Hello everybody!
I’ve had a pretty Japan-stuffed weekend. On Saturday, I started out by heading to Karlaplan Loppis to get a couple of onigiri - salmon and tuna mayo - from Omusubi Stockholm. This was her last appearance for the summer at this particular market, but apparently she’ll also be at Kulturfestivalen in August (I think in the Skeppsbrokajen area, but I’m not entirely sure).
Then, I headed straight to Hornstulls marknad, where I bought another couple of onigiri - again, salmon and tuna mayo - from Chez Iwata. She’ll also be there this weekend July 11th.
Then I sat down to study for the JLPT, and to compare onigiri. I found that while they did taste slightly different, I couldn’t point out one of them as strictly better or worse. One of them cost about 25% more but was also about 25% larger, so it canceled out.
Japanmaxxing: Onigiri on my nerikomi plate, surrounded by pottery from the Hamada workshop.
I had very little hope going into the JLPT on Sunday, but I was uplifted by the fact that the reading portion was easier than I’d expected. Unfortunately, the listening portion made up for it by being harder than I’d expected, so even if my over-all score is decent there is a significant risk that I’ll fail one of the sections.
Even though this was a low-stakes test for me, walking towards the exam hall was still enough to trigger some panic from my college days.
… which is weird, because I didn’t even go to SU.
Fortunately, though, I don’t actually need the JLPT for anything, right now. I’ve gotten a tentatively positive response on my digital nomad visa application, and I’ve started applying for apartments.
Speaking of Hokkaido (albeit hitherto implicitly), the date of the Tobetsu Sweden Marathon has been announced: It will take place on October 18th.
In other Tobetsu-related news, the Swedish-Japanese media personality LiLiCo has recently been named as a 応援大使 (promotional ambassador?) for the town.
LiLiCo also recently recorded a song together with Smash Into Pieces, which they will be performing live in Tokyo tomorrow.
Now, on to upcoming events!
Yasukazu Kano Europe Tour 2026
We’ve mentioned Yasukazu Kano [previously] in this thread, but now we’ve gotten all(?) the dates for his European tour:
Denmark
- Sep 6 (Sun), Copenhagen
- Sep 8 (Tue), Vejle
Czech Republic
- Sep 11 (Fri), Prague
- Sep 13 (Sun), Prague
Sweden
- Sep 16 (Wed) Group Lesson, Stockholm
- Sep 23 (Wed) Grunewald, Stockholm
- Sep 25 (Fri)–Sep 27 (Sun) Yasuragi, Stockholm
Göteborg-Malmö-Stockholm
Mieko Kawakami visits Sweden
Author Mieko Kawakami - known for works such as All the Lovers in the Night and Breasts and Eggs - will be giving talks in three different cities this September:
Göteborg, 27 september: Bokmässan
Malmö, 28 september: Författarscenen
Stockholm, 29 september: Kulturhuset
Torekov
16-18 juli
Chez Iwata at Torekovs hamn
We will be heading to the coast of Southwestern Sweden, Torekov ! 
Join us for this special 3-day pop-up market.
July 16-18 
.
If you happen to be in the Torekov area, please come and say hello!
More details coming soon…
Source: Instagram
Stockholm
21 augusti
Water & Light Session: Maia Hirasawa Live
I snart två decennier har Maia Hirasawa berört publiken i både Sverige och Japan med sin unika röst och sitt personliga låtskrivande. Den 21 augusti bjuder hon på helt ny musik från sitt kommande album – ett av hennes mest personliga projekt hittills – blandat med de älskade låtar som format hennes karriär.
Fira in den nya säsongen med oss på Fotografiska! Vi slår upp dörrarna till restaurangen igen efter sommaruppehållet och bjuder in till en magisk helkväll. Kombinera gripande fotokonst med en fantastisk middag och ett glas vin, innan du tar plats i Studion för en oförglömlig konsertupplevelse med Maia Hirasawa.
23 augusti
Cake Picnic - Japanese edition
Cake Picnic - Japanese Edition – Food Rhapsodies
Join us for a joyful afternoon filled with 15+ cakes, amazing local bakers, and sweet community vibes. Grab a plate, take your pick, then settle in or stroll around and mingle as we all share cake and conversation.
Whether you come with friends or solo, this is a laid-back, welcoming picnic where new connections (and sugar highs) are guaranteed. Let’s build community—one slice at a time!
For this edition, we have some bakers coming in from Japan, so the cakes are going to be super exclusive for you. You can check out the amazing lineup below.
Fikafabriken, Tokyo
Ayumi Tachikawa
Italian Layers
Tosso Toshihito
Fredrik Ekmark
Nina
Bon Aibon
Chakna bakelab
Baked by Charisse
Lukas
Shahinez
Chunky Chunks
By Amanda Li
Food Rhapsodies
3 oktober
BOOM! Maia Hirasawas Japan
A viewing of the documentary BOOM! Maia Hirasawas Japan, together with a live performance and talk by Hirasawa herself.
Helsinki
23. elokuuta
MIOKO YOKOYAMA - Mineralization
I think we’ve established that I can’t read Finnish, but I think that this is a concert in connection with the release of Mioko Yokoyama’s latest album. It’s not entirely clear to me if Yokoyama herself will be performing, but the event is listed on her website, so I would assume so.
More information: Mioko Yokoyama: Mineralization
Estonia
Septembrist novembrini
Momiji – Japanese Autumn in Estonia 2026
Not much has been revealed about this event yet, except that it will be “a series of Japan-related events from September to November 2026”, similar to last year’s event.
The Japanese Embassy has put out a call for participants.
København
Juli-august
Gloria Animé-festival
A series of anime movie viewing. Mainly Miyazaki, but with some Shinkai and others in the mix.
. We are part of the Nordics, Norden. Close enough.
Kongsvinger, Flisa, Oslo
Komeya pop-up
KANAU Japan Festival
Daruma × Melonpan
