Did you win the May-Jun book giveaway?

If you recognize your email, congratulations! You just won a copy of The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen by Eric Gower 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 hardcover) and I'll get it to you soonest. If IContinue reading "Did you win the May-Jun book giveaway?"

Easy Japanese lunchbox supper

Start with a bed of rice, then arrange bits and pieces of leftovers, pantry staples, and/or quick-cooked fresh foods tossed in dressings that you already have in your fridge. The pleasure of this dish is having so many different tastes in one meal It's summertime, and the last thing you want to do is slaveContinue reading "Easy Japanese lunchbox supper"

Let’s stroll through a forest of perfect miniature trees!

Bonsai Village in Ōmiya The Ōmiya Bonsai Art Museum is a work of art in itself—the trees are displayed in a beautifully-designed landscape that feels like a contemporary Japanese garden. It showcases the trees amid traditional fences and rockscapes Bonsai Village is the neighborhood surrounding the Bonsai Art Museum in Ōmiya, which is home toContinue reading "Let’s stroll through a forest of perfect miniature trees!"

Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight

By Riku Onda Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Translation quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐My recommendation: A masterful "unreliable narrator" mystery in which both characters believe the other to be the killer, alternating their impressions of events in a way that points the finger of guilt first one way, then the other, rightContinue reading "Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight"

Floating lanterns on a warm moonlit night

Toro Nagashi at Shinobazu Pond in Asakusa The toro nagashi ceremony has been performed in Asakusa every year since 1946, just after the end of WWII. That year, people began to light lanterns to pray for lasting peace when they sent the spirits of loved ones who died in the war back to the afterlifeContinue reading "Floating lanterns on a warm moonlit night"

Did you win the Mar-Apr book giveaway?

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 youContinue reading "Did you win the Mar-Apr book giveaway?"

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,Continue 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 thisContinue 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—actuallyContinue 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 delightContinue 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 inContinue 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 getContinue 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 inContinue 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 putContinue 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 nattōContinue 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)Continue 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 IContinue reading "All I Asking For Is My Body"

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,Continue 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 theContinue 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 metaphorContinue 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 oneContinue 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...Continue 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 getContinue 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 aContinue 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 needContinue 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 aContinue 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 MiyukiContinue reading "All She Was Worth"