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: 2025
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!”
NOV 2025
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond TokyoWho wears it better? Kosan-ji temple or the maple trees? Orange is not for everyone, but I think you’ll agree that the Kosan-ji temple rivals its Japanese maples for sheer, bodacious, ability to garb itself in the spirit of pumpkin spice this time ofContinueContinue reading “NOV 2025”
Cover Ideas for The Samurai’s Octopus
Which one do YOU like best? Here are the first rough cover ideas my publisher sent me for my new historical mystery, The Samurai’s Octopus! Which one would get YOUR attention in an I-might-like-to-read-that way? (No need to remember what it’s about—someone chancing across it on Amazon or at a bookstore won’t know either, andContinueContinue reading “Cover Ideas for The Samurai’s Octopus”
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 JapanBe a model in Japan,ContinueContinue reading “FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed”
Strange Sandwiches of Japan
Yes, it’s a corn sandwich. Not a sandwich with corn as some sort of minor ingredient or garnish. Just corn. Cold. With wallops of mayo. Then there’s this. Words failed me the first time I saw this carbs-on-carbs noodle sandwich, a hot dog bun filled with yakisoba fried noodle goodness. And this. As if friedContinueContinue reading “Strange Sandwiches of Japan”
Who wears it better? Kosan-ji temple or the maple trees?
Kosan-ji temple in Hiroshima Prefecture Everyone whips through Hiroshima to see the atomic bomb museum and the floating torii gate at Miyajima, but if you don’t make a detour to the little island of Ikuchi-jima to see Kosan-ji temple in its autumn finery, you deserve all the regrets! In other seasons, the ornate and colorfulContinueContinue reading “Who wears it better? Kosan-ji temple or the maple trees?”
Folk Tales of Japan
By Kyota Ko Background photo thanks to Untapped Kumamoto Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: These folk tales are not the ones told over and over in the West—they’re unusual legends that reveal a lot about Japan, and Kyota Ko does a very entertaining job ofContinueContinue reading “Folk Tales of Japan”
OCT 2025
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond TokyoLet’s hike to a dragon shrine and a killer waterfall! If you’d like to see just how only-in-Japan trekking over the river and through the woods can be, look no further than the Haruna Shrine and Fukinoware Falls in Gunma Prefecture. It’s just a shortContinueContinue reading “OCT 2025”
FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed
If you don’t subscribe to my Japan travel site or the blog where I write about stuff you’d never see anywhere else, here are links to a couple of other things you might enjoy… • New post from Only In JapanIn Japan, you’re never too young to… Tell me more! • New post from Only InContinueContinue reading “FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed”
Why is this the most Japanese lantern festival ever?
What made this autumn festival with fireworks and wish-laden lanterns one of the most Japanese events I’ve ever been to? Is it that everyone waited with bouncy anticipation for the signal to be given… then let them fly at the same time? Was it the childrens’ wishes inscribed on each one as they rose toContinueContinue reading “Why is this the most Japanese lantern festival ever?”
Haunted Household Goods of Japan
You know how I was telling you why used cars, old houses and vintage kimonos are so cheap in Japan? That once something reaches the ripe old age of a hundred, it acquires a soul? Well, souls can hold a grudge. And become possessed by a thirst for revenge against its owner for any slightsContinueContinue reading “Haunted Household Goods of Japan”
Over the river and through the woods to a dragon shrine and a killer waterfall
The Haruna Shrine & Fukinoware Falls in Gunma Prefecture Who goes to Japan to hike? Can’t you see forests and rivers in other parts of the world that are way more famous? Well, yes, but if you’d like to see just how only-in-Japan trekking over the river and through the woods can be, look noContinueContinue reading “Over the river and through the woods to a dragon shrine and a killer waterfall”
Did you win the September Book Giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford! 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 whichContinueContinue reading “Did you win the September Book Giveaway?”
SEP 2025
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Seasonal SecretThe coolest summertime cafe in Japan Lately I’ve been dreaming of this cafe at the Hiyoshi Taisha shrine in Ōtsu. It’s been living rent-free in my head for years, because I can’t imagine anything more refreshing than sipping an iced something in an open-airContinueContinue reading “SEP 2025”
Did you win the Jul-Aug Book Giveaway?
If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of Daikon by Samuel Hawley! 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 me to send theContinueContinue reading “Did you win the Jul-Aug Book Giveaway?”
FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed
If you don’t subscribe to my Japan travel site or the blog where I write about stuff you’d never see anywhere else, here are links to a couple of other things you might enjoy… • New post from Only In JapanSashiko: Japan turns mending into a high art Tell me more! • From The TokyoContinueContinue reading “FOMO Links: Fun stuff you might have missed”
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
By Jamie Ford Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A tale of two friends parted by the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII, this book brings to life what it felt like to be sent away or left behind. Another wartime tale, this one is set inContinueContinue reading “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”
Mochi-Mochi Cinnamon Buns
You may wonder why I’m posting a baking recipe when Japanese apartments don’t even have ovens! But one thing I love eating in Japan is the “mochi-mochi” breads that substitute tapioca flour for some of the regular flour, which makes them satisfyingly chewy, just like the beloved rice cakes eaten at festivals. This recipe isContinueContinue reading “Mochi-Mochi Cinnamon Buns”
Weird Ice Cream Flavors of Japan
Tell me the first thing you thought of when you saw this wasn’t “What happens to the gold leaf AFTER you eat it?” To be fair, it’s always weird ice cream season in Japan, but as climate change stretches the unbearably hot and humid Japanese summer into October, never have we craved a nice coldContinueContinue reading “Weird Ice Cream Flavors of Japan”
The coolest summertime cafe in Japan
At Hiyoshi Taisha Shrine near Lake Biwa Is it still hot where you are, even though it’s September? It’s definitely still hot (and humid UGH) in Japan, and lately I’ve been dreaming of this cafe at the Hiyoshi Taisha shrine in Ōtsu. I’m feeling cooler already after we pass through the shady orange torii gateContinueContinue reading “The coolest summertime cafe in Japan”
JUL-AUG 2025
Click on photo or link to read the feature • Beyond TokyoCome with me to the northiest north! Okay, I know this isn’t the Norwaygram, and I apologize to be coming to you from a place that is SO far beyond Tokyo this month. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I wasContinueContinue reading “JUL-AUG 2025”
Why do cars drive on the left in Japan?
If Japan had ever been part of the British Empire it would be obvious why they adopted the practice of driving on the left. But they’ve never been invaded or conquered by anyone, and the only country they’ve ever surrendered to—the United States—drives on the right. So…why? In a word, swords. Most samurai (like peopleContinueContinue reading “Why do cars drive on the left in Japan?”
Daikon
By Samuel Hawley Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: N/AEntertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A what-if scenario set in the final days of WWII, this novel imagines what might have happened if the Japanese captured an unexploded A-bomb in the days before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Rigorous research and the author’s timeContinueContinue reading “Daikon”
J-Style No-Mayo Tuna Salad
Canned tuna has been having a moment lately, and this tasty, tangy take on tuna salad is about to become your new summer go-to! One bite after my Japanese cousin Yoko brought this bowl to the table I was begging for the recipe, and was extra-delighted to discover it uses only six ingredients (including theContinueContinue reading “J-Style No-Mayo Tuna Salad”
Japanagram 