Dispatches from Japan

Let's talk trash! And Japanese supermarkets and single-use plastics.

I know I missed father's day. But I wanted to share about my daddy, Carl Isaacson. I miss you, daddy.

Japan is somewhat notorious for its expensive fruit. Why is it so expensive? And what does it have to do with food waste?

What makes Japanese convenience stores so great? Find out this, as well as a little history of Japanese convenience stores on this episode.

Japanese cars and driving. It ain't like driving in the US, that's for sure.

Not the podcast. Just a few thoughts on what's going on right now. White people - we need to listen.

How do you feel when you hear a wind chime? Your answer might very well depend on where you grew up. (A shorty, due to my work schedule.)

It's been a while. Japan's doing pretty well, in spite of fairly minimal measures taken. Also, why is that dumb junior high school English textbook sentence in the news? #Thisisapen.

Himiko is perhaps the first historical Japanese person whose name is recorded, thanks to the Chinese histories. Check out her story, as Jonathan is joined by Tracy Wiedman. Check out Chelsea Bernard's article over on Tofugu.

What's up with popular music in Japan these days?

Learn all about the deadliest mountain climbing accident in modern history. It's probably a lot different than what you are imagining. Tune in to learn a little bit more of "Everything you never wanted to know about Japanese history!"

It's time for another update. The good news is there isn't much news. Someone did a dumb thing and got doxed, which is also dumb. And Japan might change the school year(!?) I mean, I doubt it, but we live in strange times.

I promise - it's not as boring as it sounds. Sapporo actually benefited greatly from the 1972 Winter Olympics. Listen to find out about a small part of the Olympic story.

Here's the latest from Sendai, Japan with regards to the CoronaVirus. And here what some dumdums had to say with regard to women. Sigh. It wasn't good.

Who the heck is Oyama Toshijo of the Oyama-Ryu Tsugaru-jamisen? And why does Japan like certification so much?

Been a fairly quiet week, but I've seen one issue get brought up more and more in the last week or so; the hanko problem. What is it? Listen to find out.

More history of Japan you never wanted to know. But once you listen to this, you will know! Find out about the Eniwa and Koryu Gold Mines in Eniwa, Hokkaido (just south of Sapporo).

The one where we talk about a problem with Japanese reporting of the Coronvirus. Probably not the one you're thinking about.

Let's talk about Japan's image. How high tech is it really? And, yes, I talk about techno toilets. How can you not!?

The one where I talk to my friend, the awesome Rachel Ewing, about how the Coronavirus has affected her life in S. Korea. Episode also includes some updates about the last week in Japan, including the declaration of a state of emergency for 7 prefectures.

Have you ever wondered where the character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Gogo Yubari's name came from? Probably not. But now you can find out! Welcome to the first installment of "Everything you never wanted to know about Japanese history." Still workshopping that name. Learn about the city of Yubari.

It's another update about Japan in the Coronavirus times. I also talked with Ian Randall about how things are nearer to Tokyo and how my old school is dealing with the pandemic.

What does it take to learn a language like Japanese? Why do so many English speakers have a hard time with Japanese?

The one where I talk about some new developments in Japan. Tokyo sees an increase in cases, the Olympics postponed. What comes next?

The one where I talk about how the pandemic has hit Japan. Or not hit. Will it spread more here? What about the Olympics? Who knows?