This week, Joe and Casey are coming with what may be our most useful and least funny (which is saying something) episode yet. Twitter user and investment maven CTC walks the boys through the basics of investing as foreigners in Japan, although much of his advice applies to anyone, anywhere. We forego most of our beloved 'segments' in lieu of CTC breaking it down in a straightforward way that even us morons can understand (at least, Casey understood). If you are interested but intimidated by the prospect of investing, check out this episode.

CTC's super informative twitter account is @CacheThatCheque.

This week, the abstinent boys are not only doing without food or alcohol, they are also guestless. Episode 26 features soup chat, some Beanpod crossover, snow, and all the usual features you’ve come to know and...you’ve come to know. There’s a special guest quiz, a couple of In Your Areas, and Joe says too much in the Cross-Cultural Miscommunication bit. Speaking of which, both of the guys attempt accents, neither of which are any good. It’s probably the best podcast we’ve recorded this week, unless your listening after we join the Conbini Boys later in the week...

In this, the quarter century episode (that's 25), we finally broke our Anglo-American guest monopoly and spoke to Miyako, a Japanese person! Miyako is also an actual member of the actual Japanese actual government, and joined us from her current location of New York City, the Big Apple, the home of Trump Tower (more on him towards the end of the episode).  Casey zoned out as we talked football, zoned back in as we briefly touched on pizza, or at least the topic of... It was enlightening to hear about Miyako's work in NYC and her role as a government official, and heartening to discuss the future of women in the Japanese working landscape. Just FYI she spoke for the perfect amount of time, unlike Joe who always goes on for ages in meetings. We quizzed her knowledge of all things NUFC, while simultaneously testing Casey's descriptive skills, and we heard her New York-based cultural mis-communication. Thanks to Miyako for joining us and being our first Japanese guest!

It’s Episode 24! This week we had two guests, each as brilliant and interesting as the other. I’ve (Joe) written about (Dr) Hannabiell Sanders and Yilis Del Carmen Suriel several times in my capacity as a music reviewer, but now we got the chance to record them audibly as we spoke…it’s…this is a podcast. So, despite a few technical hiccups, we had a beautiful meandering conversation with the ladies. They are musicians, activists, academics, teachers, festival organisers, travellers, purveyors of fun and inclusivity, and above all excellent orators (I say above all because, as mentioned, this is a podcast).  We discussed their UK origin story, taking in 3 continents en route to their current home in Gateshead, we looked back at parts of their musical journey and our friendship, we talked activism, we tested their knowledge of Japan (and Joe’s), we delved into their respective areas, AND we utilised their musical appreciation to judge a hotly fought competition between Joe and Casey. Yes, we wrote and recorded songs about each other, which you can hear, and sought Hannabiell and Yilis’s expert opinion on which was better. Tune in to find out who were the winners and losers. Spoiler alert: Love was the winner, aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

You can hear the ladies here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Hannabiell

You can read about them here: https://www.hannabiell.com/hannabiell--midnight-blue.html

You can read about Harambee Pasadia Festival here: https://www.harambeepasadiafestival.com/

You can buy their music here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protest-Culture-Hannabiell-Midnight-Blue/dp/B00D4ESAR4

You can hear Joe and Casey’s songs and see our other videos here (please like and subscribe!): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCMONYU0M_lukLsOPjGGlsQ

We are on Twitter: @Isummittosea

HB and Y are on Twitter: @Hannabiell and @LadiesofMblue

In this week's episode, we chat to shochu experts Stephen Lyman and Christopher Pellegrini. We don’t use the word ‘experts’ lightly; these guys really know their stuff. We discussed the basics, starting from what shochu is and how it is different to sake and awamori, as well as how it is similar to other beverages the average imbiber might recognize.  We go deeper into the processes and ingredients involved in making this ubiquitous yet mysterious drink. We quiz the guys on their knowledge of shochu (among others) breweries across Japan. Stephen and Christopher rate the purchases we made, and Joe does a quick live shochu tasting, which he is qualified to do having wasted his first year of university smelling and drinking free wine. Of course we dip our noses into the guys’ areas, and they regale us with some of their cultural miscommunications. Never dry, always sweet, and oh so tasty, this is not an episode to miss for anyone familiar with the inside of an izakaya. Best taken with ice.

Listen to their podcast: Japan Distilled

Follow them on Twitter: @JapanDistilled 

Stephen: @shochu_danji

Christopher: @ChrisPellegrini

Look at their website: www.kanpai.us 

Buy their books dammit! 

Stephen: The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/japan/the-complete-guide-to-japanese-drinks

Christopher: The Shochu Handbook

https://shochu.pro/the-shochu-handbook-by-christopher-pellegrini/ 

Episode 22 sees a return to Ishikawa, and yet another American. This time in the shape of luxury travel flogger Bill Michaud.  Bill has been a resident of Ishikawa twice, and in his most recent stint has launched a travel business…at the worst possible time. Hear his views on the GoTo travel campaign, what you can expect to pay for a top notch vacation, and the best and worst places to visit. We have the usual quiz, this time with a twist, and we’ll delve into Bill’s area and learn about Bernie’s mittens (or mi’ens as they say in Vermont). Bill also regales us with his horrific cultural mis-communication, not one for the feint hearted! You can find out more about Bill’s luxury travel company Kizuna Travel here: https://kizunatravel.com/ and you can find Bill on Twitter at @FarEastConsult1 (the first of the Far East Travel Consults!).

The original Brian (or is he?!) – that’s a JBRC reference and we won’t be making another one – joins us for a meandering chat about this and that.  We say that, but Casey was so excited to have an actual American on that he insisted on making this a baseball-themed episode.  Fine.  We did talk about baseball in Japan, but we also discussed interesting topics. Brian’s Japan origin story is inspiring and interesting in equal measure; he literally has a job straight out of the movies.  Words and phrases mentioned include ‘blood spatter,’ ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken,' ‘Derby County,’ ‘Draven from the movie The Crow,' and ‘cornholio.’ There is a song! Tune in to hear Joe butcher the three chords he knows on a guitar.  Brian was a thoughtful and knowledgeable guest, but best of all, he’s a New York Yankees supporter…

Follow Brian on Twitter @MyTwoYen

This was a behemothman of an episode, but after a little editing, here it is! We had a super interesting chat with Phillip Jackson, author of ‘Hidden Paths Kyoto’ and soon to be released ‘Paranormal Kansai,’ a book delving into the mysterious world of ancient burial grounds, headless samurai, moped drivers, and wet taxi seats (among many more), all set in the Kansai region of Japan.  Of all the paras (trooper, legal, diddle, plegic, graph), normal is definitely the most fascinating, and that’s why we tried not to make too many crap jokes while Phillip explained some of the history behind Kansai, and indeed Ishikawa’s, unexplainable mysteries.  Essentially he explained them.  We also touched on UFOs, cryptocurrency, the property market, sailor assault, and shopping bag near disaster avoidance. We may not have mentioned cryptocurrency. 

If you would like to buy Phillip’s first book, you can find it here: https://www.hiddenpathskyoto.com/

And keep your eyes peeled for Phillip’s latest book ‘Paranormal Kansai’ on his Twitter page @pjacksonmusic (yes, he is also a musician!)

His YouTube channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCegcI6pcSSzhoWiXrb0MxJg?view_as=subscriber

It’s our second New Year episode, but the first actually IN the New Year, so…it’s Episode 19. This week we welcomed yet more Brits in the shape of Sam and John from John and Sam in Japan: The International Comedy Podcast.  Despite a few technical issues and early accusations of Quadrophenia (I may have misheard) this was a very enjoyable and, as the title of their podcast suggests, funny hour or so. We covered important topics like Championship Manager, Japan origin stories, yet more nakedness (not), and a run down on run down ‘Uddersfield as well as less important topics like who is who’s boss, priestly business, wishing, and a reminder that Joe has two Masters degrees.  If you want to get in touch with the guys, you can Tweet them here: @johnandsamjapan or visit their website: johnandsaminjapan.com  

MERRY HAPPY! It’s a New Year (almost) and it’s yet another new podcast, this time with ‘Copyright Law expert’ Ollie Horn of Japan By River Cruise ‘fame’. We covered some interesting topics, as well as Ollie’s favourite subject: Bobby Judo. While Ollie sat and fed his newly acquired ‘stray’ kitten subway sandwiches, we covered every aspect of River Cruises in Japan and not much else. It was very River Cruise heavy. Ollie is in Malaysia, is a stand-up comedian who actually teaches comedy, and is 50% of a successful podcast duo, but we ignore all of that to focus almost exclusively on River Boat cruises…there’s a Riverboat quiz, and an in your area that briefly diverts from marine topics into port town Bristol. Then back to River Boats. River Boat.