Ichimon Japan: A Podcast About Japan and the Japanese Language by JapanKyo.com
Helping you better understand Japan and the Japanese language one question at a time. Every episode Tony and Ryan--two guys with master's degrees in Japanese Language & Linguistics--draw on their experiences in Japan and extensive research in both Japanese and English to shed light on all aspects of Japan. From the many interesting quirks of the Japanese language to obscure Japanese history, as well as busting misconceptions about Japan held by both Japanese peole and Westerners, Tony and Ryan cover it all. In the process they have a few laughs and sometimes even end up uncovering information that can only be found in Japanese. Episodes are released at least once a month (on the 7th). Bonus episodes are released on the 21st. Is there something that puzzles you about Japanese society? Or is there something in Japanese media/pop culture that you want us to explain? If so, then send an email with your question to ichimon@japankyo.com. While we can't promise that we'll be able to answer it, we'll definitely do our best to address it in some way. Ichimon Japan is a production of JapanKyo.com. For full show notes, visit japankyo.com/ichimonjapan.
Episodes
This is the last episode of the Ichimon Japan podcast! But don't worry, the show isn't really ending!
Topics Discussed
- Why I decided to end Ichimon Japan
- And much more!
Support on Patreon & Ko-fi
If you enjoy Ichimon Japan and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. You can joi...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we talk about what the best kind of English teaching in Japan is: Eikaiwa, JET Programme (ALT) or university teacher.
Topics Discussed
- What it is like working in an eikaiwa school in Japan
- What the salary is for an eikaiwa teacher
- The good and bad about working at an eikaiwa school (private language school)
- What it is like being an assistant language teacher...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we talk about Suzume no Tojimari, the latest film by the popular Japanese anime filmmaker Makoto Shinai.
Topics Discussed
- How Suzume no Tojimari did int he box office in Japan
- How it ranks up to the revenue of other films
- What Suzume no Tojimari is about
- An overview of the story of Suzume no Tojimari
- The hidden meaning found in Suzume no Tojimari
- Potential...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What was it like walking the Tokaido Road?
Topics Discussed
- About the Tokaido Challenge
- About what it was like walking the Tokaido Road
- About the challenges of walking the Tokaido Road
- About what it was like walking from Kyoto to Tokyo
- About getting stopped by police in Kyoto
- About walking along the Shizuoka coast
- How long it took to walk the Tokaido ...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we cover what the top Japanese mascots (yurukyara) of 2023 plus a few other ones!
Topics Discussed
- What the Yuruverse Grand Prix is (ゆるバースグランプリ２０２３年・Yurubāsu Grand Prix 2023)
- Who won the Yuruverse Grand Prix 20203 competition
- About the transition from the Yurukyara Grand Prix to the Yuruverse Grand Prix
- What the top 5 Japanese mascots are
- Who the top yurukya...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we talk about the history of pillows in Japan and an absurd belief regarding the sleeping
Topics Discussed
- About the history of pillows in Japan
- About early pillows in Japanese history
- About the evolution of pillows in Japan
- About pillows during the Edo Period
- About hakomakura (box pillows)
- About the oldest pillow in Japan
- X
- About stereotypes regarding Japan...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: 10 Reasons You'll Hate Living in Japan. Really?
Topics Discussed
- Reasons why you may hate living in Japan
- No trash cans
- Why there are few public trash cans in Japan
- Where to find trash cans in Japan
- Whether it's rude to walk while eating or drinking in public in Japan
- Lack of soap in public restrooms
- Individually wrapped items
- About not being able to...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Should you go to grad school for Japanese?
Topics Discussed
- About why we went to grad school
- Whether you should attend a Japanese focused graduate school program
- About Japanese linguistics programs
- The good and bad of doing a master's degree focused on Japanese linguistics
- About different fields within linguistics (sociolinguistics, syntax, phonology...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is it like moving in Japan?
Topics Discussed
- About what it's like moving in Japan
- When people in Japan usually move
- What it costs to move in Japan
- Why people in Japan usually move in March
- Expenses associated with moving in Japan
- About rent prices in Japan
- Rent subsidies for JET Program participants
- Setting up internet in Japan
- About finding an ...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is that snot bubble anime characters get when they sleep called? (Nose Expressions in Japanese)
Topics Discussed
- About the snot bubbles seen in anime and video game characters from Japan when they are sleeping (鼻提灯, hanachō`chin)
- About nose related phrases & idioms in Japanese
- hana ga takai
- hana ga hikui
- Hana ni kakeru
- Tengu ni naru
- About tengu
- ...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is wasei eigo? (Funny "Japanese" English)
Topics Discussed
- What wasei eigo is
- About English sounding words made in Japan
- tenshon ga takai
- pākā
- How SNS is not English
- arubaito
- nōtopasokon
- buraindotacchi
- misu
- misesu
- rippukurīmu
- hocchikisu
- OL
- sararīman (salaryman)
- shīchikin
- interi
- haiso
- furonto
- hōmu
- chakku
- majikkutēpu
- majikku
- majikkumirā
- Gpan
- jampā...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Why is Japanese TV so bad?
Topics Discussed
- Why Japanese TV is so "terrible"
- About Japanese variety TV shows
- How most TV around the world aren't remarkable
- How Japanese TV shows can be useful for watching TV
- How Japanese TV game shows are not crazy
- How the idea of Japanese game shows being crazy is not true
- About Takeshi's Castle
- How many Japanese TV...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is the lesson of Urashima Taro?
Topics Discussed
- The story of Urashima Taro
- Discussing different versions of Urashima Taro
- About the mysterious box (tamatebako) seen in Urashima Taro
- How you shouldn't trust strange talking turtles
- The history of the story of Urashima Taro
- About the origins of Urashima Taro
- About the ryugu no tsukai (oarfish)
- A m...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Is Weathering With You bad? (About Tenki No Ko)
Topics Discussed
- The commercial success of Weathering With You/Tenki no Ko
- The cultural impact of Weathering With You/Tenki no Ko
- About the plot of Weathering With You/Tenki no Ko
- Overall impression of Weathering With You/Tenki no Ko
- The animation of Weathering With You/Tenki no Ko
- Product pl...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is Christmas like in Japan? (About Japanese Christmas)
Topics Discussed
- All about Christmas in Japan
- Japanese Christmas customs in Japan
- All about fried chicken and Christmas in Japan
- Why KFC is the thing to eat during Christmas in Japan
- How Christmas is seen as a romantic holiday in Japan
- Christmas light displays
- About reserving KFC fried chick...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Is Japanese women's language an illusion?
Topics Discussed
- About Japanese women's language
- About gendered language in Japanese
- How context affects people's speech in Japan
- Directness vs indirectness
- About politeness and "women's speech" in Japanese
- About steretypical speech styles in Japanese
- About direct and indirect indexicality
- About Japanese firs...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What's the difference: Eikaiwa vs JET? (The Good & Bad of Teaching English in Japan)
Topics Discussed
- About teaching English in Japan
- About working in eikaiwa (English conversation school) in Japan
- About working on the JET Programme
- About working as an ALT
- About the application process for getting an eikaiwa job
- About the application process for gett...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What's the difference: East vs West Japan?
Topics Discussed
- Some of the differences observed in East and West Japan (higashi and nishi nihon)
- Differences in culture and food seen in Kansai and Kanto
- Where the border between East and West Japan is
- The difference in how people from East vs West Japan use escalators
- About where Ishikawa is in relation t...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Why are these things so expensive in Japan? (We're especially focusing on why randoseru, fruit and delivery pizza are so expensive in Japan)
Topics Discussed
- Whether living in Japan is expensive
- The cost of Japanese movie theaters
- What a randoseru is
- The expensive price of randoseru
- The average price of a randoseru
- Why randoseru are so expensive
- Peop...
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Are Japanese...? (Stereotypes About Japan)
Topics Discussed
- Japanese stereotypes
- Whether Japanese people are shy/quiet
- Whether Japanese people eat sushi everyday
- Whether all Japanese people love anime
- Anime as part of one's identity
- Whether Japanese people are good at math
- Whether Japanese people work long hours
- Whether Japanese people can handle alc...
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