Jonelle Patrick's Blog, page 82

Breakfast Dogs

Would you like your perky breakfast frank dressed with mustard or smothered in chili?

Recently Tokyoites craving a change from the traditional piece of grilled fish, seaweed, and rice mixed with sticky fermented soybeans have been flocking to cafes offering special “morning set” breakfasts. These exotic “Western” style combos feature the kind of food it’s believed that foreigners pound down to start their day right: green salad and hot dogs.

Green salad and hot dogs?! Okay, I have to admit, I haven’t been able to find any excuse for the salad thing, but my theory about the hot dogs is that authentic “American breakfast” sometimes does feature sausage, and a hot dog could be considered a kind of sausage, so it belongs in the elf-dwarf confusion category. The nuance that dictates one kind of sausage be eaten with a cup of joe while doing one’s morning Facebook un-tagging, and the other be enjoyed only when surrounded by a ballpark, gets lost in the cultural translation somehow.

That said, check out the variety of dogs on offer!

[image error]

The Cafe de Crie offers a choice between two dogs and a “baloney” sandwich on a hot dog bun.

KFC’s breakfast combines the salad and dog into one easy-to-wolf-down sandwich.

I wonder what “foreign” taste delight is in store for those who order the “sesame dog” with catsup and mustard?

For the biggest bargain of all, ¥360 gets you a hot dog baked in a bun, a cup o’ coffee, a banana and an egg at the Vie en France!

 

Today’s Match Made In Hell

Yes, it’s COFFEE BEER!

If anyone ever said to me, “Wow, you two go together like coffee and beer!” I think I’d start dusting off my OK Cupid profile. And it doesn’t stop there. This ad suggests other unlikely combos as well. Pineapple juice beer! Lychee beer! Grapefruit beer!

And apparently it’s key to serve these new taste treats with the beer floating on top of the mixer. For this purpose, special kits are being sold that include a yellow plastic thingme that allows you to pour in the beer without disturbing the slumber of the mixer below.

Cherry Blossom-O-Rama

The “Meguro River” in Nakameguro turns into the Church Of St. Cherry.

It’s crowded. It’s crazy. But I’ve got to admit, cherry blossom season here does not disappoint.

The red lacquer bridge in Koraku-en garden.

Seriously full bloom at Koraku-en garden

More cherry goodness in Nakameguro.

Her Majesty Of Fluffy Pinkness up close.

Cherry Blossoms for Geeks

Which one of these traditional Japanese tenugui hand towels is not like the others? Hint: it’s the one with the poem that reads:

“One of these is small,

but he stubbornly heads toward his goal,

The other changes direction

according to how the wind is blowing…”

How To Get Yourself A Tall Nose

Making your nose look bigger is not at the top of most Westerners’ must-have beauty techniques, but stylish Japanese blades are apparently keen on giving their schnozzes a lift! From the ever-entertaining pages of Men’s Spider magazine (the slightly more host-centric version of Men’s Knuckle!), behold the step by step instructions for nose enhancing makeup and eyebrow shape-shifting!

First, the nose:

If you want to make your nose look less flat, brush a stripe of light-colored foundation powder down the center. Then darken the sides of your nose next to your eyes and on the flange-y bits at the bottom to make it look narrower.

Now, the brows:

1: Trim down to a stubble.

2: Tweeze errant hairs

3: Pencil in the shape (choose from Regular, Wild, Smart and Sharp!)

4: Brush on powder over the pencil

5: Use mascara to highlight the little buzzcut hairs.

And yes, these are beauty tips for MEN. I got interested in this whole idea of men’s makeup while I was researching Fallen Angel, the second book in my mystery series, because hosts take advantage of all the beauty secrets known to women to make themselves look fantastic even when they’re having an ugly-fugly day.

More Heart-Stopping Thrills At The Cat Café

Yes, it would appear that all over the world, people are people, and cats are cats. I recently went to the Kaliko Cat Cafe in Shinjuku with two of my classmates and once again experienced the adrenaline rush of being ignored by dozens of cats as if they were my very own! I have to admit, though (SUCKER!) they were pretty cute while doing it.

Customers are admonished not to pick cats up or disturb them while they’re sleeping, so, uh, going there mid-day was pretty much like going to the cat zoo, since all cats were asleep except for the ones making a beeline for the customers who bought food for them. The free market at work!

This is my shelf. Don’t even think of disturbing my slumber, infidel.

Let’s pretend if I can’t see you, you can’t see me either.

Hey you! I’m awake! Where’s my food?

Cats come running to greet their favorite customers. Haha, I lied. Actually, it’s dinnertime!

I first went to the Kaliko when I was researching Fallen Angel, the second book in my mystery series. It became the home-away-from-home for the yakuza bodyguard who has a soft spot for a tabby he calls “Gonta,” but whose real name is “Chibbi”! My websiteThe Tokyo Guide I Wish I Had, has directions to the Shinjuku Kaliko Café if you want to visit the next time you’re in Tokyo.

Love Hotels, Host Clubs & Deadly Family Secrets!

I usually try not to bother my blog readers with news about my books, but WOO HOO, today is publication day for the second book in my “Only In Tokyo” mystery series! If you’re like me (i.e. you like to sneak behind the curtain and get an insider’s look at other cultures without wading through some tiresome history tome), I’d be so happy if you checked out Fallen Angel. This time, Yumi Hata and Kenji Nakamura take you deep into the world of host clubs, hostess bars and love hotels! Here’s more:

•••

The dangers of wealth and beauty emerge from the shadows in the latest Only in Tokyo Mystery…

Charming, angel-faced Hoshi makes a handsome living as the #1 hostboy at Club Nova – lighting cigarettes, pouring champagne, and whispering sweet nothings in the ears of women willing to pay him thousands of yen for the pleasure of his company.

But the party’s over when one of Hoshi’s customers is found dead at the foot of her apartment stairs and Tokyo Detective Kenji Nakamura is sent to investigate.

As his search for the killer leads him deep into the red-light district of Kabuki-cho, the last person Kenji expects to run into is part-time English translator Yumi Hata. But fear for her friend Coco has drawn her to Club Nova, where champagne flows like water, and because Yumi can get into places that Kenji can’t, she agrees to help him with another murder investigation.

Kenji and Yumi chase the murderer through elite clubs and love hotels to a hidden museum, where old family secrets unfold like a wooden puzzle box. They soon find themselves in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a killer who is ready to strike again…

•••

If you’d like to read the first four chapters, they’re up on my website The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had. If you’d like to start reading Fallen Angel in the next five minutes, you can get it from Amazon, or visit my website for links to other online booksellers! To get preview peeks at the people and places in the book and info about book events in your area, “like” my Jonelle Patrick Author page on Facebook or follow jonellepatrick on Twitter!

Puppy Suit

You thought I was joking, huh!

Have yet to see hordes of salarymen on my packed morning train sporting this pinstripe plus upside-down puppy motif suit I saw at Laforet, but hope springs eternal!

Apple Burger

What’s with the fruit on burgers here, people? I mean, I like apples. And I like burgers. But can we all agree that apples on burgers just does not go together like, say, peanut butter and chocolate?

And while we’re on the subject, apple pie + chocolate chips = what? Mom’s home cookin’ gone rogue?

Bike Parking Vigilantes

When I first moved to my neighborhood, I marveled at how the commuter bikes near my train station were all lined up at a perfect 30 degree angle, with no late-for-the-train student’s randomly thrown-down bike  mucking up the symmetry and taking up more than one parking slot. I solemnly noted this indicator of Japanese national character, silently applauding a country where everybody agrees about the right way to park a bike.

That was before I saw The Parking Police. Every morning during commute hours, these two gentlemen don their reflective jackets and green Bike Handling Gloves and station themselves at the bleeding edge of the parking line-up, sternly making sure that commuters park their two-wheelers in line with all the others. Naturally, if a parking job is substandard, as soon as the commuter has dashed off for the train, they straighten the bike themselves.