If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of All I asking for is my body by Milton Murayama If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and give me a mailing address you’d like it sent to (this one is only available in paperback) and I’ll get it to youContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Mar-Apr book giveaway?”
Category Archives: 2020
A sea of purple, delighting the populace for hundreds of years
Famous iris gardens near Tokyo In every shade, from grape to periwinkle, a Japanese iris garden in bloom is a feast of purple (these are at Meigetsu-in temple, in Kamakura) In the West, it’s rare to see more than a couple of delicate butterfly-like Japanese iris artfully ringing a pond at the local botanical garden,ContinueContinue reading “A sea of purple, delighting the populace for hundreds of years”
Mint-Cilantro Udon & Hamachi with Tomato-Ginger Sauce
Here are two recipes from this month’s book giveaway! Check back in July to see if you won this month’s drawing, but in the meantime please enjoy a delightful summertime supper of Japanese-flavored pesto noodles and seared fresh fish with a piquant tomato-ginger sauce, courtesy of chef and author Eric Gower. The recipes in thisContinueContinue reading “Mint-Cilantro Udon & Hamachi with Tomato-Ginger Sauce”
Why yes, that mold IS a National Living Treasure
Everything you ever wanted to know about making sake This is where the magic happens Japanese sake is surging in popularity as restaurants outside of Japan discover that it makes dishes from all over the world taste even better. My friend Mac—the Kanpai Planet YouTube channel host who delves into All Things Alcoholic in Japan—actuallyContinueContinue reading “Why yes, that mold IS a National Living Treasure”
The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen
The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen By Eric Gower Something different this month: a cookbook! Quality of recipes: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Japanese flavor: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Ease of preparation: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: This cookbook is a great favorite of mine, because the flavors are Japanese-inspired but geared to a Western kitchen and what’s available in Western supermarkets. Everything is a surprise and a delightContinueContinue reading “The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen”
International Food Fails of Japan
How can they get it so wrong? 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. Not surprisingly, this black hole of experience plays out inContinueContinue reading “International Food Fails of Japan”
Did you win the Jan-Feb book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of The Tattoo Murder Case by Akimitsu Takagi! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me if you’d like an ebook or paperback (and if paperback, let me know a mailing address you’d like it sent to) and I’ll getContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Jan-Feb book giveaway?”
Let’s hike through bowers of flowers
Shiofune Kannon-ji Temple in Ome The Shiofune Kannon-ji grounds are HUGE. It’s like the Nezu Shrine on steroids. Every April, this temple’s kilometers upon kilometers of hiking trails look out on riotously blooming azaleas, as far as the eye can see. Around every bend, each view is more jaw-dropping than the last. Shiofune Kannon-ji is out inContinueContinue reading “Let’s hike through bowers of flowers”
The Wizard of Oz is alive and well
…and living in Japan Behold the Japanese train ticket vending machine, which is about as close to infallible as a machine can get. You stick in your money, and—unlike the ticket machine I once encountered in San Francisco, which rained down $14.00 IN CHANGE like some sort of demented Vegas slot machine—even if you putContinueContinue reading “The Wizard of Oz is alive and well”
Fiddler on the Roof…in Japanese
Japanese musicals: So far off Broadway, they’re an art form in themselves There’s nothing more entertaining than a good old-fashioned musical, performed by an all-Japanese cast. Boggle along with me as they tackle these classics of stage and screen… Mozart-san Yep, it’s the thoroughly be-wigged, all-Japanese production of Amadeus. • Just a spoonful of nattōContinueContinue reading “Fiddler on the Roof…in Japanese”
Sweet Sesame Greens
Horensō Goma-ae This magical Japanese way to serve up spinach reduces an entire day’s worth of virtuous greens to a few delicious bites that will leave your family asking if there’s more. Yes, it’s that good. (And it’s fast! Five ingredients, fifteen minutes.) Ingredients: Serves 4 8 oz. (227g) baby spinach leaves 1/4 cup (35g)ContinueContinue reading “Sweet Sesame Greens”
All I Asking For Is My Body
By Milton Murayama Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: Told by a Japanese-American boy caught between cultures, this entertaining and poignant memoir spotlights the traditions and ways of thinking (both the sublime and the ridiculous) that Japanese emigrants take with them wherever they go. “All IContinueContinue reading “All I Asking For Is My Body”
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”
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, where each member had made one dish to contribute (and they all looked like they had been made by professional chefs and styled by photo stylists aieeee!) When I tasted the eggplant dish,ContinueContinue reading “Spicy Japanese Eggplant”
The Tattoo Murder Case
By Akimitsu Takagi Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A real page-turner of a police procedural that also gives a glimpse into the postwar demimonde of the tattooed Why would someone kill a beautiful tattooed woman, and steal her inked torso? That puzzle is just theContinueContinue reading “The Tattoo Murder Case”
Let’s visit the perfect garden for how we’re feeling right now
Kairaku-en Plum Garden in Mito prefecture February is the best time to see Kairaku-en, because there’s a chance a late winter storm will deliver the amazing sight of spring’s first flowers peeking out from under a blanket of snow Like cherry blossoms, which are beloved because their brief but glorious life is the perfect metaphorContinueContinue reading “Let’s visit the perfect garden for how we’re feeling right now”
If you thought quilts were a Western art, think again!
The Tokyo International Quilt Festival Late summer means awaordori dance exhibitions, and this swirl of movement captures that festival atmosphere perfectly (“Dancing in the Wind” by Masako Sakagami) You know how Japan embraces stuff from all over the world, and then turns it uniquely Japanese? Every year at the end of January, Tokyo hosts oneContinueContinue reading “If you thought quilts were a Western art, think again!”
Pre-battered suitcases and other weird travel necessities
Japanese fears, explained by travel products I used to laugh at the sheer array of disinfectant travel wipes for sale at Tokyu Hands (for planes! for trains! for public bathrooms!) but in this day and age, those aren’t so funny anymore. But there are a few Japanese travel aids whose entertainment value never grows old…ContinueContinue reading “Pre-battered suitcases and other weird travel necessities”
Did you win the Nov-Dec book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me if you’d like an ebook or paperback (and if paperback, let me know a mailing address you’d like it sent to) and I’ll getContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Nov-Dec book giveaway?”
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”
SEP-OCT 2021
Click on photo or link to read the feature Japanese Home Cooking: How to host a great sake tasting Sake isn’t just for Japanese food anymore—restaurants all over the world are discovering it’s the perfect pairing for all kinds of food. But how do you know what kind of sake you like? Here’s everything you needContinueContinue reading “SEP-OCT 2021”
Let’s go to Fox Village…in the snow!
Fox Village in Miyagi prefecture It’s a lot easier to get up close and personal with wild animals in Japan, because it’s the Land that Lawyers Forgot and because the Japanese public is better at following rules and being respectful of animals than people in the country where I grew up. Fox Village is aContinueContinue reading “Let’s go to Fox Village…in the snow!”
All She Was Worth
By Miyuki Miyabe Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A gripping mystery with a satisfying solution, set in an exceedingly genuine Tokyo filled with characters who are appealingly human, and also 100% Japanese This excellent mystery is the first one by bestselling Japanese mystery writer MiyukiContinueContinue reading “All She Was Worth”
Kinako Shortbread Cookies with Salted Black Sugar Buttercream
The classic Japanese flavor combination of roasted soybean flour and Okinawan black sugar come together in these buttery sandwich cookies that will give new sparkle to your holiday table ‘Tis the season for cozy pleasures, so how about a sweet holiday treat with a delightful Japanese twist? These buttery shortbread cookies have a satisfying nuttyContinueContinue reading “Kinako Shortbread Cookies with Salted Black Sugar Buttercream”
One more reason why I love Japan
Because the same culture that gave us this… The red bridge spanning the Hirosaki Castle moat And this The awesome five-story-tall light-up Gundam robot And this The pagoda at Sensō-ji temple and Skytree, lit up at night… Also came up with this This building If this isn’t the most butt-ugly building you’ve ever seen, wrapContinueContinue reading “One more reason why I love Japan”
Let’s stroll down avenues lined with towering gold gingko trees
Tokyo’s ichō namiki Gingko trees are beautiful in every season—there’s a reason their unique leaves have been celebrated in kimonos, pottery, lacquer, and all the traditional arts for centuries—but catching them just as they turn into towering torches and blaze away for a few days in late fall is one of my favorite sights inContinueContinue reading “Let’s stroll down avenues lined with towering gold gingko trees”
Did YOU win one of the five audiobook giveaways?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of The Last Tea Bowl Thief audiobook! If you think one of these is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and I’ll send you the download code and instructions for getting it onto your device! I’m sorry if I didn’t pull your name from the hatContinueContinue reading “Did YOU win one of the five audiobook giveaways?”
Did you win the Sep-Oct book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me if you’d like an ebook or paperback (and if paperback, let me know a mailing address you’d like it sent to) and I’ll get it toContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Sep-Oct book giveaway?”
JUL-AUG 2021
Click on photo or link to read the feature SEASONAL SECRETThe most delightful summer festival in all of Japan is all about…goldfish! There’s nothing more traditional than ogling insanely fancy (and expensive!) goldfish and, of course, catching your own…read more • BEYOND TOKYOLet’s meander through a park with twenty-three thatch-roofed farmhouses The Nihon Minka-en FolkContinueContinue reading “JUL-AUG 2021”
Did you win the July-August book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of The Pillow Book: Diary of a Courtesan in Tenth Century Japan by Sei Shōnagon! If you think this is you, shoot a message to JapanagramJonelle@gmail.com and tell me if you’d like an ebook or paperback (and if paperback, let me know a mailing address you’dContinueContinue reading “Did you win the July-August book giveaway?”
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