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July 12, 2026
 

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Patrick St. Michel
Patrick St. Michel is a Tokyo-based writer with a focus on Japanese music. He runs the blog Make Believe Melodies, which has focused on Japanese independent music since 2009. Besides The Japan Times, he also contributes to MTV 81 and The Atlantic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2016
Twice carries K-pop’s flag into its debut Japanese gig
The halcyon days of Hallyu (the Korean wave) in mainstream media are long over, but the impact South Korean pop culture has had on Japan is still evident. Just look at K-pop outfit Twice, which features three Japanese members and has experienced massive success after debuting late last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2016
Ryoma Suzuki bet on a musically diverse line-up for Unborde — and it paid off
Media attention has become a mixed blessing for Ryoma Suzuki. Unborde, the label he founded in 2010, is currently celebrating five years in the game and will hold a special show at Makuhari Messe on April 10.
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 1, 2016
Mom’s apple pie gets a new twist at Ringo
Ringo, which recently opened in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro area, serves miniature apple pies. Each pie (¥399) is hot and features a glazed exterior that delivers a satisfying crunch.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 25, 2016
Asahi’s new sugar-reduced beer is nothing special
Cherry blossom season is upon us, meaning it’s time to overindulge in some brews while sprawled out in a park. But who wants to deal with the health-related guilt that comes with Japan’s silly season?
CULTURE / Music
Mar 20, 2016
Tominaga’s suprise flourishes make repeat listens of ‘Echoes of Megaliths’ a must
Tominaga “Echoes of Megaliths” (Squiggle Dot)
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 18, 2016
Joel Robuchon welcomes spring to Tokyo with strawberry brioches
It may not be Spring just yet, but French chef Joel Robuchon’s Le Pain de Joel Robuchon in the basement of Shibuya’s Hikarie shopping complex is celebrating all the same.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Mar 11, 2016
Pocky finds a romantic partner in ‘teagurt’
The current cross-band promotion between Glico and Kirin puts the spotlight on romance. By placing a bottle of the latter’s “teagurt” beverage next to a package of the former’s new Lemon-flavored Pocky, you can make two illustrated figures smooch.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 6, 2016
Japanese bands plan overseas spring offensive
TV Asahi’s weekly “Music Station” program has rarely served as a staging ground for exciting young domestic acts in recent years. It has been more of an opportunity to gawk at Johnny’s boy bands and test how many members of AKB48 can fit on the interview bench.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 4, 2016
Japan’s bearded cream-puff papa tries to replicate the taste of an Oreo
Beard Papa’s, a local chain serving cream puffs, always has a few special varieties of its treats available. But the current limited-run cookies-and-cream flavor (¥230) is worth going out of your way for if you’ve got a sweet tooth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2016
City pop revival helps Suchmos at just the right time
Walk into a Tower Records store in Shibuya or Shinjuku and you’ll eventually come across the apparel section. The current fashion aesthetic here leans retro: Hoodies and T-shirts come emblazoned with text highlighting throwback music signifiers, from equipment (“cassette tape,” “analog“) to genres (“surf...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 26, 2016
Don Tacos’ new quesadilla chips try to satisfy Mexican food cravings
Finding fantastic Mexican food in Tokyo isn’t easy — the hunt to find authentic cuisine seems to consume many non-Japanese living here.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2016
Omake Club helps Zombie-Chang escape down her own artistic rabbit hole
Midway through our conversation at a dimly lit Shibuya cafe, Meirin Yung offers to break down any song on her recently released album under the name Zombie-Chang. I choose the slacker-inspired “Semete Kanashii Tokiniwa” (loosely translated as “At Least in Sad Times“) that served as the advance preview...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2016
Crunch’s ‘Blue Blue Blue’ embraces melancholy in true indie-pop style
Pairing skippy music with relatively sad-sack lyrics has always been one of indie-pop’s favorite tricks, a clever way to ring out bad feelings in song without sounding like a total mope. Sometimes, however, just giving in and embracing your gloom can be OK. Nagoya trio Crunch has created plenty of up-tempo...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 19, 2016
Give a welcome smooch to Tokyo’s newest natural-chocolate shop
Danish brand Summerbird Organic, which recently opened a new store in Aoyama (5-5-20 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku), makes 100 percent natural chocolate that it claims is at the same level of culinary excellence as Champagne or oysters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Feb 12, 2016
Can instant vegan ramen satisfy like the meaty original?
Enjoying instant ramen might seem like a impossible situation for vegans living in Japan, considering nearly every option on convenience store shelves contains some sort of animal product.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2016
Megumi Wata goes dark in an effort to stand out from idols
Megumi Wata didn’t want to be a typical idol. “I see it as twinkly and fuwa fuwa (soft), very pastel. My idol of idols is someone like Seiko Matsuda, who is so different than groups today,” she says at a cafe in Ikebukuro, a neighborhood she prefers to the usual idol haunts of Harajuku and Akihabara....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Feb 5, 2016
McDonald’s insanely crazy chocolate-covered fries aren’t what they seem
Reactions to the release of McDonald’s new “McFry Potato Chocolate Sauce” (¥330) in Japan played out predictably. Many were shocked that this supposedly unholy union could exist, but chocolate-covered potato chips are neither new in Japan nor in many other countries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2016
Kyary ride does its part for ‘Cool Japan’
“Cool Japan Heats Up” declares a sign welcoming visitors to an area of Universal Studios Japan (USJ) devoted to the country’s hottest pop culture exports.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jan 29, 2016
Pocky gets stuck into a new blueberry flavor
Glico has released numerous variations of its famous Pocky snack, though the special blueberry-flavored edition (¥162) on convenience store shelves now is one of the more simple efforts it has produced.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Jan 22, 2016
The Original Pancake House in Tokyo gets extra sweet for Valentine’s Day
Ah, mid-January, the perfect time for Valentine’s Day food campaigns to begin.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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