Tokyo Podcast

The taiko drum is one of the endearing symbols of Japan and is one that stretches as far back as 14,000 BC. Traditionaly used in plays or to motivate troops in times of war, the modern taiko performance that we see today is only about 50 years old. On this show I talk to Isaku Kageyama who is two-time National Odaiko (large drum) Champion and is the youngest person to win such honors. He is also the first person to be accepted into a major American music university for playing taiko. I talk to Isaku about the history of taiko, how the Japanese system makes it difficult for younger players to get noticed and how more traditional Japanese music might be headed overseas. I also talk about my recent live interview with the guys at Bad Communication Podcast where I was the one answering questions and I touch on my recent attempts to keep my apartment warm by blocking out the cold Japanese winter air.

Many foreigners come to Japan to teach English for a short time but few stay long enough to set up their own English language school. On this show I talk to John Bardos from Jet Set Citizen about his 10 years as the owner of a successful English language school in Japan and the difficult decision he made to dramatically change his lifestyle.    I also answer a viewers question about why I started Tokyo Podcast and also ask a favour from the audience on how you can help promote Tokyo Podcast. 

Japanese manga and anime are hugely popular around the world and is a multi billion yen industry but despite its popularity there is some controversy over whether it is possible to learn Japanese from watching anime. Anthony Joh talks to Ken Cannon who not only claims that it is possible to learn Japanese from anime but he teaches a course on how to do it. Anthony also talk to Brad Stephenson who runs a website dedicated to finding smoke free cafes in Tokyo. With 47% of the male population being smokers finding a nice place to eat that doesn't stink of smoke is not an easy task. Brad shares with us his favourite eateries around town.

Japan is a country that is steeped in history and culture and among the high tech skyscrapers and the neon lit shopping areas are remnants of a glorious past. On this episode Anthony talks to Juju Kurihara from Iromegane about the Shichigosan Festival, which translates into English as 7-5-3, this festival celebrates the coming of age of young children. We also take a walk through the majestic Imperial Palace located in the heart of Tokyo with Paul Christie from Walk Japan. Paul leads us on a fascinating walking tour of the historical significance of the Imperial Palace and the role it played in establishing Tokyo as the economic centre of Japan.

Japan has a reputation as being a homogenous society with very little in the way of multiculturalism, at times even going so far as to proudly proclaim themselves as mono-ethnic. However this is slowly changing as the number of mixed race people living in Japan grows with an estimated one in thirty babies born in Japan today are being born to a couple where at least one parent is not Japanese. On this show I talk to Lara Perez Takagi and Megumi Nishikura who are making a documentary film about the lives of five half Japanese or 'Hafus' living in Japan. For some being a mixed race person living in Japan has posed no problems but others have struggled to find their own identity and even going to far as to hide their non Japanese side.

The number of people making YouTube videos about their life in Japan has exploded over the past few years. However many of these videos are geared towards childish entertainment rather than actually providing any information about what it's like to live in Japan. On this episode of Tokyo Podcast Anthony talks to Unrested who has a very popular YouTube channel and with 140 videos and over 850,000 views Unrested's channel offers a good insight into what it is like to live and work in Japan.

Many foreigners who come to Japan start their first job as an English teacher and sadly many stay in that job for their entire time in Japan. My guest today is David Chester who wrote a book exploring the many other freelancing jobs that are available to English speakers. From staring in Japanese TV shows, teaching cooking classes or performing as musicians there are many freelancing opportunities in Tokyo if you know where to find them. Tokyo Podcast is pleased to offer a free meal at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in conjunction. This offer if brought to you by The Expat's Guide to Japan, a fantastic free resource for anyone moving to Japan for the first time. Check out the Expat's Guide to Japan Facebook page for all the details on how to enter to win a free meal at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

Anthony kicks off his Japanese language series by talking to Richard Graham who runs the very popular Genki Japan website. Richard has been making YouTube videos for some time now helping people learn Japanese in a fun and unique way. We compare different methods of learning Japanese and how you can say "may the force be with you" in Japanese. Anthony also talks about his recent emergency trip to the dentist and how a keep eye and an English speaking dentist helped him overcome this medical emergency. 

On this show Anthony talks to his former co-host of Bangkok Podcast, Greg Jorgensen about the flooding situation in Bangkok. Many parts of Thailand are under water right now and even the government officials seem unsure if the waters are going to hit Bangkok or not. Greg gives us a local perspective on how the floods are affecting life in Bangkok. I also talk to Paul Papadimitriou who runs a website covering the mobile phone industry in Japan. We talk about the recently released Apple iPhone 4S and how Apple's business model has caused quite a stir in the Japanese mobile market. We also touch on the news that KDDI/Au us now selling the iPhone 4S and thus breaking the iPhone monopoly that was held by SoftBank for many years. 

On this show Anthony talks about the new iPhone 4S that is set to be released in Japan next week. The big news that is shaking up the Japan mobile telephone industry is the news that KDDI is now offering the iPhone. This breaks a long held monopoly by SoftBank to sell the iPhone and should means better prices for consumers. Anthony also went to check out a Thai Japanese festival and comments on the good relationship between Thailand and Japan. The festival was a good chance for Japanese people to try many different kinds of Thai food, although Anthony noticed that the durian booth wasn't too busy. Lastly Anthony updates everyone on his housing situation with some good tips on buying furniture. 

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

On this show Anthony talks about leaving friendly Thailand, experiencing culture shock at the rudeness of the Chinese and the feeling of relief after finally making it to Japan.  He also talks about the difficulties and challenges of finding an apartment in Japan. This is a process filled with large amounts of paperwork, procedures and endless fees.  So far the change from Thailand to Japan has been a lot more complicated than Anthony expected but he is looking forward to settling into his new life in Tokyo.

Typhoon Roke slammed into Japan today at the height of the Tokyo rush hour causing the train system to come to a complete stop. With over 6 million people using the train system per day any delay is going to cause massive back ups. On this show Tony experiences both a typhoon and the notorious Japanese rush hour. 

On this teaser episode of Tokyo Podcast Tony talks about what is coming up for the show. Some of the topics that will be covered will be: Living and working in Japan Shinto Buddhism Sports in Japan Japanese Language  And of course many interviews with fascinating expats and Japanese people. The first show will launch on October 2 so keep your eye open for that.