If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Jake Adelstein’s Tokyo Vice! 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 to youContinueContinue reading “Did you win the February book giveaway?”
Category Archives: 2021
Did you win the MAR-APR Book Zoom giveaway?
Win a book zoom for you and your friends, hosted by author Jonelle Patrick For the next few months, I’ll be giving away a fully hosted The Last Tea Bowl Thief Book Zoom to one lucky Japanagram subscriber every month! If you enjoyed The Last Tea Bowl Thief and have a few friends who mightContinueContinue reading “Did you win the MAR-APR Book Zoom giveaway?”
Did you win the January book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Natsuo Kirino’s OUT! 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 to you soonest. IfContinueContinue reading “Did you win the January book giveaway?”
The fabulous flower season that happens when nothing else is blooming
February in Japan is not fun. Cold and gray, its only festival involves demons, dry beans and smelly sardines. There would pretty much be nothing to look forward to, if it weren’t for the… Plum blossoms! And although their blooming doesn’t promise no more snow, plum trees bloom while every other flower and leaf isContinueContinue reading “The fabulous flower season that happens when nothing else is blooming”
Tokyo Vice
By Jake Adelstein Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: Investigative reporter Jake Adelstein covered the yakuza beat for a Japanese newspaper like a boss, and his first person account will make your hair stand on end. This first-person account of how an American investigative journalist cultivatedContinueContinue reading “Tokyo Vice“
The strange barbers of Yoshiwara
You’ve heard of Yoshiwara, right? The old Tokyo pleasure quarter? Well, it turns out that it wasn’t just any old red light district—it was its own separate, weird society, with different laws, different social rules, and even its own language. The reigning queens of this alternate universe were the oiran—courtesans who were so exclusive thatContinueContinue reading “The strange barbers of Yoshiwara”
Japanese Chicken Soup for the Soul
When it’s cold and wet and dark outside, people in Japan long for comfort food just as much as we do, and this chicken soup will warm you right down to your toes. It’s comforting, but a little bit different, all at the same time. Serves: 4-6 12 oz. (340g) marinated chicken pieces (recipe below)ContinueContinue reading “Japanese Chicken Soup for the Soul”
40,000 dolls dressed in Imperial court robes? Yes, please!
Katsuura Doll Festival in Katsuura, Chiba Every year, the town of Katsuura puts on a Girls’ Day Doll Festival to end all doll festivals. Nearly 40,000 magnificently attired hina-sama suddenly appear all over town, in displays that are truly jaw-dropping. Just for comparison, here’s a typical Girls’ Day set, displayed on the traditional red steps.ContinueContinue reading “40,000 dolls dressed in Imperial court robes? Yes, please!”
Did you win the December book giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Martin Cruz Smith’s December 6! 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 to youContinueContinue reading “Did you win the December book giveaway?”
Let’s play Jeopardy!
For your New Year’s entertainment: An original round of Japan-flavored JEOPARDY Hello friends, it’s me, your virtual Japan Jeopardy host! Looking for a little fresh amusement? Throughout this long, long, LONG pandemic, I’ve discovered (quite to my surprise) that online trivia is one of the most satisfying entertainments around (not to mention it’s something toContinueContinue reading “Let’s play Jeopardy!”
OUT
By Natsuo Kirino Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A fabulous thriller that skillfully conveys just how cold and ingenious ordinary Japanese people can be, when pushed over the edge. A brutal murder is just the beginning of this dark novel, where we watch an ordinaryContinueContinue reading “OUT”
Icicles of wonder
The Misotsuchi Icicles in Saitama prefecture To get an idea how huge these are, check out the size of the people next to the river! This secret Japanese pleasure isn’t a famous tourist destination—it’s really more of a pit stop along the way to Suwa City or the Werewolf Shrine—but it’s so spectacular in anContinueContinue reading “Icicles of wonder”
Japan’s pet obsession
Dogs in schoolgirl uniforms are just the tip of the iceberg In the land with the most rapidly shrinking birthrate in the world, it’s easy to see where all that energy is going… Now it’s the dogs that are wearing schoolgirl uniforms And aspiring to work at maid cafes They’ve settled the issue of howContinueContinue reading “Japan’s pet obsession”
Setagaya Boroichi: The mother of all flea markets
At first glance, this could be a typical flea-markety collection from anywhere such convos thrive. Until you look closer and see that it includes a vintage tailor’s iron, a set of gorgeous antique lacquer bowls for ozoni new year’s soup, a disgruntled workman doll, a pre-dial-era telephone, and a couple of courtesan’s tobacco pipes. AllContinueContinue reading “Setagaya Boroichi: The mother of all flea markets”
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