Hibana: The Japan Travel, Life & Culture Guide, The Official Podcast of Hikari Travel Agency (HTA)

Hibana: The Japan Travel, Life & Culture Guide, The Official Podcast of Hikari Travel Agency (HTA)

This podcast is dedicated to sparking your interest in all things related to Japan! JOIN US!, as we discuss travel, culture, language, daily life, history, work, cuisine and many other aspects of Japan. COME INTERACT WITH US!, as we share our personal experiences, opinions & advice for all travel and life within Japan. LET’S DISCOVER NEW THINGS TOGETHER!, as we interview Japanese friends, business owners and many others to explore their stories, advice & experiences relating to Japan. Feel free to visit us at hikaritravelagency.com or send us an email at info@hikaritravelagency.com

Episodes

May 31, 2022 58 mins
THIS is definitely the episode you don't want to miss if you have any interest in doing anything "after dinner" in Japan. Isaac and Abby discuss some of the unique aspects of Japan's Nightlife culture; what it has to offer, the in's and out's and how to best enjoy it as a tourist or foreigner. They discuss some of their personal experience's of the nightlife of Japan, elaborate on their best practices and also provide details/recom...
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We start off this episode with a Japanese food taste experience! Abby brings some of her favorite finds from her recent trip to an Asian food store and Isaac tastes some of them for the first time. After the taste test though, we talk more about connections between food and culture within Japan. We cover everything from children’s school lunches in Japan to Konbini’s (Japanese Convenience Stores) to how food plays into Japanese cul...
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The Hibana Podcast returns to talk about Japanese Food and how food relates to culture. This topic of Japanese food and culture is certainly a multi-episode topic, so if you are interested, we will discuss more on our next episode. 

Unfortunately, we don't want to break any copyright (or whatever) laws, so we couldn't play the "Sukiya" song that we talked about for the outro, BUT here is the link to the song: Sukiya Song By De...

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August 20, 2021 62 mins

Sorry, for the recent lack of content, but Hikari Travel Agency (HTA) is ecstatic to get back into the swing of things!

This episode, Isaac & Abby talk about some of the proper etiquette that they recommend you follow when traveling to/throughout Japan as a foreigner.

As expected, they provide their personal experiences of living and traveling throughout Japan as well as commenting on some of the more mainstream recommended eti...

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This episode is Part 2 of our “Living in Japan as a Foreigner” topic.

As always, be sure to interact with us on the Hikari Travel Agency Facebook Page too. If you enjoyed the podcast, feel free to like us on our social media outlets for additional content.

Let us know what you think! We would love to hear suggestions for future episodes too!

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March 23, 2021 44 mins

For this episode, HTA discusses the experiences that come with living in Japan as a foreigner for an extended period of time. Being a long-term foreigner in Japan comes with many interesting experiences! This episode aims to discuss some of our honest opinions on the advantages/disadvantages of it. This episode is Part 1 of 2.

As always, be sure to interact with us on the Hikari Travel Agency Facebook Page too. If you enjoyed the p...

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February 3, 2021 70 mins

Isaac and Abby both bring their personal, Japan Travel Wishlist's (Bucket List's) to the table to share with you!

After kicking it off with an intense game of じゃんけん (Janken, Japanese Rock-Paper-Scissors), we dive deep into the things we really want to do in Japan, but haven't done yet.

Everything from AKB48 through Japanese tea ceremonies and up to Mount Fuji is covered, so be sure to listen to this one.

As always, be sure to inter...

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December 12, 2020 67 mins

As we are in the middle of the holiday season in the USA, we thought it would be the perfect time to discuss some Japanese holidays too!

This episode dives into some of the interesting aspects of Japanese holidays and festivals, as well as how Japan celebrates (or doesn't) some Western holidays.

We discuss everything from drifting wooden karts at the Danjiri Matsuri to Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas, so you won't want to miss ...

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This episode focuses on discussing how much Japanese you actually need to navigate through Japan during your travels, as well as providing an outlined approach for studying Japanese and some of the primary resources to do so.

The outline for HTA's recommended approach and resources for studying Japanese can be found at our "Basic Approach and Resources for Studying Japanese" article on our website blog.

Be sure to interact with us ...

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Join us as we discuss the various ways that we are still able to enjoy Japanese culture during these travel restrictions.

Feeling confined by these travel limitations? Let this episode provide you with some new ideas to experience a taste of another culture!

Travel may be limited throughout the world (right now), but that won't stop us from enjoying our favorite Japanese foods, games, anime, resources and many more!

Also, be sure t...

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Hibana’s debut podcast! Join us as we discuss the contrast between Must See Destinations and Off The Beaten Path Destinations in Japan! Be sure to stick around for our “You Heard It From Senpai” segment too!
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September 28, 2020 1 min

Listen to our trailer to get a better idea about what the Hibana Podcast is all about!

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