一番搾り (Ichiban Shibori) helped me cement my understanding of a translator's role and what "fluency" means. And I was able to get this podcast up and running again thanks to a little 自己分析 (jikobunseki, self analysis).

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Mel Ok is a translator and project manager based in Tottori Prefecture. He's currently the head of Ace Honyaku and has been in the translation industry for over 10 years. Previously he served as a CIR on the JET Program, taught English, and worked in QA. We talked about studying the language, working as a CIR, developing as a translator, and getting into whisky.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

お待たせしました！ Welcome to the second season of the How to Japanese Podcast. This season I'll be talking with translators, writers, and people doing a range of other work with Japanese and in Japan. Check out this preview of some of the conversations.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Adam Evanko is the creative mind behind the Gaijinhunter YouTube account where he's built up over 280,000 subscribers. He's also an incredibly lucid communicator and diligent student. We discuss his early time studying Japanese, his work at McDonald's and a hotel in Japan, and how a job at a translation company helped prepare him for a career in video game production.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Shaun McKenna is the Deputy Manager of the Life & Culture Division of the Japan Times. He came on the How to Japanese Podcast to talk about his experience studying Japanese while teaching on JET and the transition to journalism. He also has some great recommendations on how to pitch an editor at a publication like the JT.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Kristi Fernandez has translated a number of light novels, manga, and drama. She's also the creator of the group Japanese Translators of New York and a champion for translators on Twitter. We talked Japanese study and light novel translation.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Tamara Latham-Sprinkle has been a full-time Japanese-English freelance translator for a year. We talk about breaking into the world of translation, different translation associations, getting a masters in translation, and working as an interpreter at a manufacturing company.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Brian Caster is an attorney working in compliance in Tokyo. We met through the JET Alumni Association. I was curious to learn more about his study process, in particular how he learned to read because he is one of the most voracious readers I've ever met. We also discuss legal work in Japan.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Arline Lyons is a Japanese to English translator who specializes in life sciences, IT, and sake. We discuss her time on the JET Program, masters programs in translation, translation memory, and how to commit to your language study and translation practice at the same time.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Paula Curtis is a historian of pre-modern Japan currently with the Yale Macmillan Center Council on East Asian Studies. She runs the popular website "What can I do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies?" (https://shinpaideshou.com/) and has put together an oral history of a well-known wooden top artisan in Japan (https://carvingcommunity-dentouart.com/). Hear our conversation about graduate studies, teaching, and how you, too, can "do" history.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to [email protected].

You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.