Japan Station: Deep Dives into Japanese Culture, Language & Society

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, translator Allison Markin Powell discusses the story of Shiori Ito and the newly published English version of the book Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #MeToo Movement.

• Allison Markin Powell's study abroad experience in Kanazawa
• How tell all memoirs don't seem to be as popular in Japan as in the West
• About the book Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #MeToo Movement
• Who Shiori Ito is
• The frank and open way in which Siori Ito discusses her alleged sexual assault and the events after it
• The press conference Shiori Ito held in 2017
• Meeting Shiori Ito
• The term "quasi-rape" (Jungōkanzai, 準強姦罪)
• Why Shiori Ito called her book "Black Box"
• Shiori Ito's strength
• Sexual assault statistics in Japan and other places
• How police made Shiori Ito reenact being sexually assaulted in front of them
• Some of the systematic challenges Shiori Ito faced when trying to get justice
• Shiori Ito's influence and impact
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

To purchase a copy of Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #MeToo Movement, consider using the Amazon affiliate link below. It won't cost you anything extra and it will support the show.

• Black Box: The Memoir That Sparked Japan's #MeToo Movement

Don't forget to check out the latest episode of the Ichimon Japan podcast.

• Does "Your Name" live up to the hype? (Discussing Kimi no Na wa) | Ichimon Japan 49

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of The Feminist Press at CUNY

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we're learning about homelessness in Japan and the life of Japanese day laborers.

Dr. Tom Gill is a professor of social anthropology at the Faculty of International Studies at Meiji Gakuin University in Yokohama. He is the author of the 2015 book Yokohama Street Life: The Precarious Career of a Japanese Day Laborer.

• Dr. Tom Gill's first experience in Sanya in Tokyo
• Reporting on street riots in Sanya in 1986
• About Sanya in Tokyo
• What a doyagai is
• About Japanese slum districts
• About Japanese day laborers
• Why Sanya is mainly populated by single men
• How the anime/manga Ashita no Joe is set in Sanya
• The aging population of Japan's slums
• What a doya is
• What a typical doya room is like
• Older doya versus newer doya
• What a deluxe doya is
• Why people might choose to stay in doya despite it being more expensive to ren than an apartment
• About Japanese welfare
• On talking to people in doyagai
• On collecting cans in Osaka
• On municipal homeless shelters in Japan
• The increasing number of doya in Kotobukicho
• About homeless women in Japan
• Why there are so few homeless women in Japan
• Whether Dr. Gill has had any dangerous experiences in Japanese slums
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

If you would like to purchase Dr. Gill's book--Yokohama Street Life: The Precarious Career of a Japanese Day Laborer--please consider using the Amazon affiliate link below.

• Yokohama Street Life: The Precarious Career of a Japanese Day Laborer

If you would like to read some of Dr. Gill's work, the best place to start is his Academia.edu page.

• Dr. Tom Gill on Academia.edu

Don't forget to check out the latest episode of the Ichimon Japan podcast.

• What are Japan's most famous dogs? (5 Famous Japanese Dogs + an Afro Dog) Ichimon Japan 48

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of N/A

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

For more information on B & B Bad Sisters, check out the official website.

• https://bbbadsisters.com/

Here's the link for the B & B Bad Sisters NFT shop.

• https://opensea.io/kazuomaekawa

Follow B & B Bad Sisters on social media.

• Twitter
  • https://twitter.com/bbbadsisters
• Facebook
  • https://www.facebook.com/bbbadsisters
• Instagram
  • https://www.instagram.com/bbbadsisters/

Here's affiliate links for cryptocurrency exchanges. If you use any of these links to purchase cryptocurrency you might get a sign up bonus. Typically, these sign up bonuses are free Bitcoin. However, each exchange does things a bit differently so you may want to check what is required in order to receive the sign up bonus. Also if you use these affiliate links and receive the bonus, then I would receive a small referral bonus as well.

• Gemini
  • https://www.gemini.com/share/gkn57qfg
• Voyager
  • https://voyager.onelink.me/WNly/referral?af_sub5=ANTB78
• BlockFi
  • https://blockfi.com/?ref=d7eef2f9

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, shamisen performer and composer Mike Penny stops by to talk about Japan's famous three-stringed lute, the Mike Penny Orchestra (MPO), and more.

Mike Penny is a shamesen performer and composrer based in Los Angeles. He has performed throughout the U.S. and Japan. Aside from performing traditional Japanese shamisen music, Mike is also active on YouTube and enjoys experimenting with the shamisen in all sorts of creative ways via his personal project MPO.

• Mike Penny's 2011 song "Leaving Forever"
• Mike Penny's work on the soundtrack of the popular PS4 game Ghosts of Tsushima
• How Mike Penny became interested in Japan and the shamisen
• The many musical instruments Mike Penny has played
• Making the transition from guitar to the shamisen
• On learning how to play the shamisen
• The challenges of learning how to play the shamisen
• On getting used to using the bachi (plectrum)
• The tsugaru shamisen style
• The fretless nature of the shamisen
• About MPO (Mike Penny Orchestra)
• About Mike Penny's 2020 song "Perfect Alley Rare"
• Feedback from Japanese people
• On Sasaki Mitsuru Sangenkai in Los Angeles
• About Kyle Abbot
• On shamisen for beginners, such as the shami buddy by Kyle Abbott
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

Check out Mike Penny on YouTube and Bandcamp.

• Mike Penny YouTube
• Mike Penny Bandcamp

Here is "Leaving Forever" by MPO.

• "Leaving Forever" by The Mike Penny Orchestra

Here is the music video for "Perfect Alley Rare."

• "Perfect Alley Rare" by Mike Penny Orchestra ('80s Shamisen Pop)

And here's a fun shamisen cover that Mike did of "The 7th Element" by Vitas.

• Vitas "The 7th Element" ★ON SHAMISEN★

Use the link below to check out the latest episode of the Ichimon Japan podcast.

• Vitas "The 7th Element" ★ON SHAMISEN★

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Mike Penny

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Dr. Salvador Jimenez Murguia talks about the religious group Pana-Wave Laboratory and shares some of what he experienced while in Japan researching it.

Dr. Salvador Jimenez Murguia is a professor of sociology at Taft College and the author of numerous books. He has conducted research on a wide variety of topics, including the sociology of religion, food studies, race & ethnicity, and popular culture. Dr. Jimenez Murguia has also written extensively about the Japanese religious group Pana-Wave Laboratory.

• How Dr. Jimenez Murguia became interested in doing research related to Japan
• How it was that Dr. Jimenez Murguia began communicating with and doing research on Pana-Wave Laboratory
• What Pana-Wave Laboratory was
• How Pana-Wave Laboratory got started
• The teachings/beliefs of Chino Yuko
• About scalar wave energy attacks
• Why Pana-Wave Laboratory members dressed all in white
• Pana-Wave Laboratory's infamous 2003 caravan to Fukui Prefecture
• How Dr. Jimenez Murguia was able to make contact with Pana-Wave Laboratory
• Pana-Wave Laboratory's journal: L.R.
• On visiting Pana-Wave Laboratory at their base in Fukui Prefecture
• About the kinds of people that were part of Pana-Wave Laboratory
• On visiting the Pana-Wave Laboratory facility in Fukui after Chino Yuko's death
• How Pana-Wave Laboratory was sensationalized and misunderstood
• The misconception that Japan is a weird place
• On doing research on the topic of brown face
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

The title of the article by Dr. Jimenez Murguia that was referenced on this episode is Re-enchanting a Religio-Scientific Experience: Understanding the Extraordinary Within the Pana-Wave Laboratory. As of the time of this writing the link I used to download the article does not work. However, if you would like to try it out, click here.

To listen to the Ichimon Japan episode that focuses on Pana-Wave Laboratory, check out the link below.

• Did Tama-chan the seal save the world and cause immigration reform? (About Pana-Wave Laboratory) | Ichimon Japan 46

To listen to the episode of Ichimon Japan about ushino koku mairi, use the link below.

• What's so scary about the hour of the ox? (About Ushi no Koku Mairi) | Ichimon Japan 21

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Salvador Jimenez Murguia

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Salvador Jimenez Murguia

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, journalist Justic McCurry talks about his new book The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan's Cycling Subculture.

Justin McCurry is the Japan anc Korea correspondent for The Guardian. He is also the author of the new book The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan's Cycling Subculture (Pegasus Books).

• What it was like interviewing a senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza group in 2008
• Justin McCurry's first visit to a velodrome
• About the velodrome in Tachikawa, Tokyo
• How keirin seems to be hidden away and gets little mainstream coverage in Japanese media
• The inescapable connection between keirin and gambling
• How keirin is different from other forms of competitive cycling
• The differences between the Olympic variety of keirin and the original Japanese keirin
• Group dynamics between keirin riders
• The brutal and violent side of keirin
• How you become a professional keirin cyclist
• About the Japan Institute of Keirin (formerly the Japan Keirin School)
• What it's like living at the Japan Keirin School
• The effort to modernize keirin
• The strict expectations and restrictions placed on keirin cyclists in Japan
• How cyclists must check in their mobile phones and disconnect from the outside world during race events
• What it was like riding a keirin bicycle on a real keirin track
• What keirin is doing to try to survive in present day
• Women in keirin
• The Nikkan Keirin Series
• The future of keirin in Japan
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

To pick up a copy of The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan's Cylcing Subculture, please consider using the Amazon affiliate link below. It will not cost you anything extra and it will support the show.

• The War on Wheels: Inside the Keirin and Japan's Cycling Subculture by Justin McCurry (Amazon Affiliate)

To follow Justin McCurry on Twitter, use the link below.

• Justic McCurry on Twitter

Use the link below to check out the latest episode of Ichimon Japan.

• What is a yankī or furyō? (About Japanese Teenage Delinquent Culture) | Ichimon Japan 45

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Copeland

Featured image: Courtesy of Pegasus Books

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we're talking about Kyoto, kimono and more with Dr. Rebecca Copeland.

Dr. Rebecca Copeland is a professor of Japanese language and literature at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research specialties include modern and contemporary women's writing in Japan, modern literature, and translation studies. Dr. Copeland also writes fiction and just published her first novel called The Kimono Tattoo (Brother Mockingbird).

• About Dr. Copeland's new novel The Kimono Tattoo
• Some of the aspects of Dr. Copeland's life that influenced and appear in The Kimono Tattoo
• On spending time in Kyoto
• Some of Dr. Copeland's favorite places in Kyoto
• About Tanukidani-san Fudō-in Temple
• Exploring Kyoto and going off the beaten path
• The canals that run along the Philosopher's Path
• What inspired the "cursed kimono" that is one of the focuses of The Kimono Tattoo
• The recycling of kimono fabric
• How valued items such as kimono are sometimes thought to be imbued with the spirit of its creators
• About studying traditional Japanese dance (Nihon Buyō)
• About the classic strict student-teacher dynamic often see in traditional Japanese arts
• On Dr. Copeland's transition to writing fiction
• The long process of writing The Kimono Tattoo
• On future plans for a sequel to The Kimono Tattoo that furthers the story of Ruth Bennett
• About Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch and Dr. Copeland's story Blue Ridge Yamamba
• What the yamamba is
• About the experience of teaching inmates at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center about Japan
• On how getting to learn about Japan and the Japanese language is a privilege
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

To pick up a copy of The Kimono Tattoo, please consider using the Amazon affiliate link below. It will not cost you anything extra and it will support the show.

• The Kimono Tattoo on Amazon

To pick up a copy of Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch, consider using the Amazon affiliate link below.

• Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch on Amazon

To listen to the latest episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.

• Is the story of Kaguya Hime proof that aliens have visited Japan? (About Taketori Monogatari) | Ichimon Japan 44

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Copeland

Featured image: Courtesy of Rebecca Copeland

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we're joined by Hannah Kentridge of the popular YouTube channel MissHanake.

Hannah Kentridge is a content creator with over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. Known as MissHanake on YouTube, Hannah has spent over 10 years producing videos in Japanese about her life and the Japanese language.

• Hannah's perennially popular "Hiragana Song" video
• The origins of the MissHanake YouTube channel
• How creating YouTube content in Japanese motivated Hannah to keep learning Japanese and improving
• Receiving constructive criticism via YouTube comments
• How listening to herself speak in Japanese helped Hannah keep improving her Japanese
• Hannah's time at Kobe University
• Hannah's decision to go to graduate school
• On learning the kind of advanced Japanese that is usually not taught in the classroom
• About the MPhil in Japanese Studies at Oxford University
• What onee kotoba is
• On doing research on the way some gay men speak in anonymous online situations
• Using language to construct one's identity
• Hannah's plans for her master's research
• Japanese internet slang
• Gendered language in Japanese
• Hannah's tentative plans for after completing her master's program
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

To check out Hannah on YouTube use the link below.

• MissHanake YouTube Channel

You can watch Hannah's "Hiragana Song" video below.

• The Hiragana Song ★ ひらがなのうた

To follow Hannah on Twitter use the link below.

• @misshanake on Twitter

To listen to Hannah on the KoreKara Podcast see below.

• Talking with MissHanake - YouTuber Studying Japanese at Oxford University | KoreKara Podcast

Use the link below to check out the latest episode of Ichimon Japan.

• How do you count that in Japanese? (How to Count Chopsticks, UFOs, Centaurs & More in Japanese) | Ichimon Japan 43

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Katarzyna Cwiertka

Featured image: Courtesy of Hannah Kentridge

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Dr. Jan Bardsley talks about the fascinating world of Japan's maiko and geisha.

Dr. Jan Bardsley is Professor Emerita of Asian Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is the author of Women and Democracy in Cold War Japan and the award-winning The Bluestockings of Japan: New Woman Essays and Fiction from Seito, 1911–1916. Her latest book is Maiko Masquerade: Creating Geisha Girlhood in Japan.

• What a maiko is
• The difference between a maiko and a geiko/geisha
• The life of a maiko
• What maiko and geiko/geisha do
• The striking appearance of a maiko
• Transitioning from a maiko to a geiko
• The responsibilities of a geiko
• The elaborate hairstyle of the maiko
• The motivations of some girls who chose to become maiko
• The famed dance productions performed by Kyoto's geiko and maiko
• The Miyako Odori
• Marriage as it pertains to geiko
• How the maiko and geisha's connection to sexual labor has changed with the passing of time
• The maiko as a mascot of Japan and Kyoto
• The danna (patron)
• The financial burden of supporting geiko
• The Kyoto Traditional Music Foundation
• Eirakuya's tenugui (hand towel) that depict maiko playing sports
• The Kyoto International Manga Museum's maiko illustration exhibit
• Whether foreigners can become maiko
• Learning to become "Japanese"
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

To pick up a copy of Maiko Masquerade: Creating Geisha Girlhood in Japan, please consider using the Amazon affiliate link below.

• Maiko Masquerade: Creating Geisha Girlhood in Japan

To check out the latest episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.

• What is Kansai-ben? (All About the Kansai Dialect) | Ichimon Japan 42

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Katarzyna Cwiertka

Featured image: Courtesy of Jan Bardsley

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Yuji Haraguchi--owner of multiple Japanese restaurants and the Osakana fish market in Brooklyn, New York--talks about his interest in food, his career, fish, ramen, and more.

Yuji Haraguchi has started and owned multiple Japanese restaurants in the United States and Japan. He is based in Brooklyn, New York where he owns and operates Okonomi/Yuji Ram and the popular Japanese-style fish market Osakana.

• About Yuji Haraguchi's early life in Japan
• How Yuji became interested in cooking
• Leaving Japan for Boston
• How Yuji got into selling fish
• Learning about fish and the fish industry
• On selling and marketing Japanese fish and seafood to restaurants in Boston
• The rising popularity of Japanese food in the US through the 2000s
• Getting into the ramen business
• On trying to make ramen more appealing to Americans unfamiliar with ramen
• Creating Tuna-kotsu (tuna bone) ramen
• Opening Yuji Ramen in 2012
• Creating a carbonara inspired bacon & egg mazemen (brothless ramen)
• Starting the Osakana fish market in Brooklyn
• The concept and motivation behind Osakama
• The success of Osakana
• The educational videos Yuji makes for the Osakana YouTube channel
• The misconception that wild fish is always better than farm raised fish
• Yuji's approach to teaching people about fish and how to handle fish
• The factors that distinguish "sushi grade fish" from non-sushi grade fish
• On opening restaurants in Japan
• The dangers of expanding a restaurant franchise too quickly
• The current potential of Japanese food in the United States
• The booming popularity of ramen in Southeast Asia
• On getting Japanese ingredients
• About Sun Noodle
• How Yuji adapted to doing business during the coronavirus pandemic
• And much more!

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get early access to all JapanKyo podcasts, bonus content, and more. And for $3 a month, you'll get access to Japanese Plus Alpha, a podcast produced by me (Tony Vega) that focuses on the Japanese language and all of its fascinating quirks. Also, all pledges get a shout-out on the show and my undying gratitude. Thank you in advance!

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

Below is a list of links for the websites and social media accounts of Yuji Haraguchi's businesses.

• Okonomi/Yuji Ramen Website
• Okonomi Instagram
• Yuji Ramen Online Shop
• Yuji Ramen Instagram
• Osakana Website
• Osakana on Instagram

Below is the link to the Osakana YouTube channel. There you will find educational videos about how to handle and prepare fish, as well as other useful information about Japanese cuisine.

• Osakana YouTube Channel

To listen to the latest episode of Ichimon Japan, use the link below.

• Are rabbits counted as birds because eating meat was taboo in japan? (About the History of Meat "Bans" & the Counter -wa)) | Ichimon Japan 41

If you would like to support the show by picking up some merchandise, make sure to visit KimitoDesigns.com.

• KimitoDesigns.com

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi) To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Dr. Katarzyna Cwiertka

Featured image: Courtesy of Yuji Haraguchi

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com