TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT HOST CLUBS:
Why do women go to host clubs?
What kind of women go to host clubs?
What’s it like to visit a host club?
How expensive is it to go to a host club?
What is a host club “champagne call”?
Can foreigners get into a host club?
How do I find a good host club?
Why do hosts dress like that? Everything you always wanted to know about host fashion.
A Day In The Life: What’s it like to be a host?
January 21, 2014
Hair Chalk
Suddenly the stores are full of this stuff! Hair chalk isn’t as bright as bleaching the snickers out of your tresses and then dying, but it’s perfect for the clubhussy who wants to go rainbow for the weekend, but still show up for school/work Monday morning in regulation black.
All you have to do is wet your hair, rub the chalk on it section by section, let it dry, then iron/curl it to set the color and make it last longer. No surprise, it shows up more brightly on light hair than dark, but it’s pretty bright even on black hair!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 19, 2014
Hot Babe Leopard Rarrrr Of Sewing Machines
Get inspired to whip up a Goth-Vampire costume of killer drop-deadness by kitting out your Bernina with these wildass skins! Your plain vanilla sewing steed no longer has to pine away waiting for a fairy godmother to wave her wand and transform it into the belle of the ball, now that you can dress it up as easily as you snap on a new case for your smartfone.
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
January 17, 2014
More Extreme Pancakes
Food stylist challenge-o-the-year: how to make blobs of vanilla pudding sitting on top of a pancake look like anything but giant swadges of Butter, Butter & More Butter, with extra butter on top.
What are those little wiggly-looking lumps on top of that monster pancake? I wondered, perusing the specials menu at Hoshino Coffee, home of Godzilla-sized flapjacks. “Crema Catalan & Anglaise Sauce” gave me zero clue, so I had to order it. Turns out they’re…creme brulee? Flan? Vanilla pudding-ish, at any rate. Not what one would expect to find atop a breakfast delight, but not unworthy, especially when topped with whipped cream and kuromitsu (syrup made from Okinawan black sugar), then floated on a lake of creme anglaise goodness!
Was also sorely tempted by the big daddy chestnut-puree construction, which looked like it would deliver Mont Blanc-y flavor X souffle pancake satisfaction. Methinks I’d better go back for Round 2…
Also noted that the food stylist at this shoot managed to avoid the Cthulu-lookalike mound-o-chestnut paste that afflicts so many “Mont Blanc” photos!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. If you’d like to visit Hoshino Coffee the next time you’re in Tokyo, directions are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
Extreme Pancake With Sugar On Top
Food stylist challenge-o-the-year: how to make blobs of vanilla pudding sitting on top of a pancake look like anything but giant swadges of Butter, Butter & More Butter, with extra butter on top.
What are those little wiggly-looking lumps on top of that monster pancake? I wondered, perusing the specials menu at Hoshino Coffee, home of Godzilla-sized flapjacks. “Crema Catalan & Anglaise Sauce” gave me zero clue, so I had to order it. Turns out they’re…creme brulee? Flan? Vanilla pudding-ish, at any rate. Not what one would expect to find atop a breakfast delight, but not unworthy, especially when topped with whipped cream and kuromitsu (syrup made from Okinawan black sugar), then floated on a lake of creme anglaise goodness!
Was also sorely tempted by the big daddy chestnut-puree construction, which looked like it would deliver Mont Blanc-y flavor X souffle pancake satisfaction. Methinks I’d better go back for Round 2…
Also noted that the food stylist at this shoot managed to avoid the Cthulu-lookalike mound-o-chestnut paste that afflicts so many “Mont Blanc” photos!
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix. If you’d like to visit Hoshino Coffee the next time you’re in Tokyo, directions are on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
