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Oona McGee

Half-Japanese Oona McGee hails from Sydney, Australia, where she worked as a journalist and copywriter before making the move to Japan over a decade ago. Now she spends her days exploring the streets of Tokyo with her laptop and camera, always in search of new cafes, restaurants, events and stories to share with our readers. As an experienced food and travel reporter, Oona has travelled extensively through all 47 prefectures of Japan, and is constantly researching new destinations and drawing up itineraries for her next adventure.

Posted by Oona McGee (Page 204)

Starbucks to release Almond Milk Latte and Frappuccino in Japan for a limited time

Oona McGee
Mar 10, 2015
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For years, fans of Starbucks have been petitioning the coffee chain for a non-dairy alternative to soy. While the company recently responded by adding coconut milk options to their U.S. menus, lovers of almond milk were left out in the cold due to concerns over nut allergens.

Now, for a limited time, Starbucks Japan will be taking the bold step out into nut allergen territory with the release of the Almond Milk Frappuccino with Honey Crunch and the Almond Milk Latte with Honey Crunch. If you’re in Japan from 18 March to 14 April, you’ll be one of the lucky few to introduce your tastebuds to a sweet treat others can only dream of!

Tiramisu soil and a moss parfait: We dig into bonsai treats at Tokyu Hands Cafe

Oona McGee
Feb 26, 2015

Tokyu Hands is known for its amazing array of goods. From bicycles to Kabuki face masks and everything in between, this is a company that’s built their brand with a focus on providing unique and innovative Japanese products to the local and international market.

Now, the cafe on the top floor of their Shibuya store is also showcasing its creative credibility, by transforming its space into a pop-up Bonsai Cafe, in collaboration with the Omiya Bonsai Museum in Saitama. With miniature trees and special goods on display, here it’s the unusual menu that’s really taking centre stage.

After seeing photos of their special matcha latte, an unusual tiramisu and a parfait served in a bonsai pot, we pulled on our gumboots and headed out on a rainy afternoon to give these treats a try. Come with us as we treat our taste buds to an enchanted walk through a delicious miniature garden.

Marshmallow chocolate Brooklyn pizzas now available at Mister Donut!

Oona McGee
Feb 24, 2015

Mister Donut stores across Japan have been transporting customers to Brooklyn since the beginning of the year, with a special line-up of hybrid sweets and beverages and even dedicated outlets featuring fittings inspired by the borough’s cool, hip eateries.

Now, a sweet slice of Brooklyn has just landed in stores, in the form of miniature, palm-sized pizzas topped with chocolate, marshmallows and even strawberry sauce. We stopped by for takeout and the results were more delicious than we could have imagined. Check out our photos for the cutest, tiniest slices of pizza you’ve ever seen!

Starbucks sakura series 2015: Caramel, chocolate and a flowery chiffon cake

Oona McGee
Feb 19, 2015

With Valentine’s Day out of the way, and plum blossoms still in bloom, it’s time for early spring marketing to burst onto the scene in Japan. Leading the pack, as it does every year, is popular coffee chain Starbucks, with the nation’s other favourite flower, the cherry blossom, taking centre stage in their annual line-up of sakura menu items and merchandise.

This year, the humble cherry blossom meets caramel and chocolate in latte and Frappucino forms, and also finds itself in a beautiful pink and white chiffon cake. Curious to know what sakura tastes like when blended with such sweet partners? Join us as we bring you all the photos and flavours from our recent visit.

7 surprising images of Tokyo without its billboards and neon signs 【GIFs】

Oona McGee
Feb 16, 2015

If you’ve ever walked the streets of Tokyo, you’ll know how the buzz of people, street signs and giant screens can heighten all your senses and fill you with a rush of excitement that stays with you well after you’ve returned back home. While travel brochure photos can never truly prepare you for the dense onslaught of visual and aural stimuli that envelop you when you visit the megalopolis, one creative photographer has come up with a clever way of highlighting the main features of the city by showing us just how bare the city landscape looks without them there.

Come with us as we take a walk through day and night in Tokyo and see just how different the place looks when the neon signs and billboards are taken away. You’ll never see Tokyo in quite the same way again.

Cute animals in powered exoskeletons: 6 wondrous items from the 2015 Wonder Festival

Oona McGee
Feb 16, 2015

The latest edition of Japan’s bi-annual Wonder Festival brought out both male and female cosplayers, plus Sailor Moon figurines, which are well-known stalwarts of any good event celebrating anime and the creative arts. But what about the actual handmade models that put the wonder into the festival?

Amateur hobbyists converge at the event to display and sell unique goods, resulting in an array of never-before-seen models and items that can’t be found anywhere else. From ramen kewpie dolls to seductive vegetables, we’ve got photos of the most imaginative and eye-popping goods you’ll see this season.

El Bulli-trained Japanese chef serves edible origami at gastro cafe Celaravird 【Pics & Video】

Oona McGee
Feb 11, 2015

Molecular gastronomy, the science-based art of cooking, has brought us some mind-blowing edible concoctions over recent years. Rose water balloons, vinegar gels and fruit caviar are some of the dishes pioneered by leaders of the movement, including Ferran Adrià, chef of the famed El Bulli Restaurant, and René Redzepi from Noma, whose restaurants have been named best in the world.

Koichi Hashimoto has worked with both these chefs and is now bringing what he’s learnt from the greats to a 16-seater dining room near Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. His nine-course dinner menu, priced at 6,800 yen, is an absolute bargain in the molecular meal world, and reflects his aim to bring creative gastronomy to casual dining. Come with us as we take you through the menu at Celaravird, with all the delicious photos from our recent visit.

How to make delicious tofu chocolates: all the taste with half the calories 【RocketKitchen】

Oona McGee
Feb 9, 2015

Leading up to Valentine’s Day in Japan, there’s one thing that’s impossible to escape – and it’s not swarthy, rose-touting Lotharios. It’s chocolate. In pretty packaging and delicious displays, store counters come alive with the sweet stuff at this time of year, and one of the more luxurious and decadent types is the rich, creamy nama choco (fresh chocolates).

The only problem with this type of chocolate is the fact that it blends an already creamy chocolate with even more cream and butter, making it heavy on the calories. Net users in Japan, though, have discovered an unusual way to cut out the extra fat – by replacing it with tofu! Using just three ingredients, we’ll let you in on the latest diet tip from Japan and show you how to make delicious, creamy nama choco with only half the calories.

We try the new 1,500-yen Kobe beef burger from Lotteria 【Taste Test】

Oona McGee
Jan 30, 2015

Japanese hamburger chain Lotteria‘s newest luxury burger has finally landed, and it features legendary Kobe beef made from special livestock reared on pure water and premium feed. Kobe beef is of such renown that there are even rumours that cattle from the area are allowed to sip on beer, listen to fine music and enjoy a good massage so that their meat tastes simply divine.

So what would the fast food version of this luxury beef taste like? We were so curious we had to swing by Lotteria to pick up one of the new Kobe beef burgers as soon as they were released. Check out all the delicious details after the jump!

What do sumo wrestlers have in common with Tinker Bell?

Oona McGee
Jan 28, 2015

Sumo wrestlers and Disney fairy Tinker Bell are not two things you would think have much in common. Yet their uncanny similarity is exactly what netizens in Japan have noticed, following a series of photos published recently on the Internet.

Dattebayo! 12 awesome cast photos from the upcoming Naruto live spectacular

Oona McGee
Jan 27, 2015

Fans of Naruto, the hit manga series that graced the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump magazine every week, were dealt a heavy blow back in November 2014 when the epic series ended after 15 years.

While they may have closed the book on the manga series, thankfully it’s not the last chapter in the Naruto franchise, as all our favourite characters will be returning, this time on stage in a live action spectacular set to tour Japan from 21 March 2015.

PS4 20th Anniversary edition console sells at auction for jaw-dropping price

Oona McGee
Jan 27, 2015

When Sony released a special 20th Anniversary edition of the PlayStation 4, online pre-order slots were filled in minutes. Limited to a run of 12,300 consoles, gamers had to move quickly to secure a piece of gaming history.

The one thing missing from the December 2014 release, however, was the most important and prized possession of all: console number 00001/12300. That particular machine made its grand appearance at an online auction last weekend and sold for a price that is, frankly, jaw-dropping.

Meet the girl who’s wrapped up in dreams of sushi

Oona McGee
Jan 22, 2015

If you’ve been captivated by a bizarre breed of sushi cats or fallen in love with a cup-clinging girl called Fuchiko, chances are you’ll soon be swooning over a young lady who likes to hang out inside pieces of sushi.

Cute anime railway girls keep passengers company on Tokyo Skytree train

Oona McGee
Jan 22, 2015

Japan is no stranger to weird and wonderful product collaborations between companies. We’ve seen Mos burger x Mister Donut creations, a Hello Kitty invasion of The Very Hungry Caterpillar books and even Sailor Moon girls teeing up with sanitary pads.

So when the ten-year anniversary of the Tetsudou Musume (Railway Girls) anime rolled around this year, their new collaboration could have taken them anywhere. Thankfully, the girls have gone the more conventional route – by tying up with an actual train and riding together with you in 2-D form inside the carriages.

Buddha vs Eva, Ultraman, Gundam and Lady Liberty: How the otherworldly measure up

Oona McGee
Jan 20, 2015

If you’re a fan of mecha anime, you’ll know all about towering robots and the impressive displays of power they show during large-scale, epic battles. One of the titans of the mecha world, Gundam, is so revered in Japan he’s been recreated to scale and stands looking out over Tokyo Bay, wowing crowds with his strength and height.

Gundam might not be so happy, however, to learn that a picture doing the rounds on the internet is making him look tiny when compared with his peaceful brother from another otherworldly realm. To be fair though, not much can compete with Ushiku Daibutsu, the tallest Buddha statue in the world, who lives just a 90-minute train ride from Narita Station.

Anime figurines rejoice as fully working miniature locker appears on gacha market

Oona McGee
Jan 14, 2015

What would you put in a tiny miniature locker? That’s the question you’ll be asking if you get your hands on one of the newest gacha capsule toys, set to hit the market in April.

While most of us would have no use for a locker the size of a thumb, spare a thought for the anime figures of the world, who have spent years searching for a secure place to store their valuable accessories before setting out on their exciting adventures.

The only hurdle they’ll have to overcome now though, is finding a way to insert a coin that’s bigger than the size of their head.

Scandal as hospital staff take selfies, play games & hold parties while patients lie unconscious

Oona McGee
Jan 6, 2015

If you’ve been reading up on our international medical news recently, you may have stumbled upon the shocking story of staff posing for photos during surgery on a patient at a hospital in China. While the news was disturbing to say the least, it seems they’re not the only ones fooling around in the operating room, with a new set of images from a clinic in South Korea showing medical staff enjoying birthday cake, games and unabashed selfies, even with the patient lying unconscious in the medical chair.

See the world as it should be with a pair of Disney Princess glasses

Oona McGee
Dec 11, 2014

Disney Princesses are continuing to sway their influence on the fashion world in Japan. From umbrellas to lingerie and perfume bottles, fans can’t get enough of the elegant offerings from their favourite royal stars.

Now lovers of Disney can channel the object of their affections with a pair of spectacles from well-known Japanese eye-wear chain Zoff. There are six designs to choose from: Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel and even Elsa the Snow Queen, each featuring frames, cases and cleaning cloths with gorgeous details.

Make your business memorable with a license plate phone number

Oona McGee
Dec 4, 2014

There’s a lot to be seen and learned from your car seat while driving on the roads around Japan. While cat-patterned tail-lights, unique modes of communication and building your own Batman bike are some of the more obvious ways to get noticed, there are also more subtle yet equally effective ways to create an impact in traffic, and do a bit of advertising while you’re at it!

Transform your cat into DJ Scratchalot this holiday season

Oona McGee
Nov 19, 2014

If the thought of a cat spinning tracks fills your heart with immense joy, then this will be the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season.

With a rotating turntable and a deck covered in trash-talking stickers, even demure felines can try their paw at scratching tracks, thanks to this hilarious cat DJ deck. Now any cat can be the cool cat who makes all the humans smile and all the kittens bounce.