Japan Station: Deep Dives into Japanese Culture, Language & Society

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast I'm talking with popular webcomic creator Evangeline Neo about her career and her travels in Tokyo. About Evangeline Neo Evangeline Neo is an illustrator and comic creator from Singapore. She is best known for her webcomic which has developed a large following and often touches on Japan-related topics. To date she has published four books, including her...

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're talking about the city of Tokyo and its "bells of time." About Minami Sakai Anna Sherman is an editor and writer living in Oxford, England. Sherman spent many years living in Tokyo and used many of her experiences there to write her first book: The Bells of Old Tokyo: Meditation on Time and a City . Published earlier this year by Picador, The Bell...

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're talking about manga and what it's like trying to break into the Japanese manga industry with manga creator Minami Sakai. About Minami Sakai Originally from the U.S., Minami Sakai is a manga creator living in Tokyo. After studying abroad at Doshisha University in Kyoto and participating in the JET Program, Minami attended Tokyo Design Academy where...

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we are talking about the Japanese Red Army ( Nihon Sekigu n, 日本赤軍 ), a Japanese militant communist group established in 1971 with the intent of overthrowing the Japanese government and taking down Japan's monarchy. About Dr. Patricia Steinhoff Dr. Patricia Steihoff is one of the world's leading experts on the topic of Japanese social movements. With...

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we take a look at the fascinating intersection between Japanese culture, society, and video games. About Dr. Rachael Hutchinson Dr. Rachael Hutchinson is an associate professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Delaware. She has taught classes on Japanese language, film, anime, manga, and video games. Dr. Hutchinson is the author of Japanese Cult...

On This Episode of Japan Station On this episode of the Japan Station podcast I sit down for a chat with the award-winning creator of the Usagi Yojimbo comic book series, Stan Sakai. About Stan Sakai Though born in Japan, Stan Sakai grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, before moving to California to pursue a career in comics. Once in California Stan went on to work with some of the most legendary figures...

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're digging deep into the world of Japanese Buddhist statues and iconography. Michael VanHartingsveldt is an expert on Buddhist art and iconography. In 2016, Michael obtained a Master's degree in East Asian Art Business through a joint program offered by the Sotheby's Institute of Art and Claremont Graduate University. He then went on to work as a Col...

On this episode of the  Japan Station  podcast we're talking about the Japanese language and the very interesting linguistic phenomenon of "made in Japan English" ( wasei eigo ). Anne Crescini is an Associate Professor at the University of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. She has conducted extensive research on the linguistic phenomenon of wasei eigo ("made in Japan English") and has even written...

On this extra bonus episode of the Japan Station podcast, we explore the world of yōkai with author and Japan Station listener, Charles Kowalski. Originally from the U.S. Charles Kowalski is a teacher and author living in Japan. His latest book-- Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts --delves into the world of the Japanese supernatural creatures known as yōkai through the lens of a young 17...

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're going deep into the world of J-pop with Dr. Capital. Dr. Jonathan Patterson is an Assistant Professor of Popular Music in the Division of Jazz Studies of the University of North Texas College of Music. Also known by the stage name Dr. Capital, he is a composer, singer, guitarist, and an all-around expert on Japanese popular music who has been perf...

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast I sit down for a thrilling chat with author Barry Lancet. Barry Lancet is the award-winning author of the Jim Brodie series of books. After a long career as an editor at the international arm of one of Japan's most prestigious publishers—Kodansha—Lancet made his debut as an author in 2013 with Japantown . Lancet's ability to seamlessly weave Japanese cu...

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast Tony has a fun chat with comedian Ollie Horn. Ollie Horn is a stand-up comedian from the United Kingdom who lived many years in Fukuoka, Japan. While there he attended graduate school and worked in the Japanese entertainment industry. In 2014 Ollie Horn came up with the idea that would evolve into Comedy Fukuoka, a group dedicated to performing English-...

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're learning about the amazing story of the first group of Japanese girls to study in the U.S. Janice P. Nimura is the award-winning writer of the book Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back . In Daughters of the Samurai , Nimura recounts the epic real-life story of a group of Japanese girls who in 1871 were sent to be educated...

Gaijin Goombah is the guest today on this episode of the Japan Station podcast. Gaijin Goombah is a YouTuber who has made a successful career out of teaching people about the real world culture and history that is present in many of today's most popular video games and anime. Gaijin Goombah's interest in Japan is one that goes quite far back and led him to both study abroad and work in Japan. Asid...

Episode 14 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're learning about Brazilians in Japan. Released in 2017, One Day We Arrived in Japan is a gripping documentary that follows the lives of three Brazilian families who move to Japan in search of a better future. Ten years in the making, One Day We Arrived in Japan  is a truly unique documentary that sheds light on the often overlooked...

The one and only Crystal Kay is the guest today in this very special episode of the Japan Station podcast. A singer, songwriter, and actress, Crystal Kay has been singing for just about as long as she's been able to speak. In fact, her first credit is at the age of four when she used her vocal talents in a song for a commercial promoting the PC Engine Duo game console (known as the TurboDuo in the...

Episode 12 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're stomping our way into the world of kaiju. Kevin Derendorf is an expert on the world of giant monster movies and the author of the recently published book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 "Alternative" Giant Monster Movies . In this episode we discuss: What the word kaiju means The origins of the word kaiju The difference between the more c...

Episode 11 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the city of Tokyo. Dr. Steven Heine is the director of the Asian Studies Program at Florida International University and author of the book Sacred High City, Sacred Low City: A Tale of Religious Sites in Two Tokyo Neighborhoods. In this episode we talk about: The history of Tokyo Why Tokyo is laid out the way it is The d...

Episode ten of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a dive into the world of photography. Andrew Faulk is an award-winning Tokyo-based photographer originally from the U.S. who has done work for major publications such as The Wall Street Journal , The New York Times , and Game Informer . In this episode we talk about how Andrew's career in photography got started, what it w...

Episode nine of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're talking about the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. Richard Lloyd Parry is an award-winning foreign correspondent, the Asia Editor at The Times of London in Tokyo, and author of the book Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone . In th...

Episode eight of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the fascinating history of shōjo manga. Dr. Deborah Shamoon is an associate professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore. She is the author of Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls' Culture in Japan , a book which examines the emergence and history of shōjo manga (a...

Episode seven of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a deep dive into the crazy world of Japanese mascots. Chris Carlier runs the blog Mondo Mascots and the very popular Twitter and Instagram accounts of the same name. On Mondo Mascots Chris documents Japan's many, many, many mascots. From the bizarre to the cute, Chris covers them all. In this episode we discuss the histo...

Episode six of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're talking about Zen. Gesshin Claire Greenwood is a Zen priest and the author of the book Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love, and Monastic Zen in Japan . Funny, intense, and thought-provoking, the book chronicles the more than five years Gesshin spent in Japan training in Zen and living in monasteries. During her time...

Episode five of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time I'm joined by comedian Showko Showfukutei. Originally from Kobe, Japan, Showko is a rakugo (Japanese traditional comic storytelling) performer, ventriloquist, and stand up comedian living in Melbourne, Australia. She is the only fully trained rakugo performer living outside of Japan and her unique brand of comedy has taken her all ove...

Japan Station episode 4 is here and this time we're talking all about one man's mission to achieve the heights of fame in the land of the rising sun. In this episode David Elliot-Jones talks about the crazy journey he went on as the star of the ridiculous but thought-provoking documentary Big in Japan . Dave discusses why he and his two friends (Lachlan McLeod & Louis Dai) chose to leave their hom...