The capital of the Umamisphere, Tokyo is a cluttered jungle of JUNK. Yoko reports.
After four years in Tokyo, Yoko recently relocated to the Bay Area. She loves dips, dashi and deals.
Tokyo JUNKtion
July 29, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Boobie Pudding
Remember the UM poll back in May when everyone voted for “more boobies”? Well, I am going to fulfill that request for a second time. Here are some shots of Oppai Pudding (Boobie Pudding) available at Le Edo‘s Aqua City in Odaiba, Tokyo. I noticed Thet there were two flavors. For folks who are just […]
July 14, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Canned Crab Bar GUILTY of False Advertising
The Canned Crab Bar is guilty of false advertising. I almost forgave them for not serving any canned crab while dining on fresh, juicy crab legs and seafood-cream pasta… until I saw the bill. We walked into the Canned Crab Bar located in a tiny alley in Yoyogi-uehara expecting canned crab. But instead the only […]
July 13, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Rice Krispies Treat Bakesale at Yoyogi-koen
June and I spent Saturday afternoon at Yoyogi-Park selling home-made Rice Krispies Treats. Despite Japan being a country with rice everywhere, Kellog’s does not sell Rice Krispies in Japan. In order to realize our dreams of starting a bakesale trend in Tokyo, June brought back two boxes of Rice Krispies from the states last month.We […]
July 7, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Ramune Kit Kat
Ramune is a traditional Japanese carbonated drink that is in a distinctly shaped bottle with a marble in it. The taste is a pretty generic lemon-lime soda flavor, but it’s something about the glass bottle that makes it taste extra cold and special. Ramune is commonly sold at matsuri (Japanese festivals) where you will see […]
July 2, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Bear Pond Espresso
Since moving away from my beloved town of Shimokitazawa, I make every excuse to cruise by the neighborhood just to check out the latest shop openings. As it is only a 10-min bike ride away from my current residence, I go there to run my Muji errands and to meet up for coffee with colleagues. […]
June 28, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Gross Soda
After getting drunk on a bottle of white wine Saturday night, I made a drunk-person purchase at 7-11. Placed side-by-side in the soda refrigerator were Shiso Pepsi and Green Tea Coke. The Green Tea Coke was on sale for 125 yen, marked down from the standard soda price in Japan of 150 yen. This was […]
June 21, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: Kinako Kit Kat
Kit Kats are wildly popular in Japan. Part of it has to do with the fact that when said in Japanese, Kit Kat sounds like “Kitto katsu,” which in Japanese means “You will (probably) win.” Therefore, it’s common practice for family and friends to buy their loved ones Kit Kats before a big game or […]
June 15, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: I LOHAS Water Bottle
Everyone is hopping on the eco-friendly bandwagon these days. Japanese advertisers and marketers are drooling at the opportunities and capitalizing heavily. Take this new line of bottled water, brought to you by the good folks at Coca-cola (who totally care about the earth). It’s called I LOHAS (pronouced i-rohasu). LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health […]
April 2, 2009
Tokyo JUNKtion: American Sushi at Rainbow Roll Sushi
In an ultra-postmodern city such as Tokyo, where sign and meaning are often so far gone from each other, it seems fitting that a cuisine such as American Sushi finds its way “back.” Many visitors from America who come to Japan are often surprised to find out that the sushi rolls we see in the […]
December 11, 2008
Donuts in Tokyo
Donuts are quintessentially American. They are fried gobs of dough drenched in icing and sprinkles. Therefore, it is a mystery why Tokyo-ites, who are otherwise so conscious of calorical intake, line-up for donuts with wait times that put lines at the Apple store the morning of the iPhone release to shame. Although Mister Donut has […]