I had the same problem with my Jap PS2 - the PAL patches didn't work. So I went to the local radio Shack equivalent in the UK (Maplins) and bought an NTSC to PAL convertor. This enables PAL backups to be played in colour on the Jap PS2. The device is removed for NTSC games.

The device I use connects straight to the yellow/white/red AV leads supplied with the Jap PS2.

You could spend a lot of time making coasters with the patches.