Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond TokyoLet’s go to an amazingly bookish Japanese inn! Is there anywhere better to curl up with a good book than a Japanese hot spring inn that inspired over a dozen famous Japanese poets and novelists in the early 1900s? Literary lights gathered for months atContinueContinue reading “DEC 2025”
Category Archives: December
Did you win the Nov-Dec Book Giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Folk Tales of Japan by Kyota Ko! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and let me know if you’d like the Kindle version or a paperback. If you’d like the Kindle version, let me know which email you’d like meContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Nov-Dec Book Giveaway?”
Let’s stay at an amazingly bookish Japanese inn!
Tateshina Shinyu Onsen in Nagano Prefecture Is there anywhere better to curl up with a good book than a Japanese hot spring inn that inspired over a dozen famous Japanese poets and novelists in the early 1900s? Literary lights gathered for months at a time at Tateshina to pen their novels, poems and plays… whichContinueContinue reading “Let’s stay at an amazingly bookish Japanese inn!”
FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed
If you don’t subscribe to my Japan travel site (The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had) or the blog where I write about stuff you’d never see anywhere else (Only In Japan), here are links to a couple of other things you might enjoy… • New post from Only In JapanNew Japanese art displayed inContinueContinue reading “FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed”
How do you translate the impossible?
Robert Hass reveals the secrets of translating haiku into English Think about it. Writing a haiku is already a daunting task. With only seventeen syllables to convey a whole season, a deep insight about the universe or the nature of human existence (plus a dose of aha!) there are only a handful of masters whoContinueContinue reading “How do you translate the impossible?”
Japanese Fried Rice
Cha-han Cha-han is one of the most classic of the “foreign” foods that are everywhere in Japan. And while it may have originally come from China, it’s been so tweaked to Japanese taste, it’s now a local favorite. Fried rice is on the menu at every ramen restaurant (along with the iconic noodle soup andContinueContinue reading “Japanese Fried Rice”
It’s Japanese quilt season!
Yokohama World Quilt Festival Made by the Hayashi Bōti University student collaboration True confession: These are not my favorites. The day after the show, I posted my absolute favorites over on my blog, Only in Japan. Here’s the link! (And if you don’t already subscribe, hey, you should! There’s a place to do that at the topContinueContinue reading “It’s Japanese quilt season!”
DEC 2024
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond Tokyo:Hokkaido: Like the Alps…but with volcanos If spending time in glorious mountains where you might be surprised by steam spouting from the ground around every bend sounds like heaven to you, get thee to Hokkaido when it’s NOT snowing!…read more • Japanese Home CookingDumplingContinueContinue reading “DEC 2024”
Hokkaido: Like the Alps…but with volcanos
Hokkaido beyond ski season If spending time in glorious mountains where you might be surprised by steam spouting from the ground around every bend sounds like heaven to you, get thee to Hokkaido when it’s NOT snowing! Everyone knows Japan’s northiest island is home to the best powder skiing on earth, but it’s well worthContinueContinue reading “Hokkaido: Like the Alps…but with volcanos”
Dumpling Hotpot
Gyōza Nabe The key to this quick and satisfying hotpot dinner is your favorite fresh or frozen dumplings. Throw together a delicious savory broth from only four ingredients, chop a few veggies of choice, and voila! Dinner that draws people in like an inviting campfireand feels special even though it only took twenty minutes fromContinueContinue reading “Dumpling Hotpot”
Tokyo Noir
By Jake Adelstein Enter to win a copy! Become a Japanagram subscriber by December 31, 2024and you’ll be entered to win ヽ(*＾ω＾*)ﾉ It’s free! Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A worthy and page-turny sequel to Tokyo Vice If you liked Tokyo Vice, you’re going toContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Noir”
NOV-DEC 2023
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Why, Japan, Why?Santa gets a Japanese makeover It’s no secret that Japan is known for coming up with some, er, interesting interpretations of Xmas traditions, but none are more amusing than their seasonal takes on old Saint Nick himself…read more • The Thing I LearnedContinueContinue reading “NOV-DEC 2023”
The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Tokyo Underworld
By Jake Adelstein Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: No one is more qualified than the first foreign reporter to work the crime beat at a major Japanese newspaper when it comes to giving us a peek into the shady underworld of the legendary Japanese gangsContinueContinue reading “The Last Yakuza: Life and Death in the Tokyo Underworld”
The kamikaze didn’t just fly planes
Kamikaze. It means “divine wind”, and was originally used to describe the typhoon that sent the 4,000-ship fleet of would-be Japan invader Kublai Khan to Davy Jones’ locker in the year 1281. Seven centuries later, Japan’s WWII military leadership gave kamikaze a darker meaning: the Japanese suicide bombers who steered their tiger-toothed craft all theContinueContinue reading “The kamikaze didn’t just fly planes”
The hidden secrets of Miyajima Island
Itsukushima (Miyajima Island) in Hiroshima Prefecture Most people think of visiting Miyajima as that short ferry ride from Hiroshima to snap obligatory pix of the floating World Heritage torii gate, but staying on the island delivers some serious delights that daytrippers never get to see. For starters…the famous gate lit up at night! The ItsukushimaContinueContinue reading “The hidden secrets of Miyajima Island”
The jolly old elf gets a Japanese makeover
It’s no secret that Japan is known for coming up with some, er, interesting interpretations of Xmas traditions, but none are more amusing than their seasonal takes on St. Nicholas himself. Without any religious or cultural tradition behind it, Christmas in Japan is a huge romantic/date holiday (second only to Valentine’s Day), but they haven’tContinueContinue reading “The jolly old elf gets a Japanese makeover”
What the heckin’ heck is THIS?
First, let’s answer last month’s question and find out what the heckin’ heck was THAT? Answer: An extendable stylus for women whose fingernails are so long they can’t type on their phones Here in Japan, the struggle is real! • So now let’s ponder…what the heckin’ heck is THIS? Post your best guess in theContinueContinue reading “What the heckin’ heck is THIS?”
The Buddha in the Attic
By Julie Otsuka Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: This book is less like a novel than an epic poem, its layer upon layer of luscious details shining light on every facet of the immigrant experience, mostly through the eyes of the Japanese women who cameContinueContinue reading “The Buddha in the Attic”
NOV-DEC 2022
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Seasonal Secret: Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more Twice a year, Design Festa takes over the Big Site convention center in Odiaba, and artists selling everything from zombie matroyshika to predatory purses gather to outdo each other…read moreContinueContinue reading “NOV-DEC 2022”
Did you win the Sep-Oct Japan Swag Giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a set of six limited-edition gashapon Attack Cats! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me where you’d like me to send them! (Note: My apologies—I’m in Japan at the moment and the attack cats are in San Francisco, so I won’tContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Sep-Oct Japan Swag Giveaway?”
Japan Swag Giveaway
The Nov-Dec 2022 giveaway: Ikura Sushi Refrigerator Magnet Yes, this month’s giveaway is one of those high-quality can’t-believe-it’s-not-real food magnets they only sell on Kappabashi Street in Tokyo. All lesser refrigerators on your street will envy yours. I bought this one at the most expensive food model shop on Kappabashi, because their food models areContinueContinue reading “Japan Swag Giveaway”
Miso-Butter Potatoes
Move over, french fries! You may think that potatoes don’t sound like an authentic Japanese dish, but the stand selling hot miso-butter potatoes at all the winter festivals has a line a mile long, because they are awesome. Miso makes everything you put it in taste deeper and richer (while also secretly being good for you!)ContinueContinue reading “Miso-Butter Potatoes”
Why are those trees wearing placemats?
Ever wonder why they wrap Japanese pine trees in those funny little mats in winter?Arboreal stomach warmer? The tree version of black tie for the holidays? Guess again. They’re actually old-fashioned, super-eco pest control! It’s diabolically simple. The mats are girded around the trees as winter approaches, wrapped tightly at the bottom and loosely atContinueContinue reading “Why are those trees wearing placemats?”
Let’s go to the Werewolf Shrine!
Mitsumiya Shrine in Saitama prefecture The Mitsumine Shrine sits high atop a snowy mountain near Chichibu, so far from any train station that you’ll be eligible for a senior citizen discount by the time you get off the bus. At first it looks like a typical Shinto shrine with fox messengers at the gate… …butContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to the Werewolf Shrine!”
Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more
Twice a year, Design Festa takes over the Big Site convention center in Odiaba, and artists selling everything from zombie matroyshika to predatory purses gather to outdo each other. Artist: MaliciousX Get one in every color! Artist: MaliciousX Or if that isn’t creepy enough for you, perhaps a crying baby head? Or you can takeContinueContinue reading “Design Festa: Your one-stop shop for predatory purses, zombie nesting dolls & more”
JUL-AUG 2022
Click on photo or link to read the feature Why, Japan, Why?: Extreme lunchboxing: The what, how & why of Japanese bentō No country has made more of an art of packing a bag lunch and no moms* put more effort into this most resented of daily chores than those in Japan. Here’s why they doContinueContinue reading “JUL-AUG 2022”
MAY-JUN 2022
Click on photo or link to read the feature Why, Japan, Why?: International Food Fails of Japan In a country where only 24% of the population even have a passport (compared to 45% of Americans and 78% of Brits), the closest most Japanese have ever been to “foreign” food is the restaurant down the block.ContinueContinue reading “MAY-JUN 2022”
MAR-APR 2022
Click on photo or link to read the feature Japanese Home Cooking: Sweet Sesame Spinach As a veteran vegetable hater, I have a special spot in my grinchy heart for leafy greens, but this traditional Japanese way of cooking spinach is so good I can eat a bag of green stuff as big as myContinueContinue reading “MAR-APR 2022”
JAN-FEB 2022
Click on photo or link to read the feature Japanese Home Cooking: Spicy Japanese Eggplant One day in Tokyo, I was at a lunch made by the women in this crazy Japanese women’s club I belong to. When I tasted the eggplant dish, I moaned with delight and said, “OMG who made this? It isContinueContinue reading “JAN-FEB 2022”
NOV-DEC 2021
Click on photo or link to read the feature Japanese Home Cooking: Kinako Shortbread Cookies with Salted Brown Sugar Buttercream Every holiday season I like to sneak one new cookie onto the plate of old favorites, and I can already tell these are going to be a big hit! They’re sparkly and buttery (with aContinueContinue reading “NOV-DEC 2021”
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