Just Japan Podcast

In Episode 127 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea talks about some recent typhoon activity in Japan and what it's like to have to work during serious weather situations. The winners of the Just Japan Podcast/NapaJapan candy contest are announced and Kevin chats about Kobe Marathon 2016 and his training. Some Patreon shout-outs as well! Learn more about Kevin's second podcast, the "All Ov...

In Episode 126 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest Victor Gonzalez about his 4th Sea to Summit climb of Mt. Fuji. Most people who tackle the mountain start more than half way up at the 5th Station, but Victor conquers the mountain every year from sea level. Find out about this year's epic hike, the costs behind it as well as his gear and equipment recommendation...

In Episode 125 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest Jason from napajapan.com. Jason, a Canadian long-term resident of Japan talks about raising bi-lingual children in an international family. He and his family live in Hokkaido. How did his children learn to speak English in a pre-Netflix, Hulu and Amazon TV world? What resources did he use to help expose his kids...

In Episode 124 of the podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest James Winovich. James is the man behind the ALT Insider website and podcast. When not working hard to produce a great podcast and content for English teachers in Japan, James is working hard as a parent. A very common point of thought, study and discussion amongst parents in international families is how to raise your chil...

In Episode 123 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea flies solo answering your questions about Japan. Kevin discusses the challenges of raising children in an international family, things he would miss about Japan he would mis if he left, Japanese food he likes, etc. Kevin also talks about a new (second) podcast on the horizon and the upcoming December 2016 Just Japan Podcast/Mully's Place...

In Episode 122 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with long-term expat and entrepreneur Tim Romero. An experienced business person in Japan, Tim is also the host of the "Disrupting Japan" podcast. His podcast is all about the startup culture in Japan, creating businesses and interviewing those who are active members of Japan's startup business culture. Tim offers a unique glimpse i...

In a special bonus summer episode of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea talks about what goes into making an episode of the podcast. How is it recorded, edited and uploaded to the Internet and how is it produced? What's the process for finding and interviewing guests? There's a lot of work to get each episode up on places like iTunes, Stitcher Radio and Sound Cloud, but it's all done as a l...

In Episode 121 of the podcast, host Kevin O'Shea welcomes back regular guests Mully and Pee Jay. Mully and Pee Jay are both long-term expat residents of Japan who arrived here in the early 1990's. What did they do for entertainment in the days before the Internet was around? How did they make friends before there was social networking? Were there English TV shows on Japanese stations? How does the...

In Episode 120 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning and frequent guest Mully of the Mully's Place Podcast. They take a stroll down memory lane and chat about their favorite TV shows of the 1970's and 80's. They also talk about Japan stuff! Kevin and Jim talk about Japanese food, travel in Japan and Jim's podcast. Support the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/justjapanpo...

In Episode 119 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea talks with Brett Larner of the Japan Running News. With the Rio Summer Olympics kicking off this week, Kevin gets the analysis of the Japanese Athletics team (specifically runners) from Brett. Brett is the "go to guy" when it comes to expertise in the running world in Japan in English. Brett talks a little bit about his site, "Japan Runni...

PokemonGO is in Japan! In Episode 118 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea brings Andrew Higgins back on the podcast to talk about PokemonGo in Japan. When they last talked, the game was in many countries, but not Japan (much to the frustration of both Japanese people and foreigners in Japan). Now it's here! Listen to Andrew and Kevin chat about the game a few days after it dropped! Just J...

In Episode 117 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea speaks with Trevor Raichura, the person behind thehanshintigers.com. His site is the most exhaustive English-language place to learn about the famed Japanese baseball team, follow the most recent news and learn about the players. Trevor even has a podcast about Hanshin Tigers news. Find out what got Trevor interested in Japanese baseball,...

In Episode 116 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest Andrew Higgins about the lack of Pokemon Go in Japan! Weeks after being released in the United States and other countries, the wildly popular game Pokemon Go is still (as of July 20th) unavailable in Japan, the birthplace of Pokemon. Andrew and Kevin chat about the game in general, talk about release date rumour...

In Episode 115 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with Tom Gates of the Red Dragon Diaries YouTube channel. Hailing from the United States, Tom 's popular YouTube channel contains videos about daily life in Korea (and now Japan), teaching and Judo. His passion for Judo makes his videos a fascinating take on life in Korea that we don't see with other vloggers. Tom has also written a...

In Episode 114 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with professional comic writer (manga writer) Sean Michael Wilson. Sean is originally from the U.K., but now calls Kumamoto, Japan home. He talks about how he became a comic book writer in the U.K. and how he became a manga writer in Japan. How does the publishing industry work in Japan? How can you get your foot in the door as a fo...

In Episode 113 of the podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guests, Pee Jay, Andrew Higgins and Jim Mullins "Mully" about life in Japan during the summer months. The Japanese summer has a reputation for being extremely humid and hot. Living or traveling here can be a challenge for many during the Dog Days of Summer. The four long-term residents of Japan chat about what it's really like d...

In Episode 112 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with City of Kobe Public Relations Specialist Louise Dendy. They talk about how Louise came to Japan as well as her current role promoting the City of Kobe. What makes Kobe so unique and charming? Why should more people visiting Japan take the time to stop over in Kobe? Kevin and Louise also talk about the Kobe PR Ambassadors progra...

In Episode 111 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea talks about raising children in a bilingual family here in Japan. Through anecdotal tales, Kevin shares how he and his Japanese wife are raising their children to speak both Japanese and English while living in Japan. It is a challenging task indeed and every family tackles it in a different way. Kevin also speaks to his wife and 5-year o...

SUPPORT the Just Japan Podcast by picking up some Just Japan Podcast merchandise! The first ever JJP T-Shirt event is here! Shirts are available until July 4th, 2016. Get your Just Japan Podcast T-Shirt (shipped globally) at: https://teespring.com/justjapanpodcast Shownotes: http://justjapanstuff.com

In Episode 110 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest Brian Waters about being a foreign parent having kids in Japanese schools. The Japanese education system is very different than in other countries. What is it like to have your child attend school in a school system that is very different than the one you know? Kevin also talks about the Kobe PR Ambassadors init...

In Episode 109 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea speaks with well-known Japan-based writer Baye McNeil. Baye has been on the podcast before talking about his books, "Hi! My Name is Loco and I'm a Racist" and "Loco in Yokohama" as well as talking about being a writer in Japan. In this episode Baye chats about being a writer, but more importantly his Kickstarter campaign to fund the trans...

In Episode 108 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea is flying solo and he's answering your questions! That's right...Mail Bag questions left on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are getting tackled in this week's episode. Will same-sex marriage or marijuana ever be legalized in Japan? Can I work in Japan without speaking Japanese? How do you overcome homesickness? Can women carry pepper spray...

In Episode 107 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with friend of the show Jim Mullins (Mully) about his recent medical issues in Japan and dealing with health care in Japan for more long-term and serious matters. Jim was recently diagnosed with Diabetes and spent a few weeks in the hospital. He shares his story about how he realized he had this disease, his stay in hospital and his...

In Episode 106 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea chats with returning guest Pee Jay about figure skating in Japan. Some people may be surprised to learn that figure skating is one of the most popular fan sports in Japan and its' fans are intensely loyal. No matter where you go in the world to see a major skating event it's safe to say there will be a large contingent of Japanese fans th...

In Episode 105 of the Just Japan Podcast, host Kevin O'Shea speaks with returning guest Kevin Tarpey. They talk about Kevin's attempt at through-hiking the Appalachian Trail, his time in Japan (interviewed him live), Japanese hospitality to foreign travelers and other adventures! Kevin (the host) also talks about Hanami, doing volunteer public relations work for the City of Kobe as well a the terr...