I usually see this hour (5:39a.m.) from the other side. So I thought I’d add a little perk to my morning brew by visiting the site for Japanese women’s fashion mag, PINKY.
Part of Shuiesha’s (one of Japan’s top cats in the publishing lark) stable of monthlies, PINKY is aimed at fashion conscious twenty-something gals. PINKY launched in 2004 as a sister magazine to the Japanese version of Seventeen, with several staff moving to help set up the newer title.
To my untrained eye, the magazine’s target readership is fresh, cute and girly-graduating-to-feminine, with aspirations of style and sophistication. Earlier this year one of PINKY’s free gift giveaways was a Betsey Johnson x Hello Kitty pouch.
I picked up the first volume of xxxHOLiC by the manga collective Clamp. The series begins with a high-school student, Watanuki Kimihiro, who is plagued by spirits, and the witch who offers to help him for a price.
Of all Miyazaki Hayao’s films, this is the one for me. Neither flash nor overly complex, it explores the emotions and imaginative world of childhood. And the Totoros are just ace.
I finally picked up a copy of Pink Box, Joan Sinclair’s photojournal of the Japanese sex industry. It is an exceptional achievement. It offers a glimpse into a side of the mizu shōbai (水商売, lit. water trade, the entertainment business) rarely seen by outsiders.
Sinclair shows us a world where all manner of fantasies are fulfilled: shaking train carriages with schoolgirls to grope, foot fetish bars, real doll clubs and yes, used panty sales. It is, in her words, full of ‘colour, kitsch, variety, and absurdity’. But first and foremost it is a staggering money spinner. Sex services in Japan are worth ¥2.37 trillion (Takashi Kadokura, 2001).
I love ramen. I spent many mealtimes at the counter of my local ramen joints while I was living in Tokyo, enjoying their various specialities.
One place down the road from my apartment did a mean plate of fried rice. When I first arrived, I was able to shovel it down with a bowl of tonkotsu (pork broth) ramen and a plate of gyōza (dumplings). After my appetite had adjusted to Japanese portions, just the fried rice was enough.
This is a recipe I derived from watching the chef at work. It is quick and easy. After all, ramen shops are in the fast food business. It is also an excellent way to make use of leftover rice.
But the coloured lights fooled you. The lights were wonderful. There ought to be a monument to the man who invented neon lights. Fifteen stories high, solid marble. There’s a boy who really made something out of nothing.
- Philip Marlowe, The Little Sister (1949) by Raymond Chandler.
Summer 2007. Aomori, Japan. I stand on the plains of northern Honshū. The lights are out, the houses and farms all asleep.
Underfoot, the slow crunch of stones on the sun-baked path, tingles my ears and slippered feet. We wander into a small orchard. The leaves on the apple trees rustle against our skin. I hold her closer. City boy, city boy, where have you gone?
Here’s an easy recipe for tonjiru (豚汁, miso soup with pork) I learnt from the fabulous Princess Fugu.
Tonjiru is perfect with boiled Japanese rice and fresh, simply flavoured, grilled fish. The deep, salty flavours of this hearty soup make a wonderful contrast with the simple pleasures of rice and fish. The soup is also great as a healthy snack on its own.
