#207 日本のアニメやドラマなどの物語でかなりの頻度で出てくる「先輩」や「後輩」といった付き合い方は、日本語というと「上下関係」になります。実は、この文化は日本ならではの人間と社会関係づくりに深く関係しているにもかかわらず、とてもとても複雑なものです。今回は、このユニークな日本文化を掘り下げてみました！

The concepts of “senpai” (senior) and “kouhai” (junior), which appear quite frequently in the narratives of Japanese anime and dramas, are often described in Japanese as a “hierarchical relationship.” In fact, although this culture is deeply rooted in the unique ways in which Japanese people build interpersonal and social relationships, it is also incredibly complex. In this episode, we take a closer look at this unique aspect of Japanese culture!

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#206 皆さんは日本の大人気アイドルグループ「嵐」をご存知でしょうか。日本にいる限り、彼らの存在を知らない方はほとんどいないと思いますが、実は彼らの活動は2026年の5月をもって終了しました。まさに、一つの時代が終わったと感じられたので、今回は私たちにとってはとても懐かしい時代を振り返ってみました！

Are you familiar with the hugely popular Japanese idol group “Arashi”? We doubt there’s anyone in Japan who hasn’t heard of them, but as it turns out, their activities officially came to an end in May 2026. It truly felt like the end of an era, so this time we would like to look back on a time that brings back so many fond memories for us!

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#205 2026年4月より、日本における自転車と運転のルールが厳しくなり、皆さん日本に旅行で来られる際には必ず知った方がいいと思いますので、今回はルールの一部をご紹介しました！

Starting in April 2026, the rules for cycling and driving in Japan will become stricter. Since this is something you should definitely be aware of if you’re planning to visit Japan, we’ve outlined some of these rules here!

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#204 数年前から、日本の夏はとにかく暑くて、熱中症になった方々がかなり増えました。せっかくの日本での滞在を楽しむには、熱中症対策をした方がいいと思いますので、今回は暑い夏の時に使える簡単な日本語を紹介しました！ぜひご参考くださいね１

For the past few years, summers in Japan have been extremely hot, and the number of people suffering from heatstroke has risen significantly. To have a comfy stay in Japan, we think it’s best to take precautions against heatstroke, so this time we have shared some simple Japanese phrases you can use during the hot summer months! We hope you find this helpful!

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#203 近年、日本食がかなり人気になり、日本で美味しい食べ物を目的で日本に来られる方も多くなりましたね！街中のローカルのお店もおすすめだが、実は日本のチェーンレストランのクオリティもとても高くておすすめです！今回は私たちのおすすめレストランを紹介しました！

In recent years, Japanese cuisine has become quite popular, and more and more people are visiting Japan specifically to enjoy its delicious food! While local eateries in the city are definitely worth checking out, the quality of Japanese chain restaurants is actually very high, so we highly recommend them too! In this episode, we’ve shared our top restaurant picks!

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#202 「弁当」という言葉は聞いたことがありますか？いわゆる日本のフードボックスであり、家庭のお弁当から駅弁やキャラ弁など色々進化していて、日本の食文化の中にはとても重要な一部とも言えます。今回私たちは日本の面白く美味しい弁当文化について話しました！

Have you ever heard of the word “bento”? It refers to the traditional Japanese food box, which has evolved in many ways—from homemade bento to station bento and character bento. It is considered a very important part of Japanese food culture. In this episode, we talked about Japan’s fascinating and delicious bento culture!

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#201 日本に旅行でいったことがある人は、日本の街は本当に綺麗だなと思う人も多いでしょう。実は日本が綺麗な街を常に綺麗にしているだけでなく、細かいゴミ分類を毎日されていて本当にすごいです！今回は、日本の細かすぎるゴミ分類について話しました！

Many people who have traveled to Japan probably think that Japanese cities are truly clean and neat. In fact, it’s truly amazing that Japan not only keeps its cities clean at all times but also sorts trash into such detailed categories every single day! In this episode, we’ll talk about Japan’s incredibly complicated trash sorting system!

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#200 近年日本の社会問題としては、人口の減少や高齢化が挙げられています。実際に、日本に生活している私たちも日常生活にもその影響を感じていて、今回はこの問題について話しました。

In recent years, Japan has been facing social issues such as population decline and an aging population. In fact, we are living in Japan can feel the impact of these issues in our daily lives, so we discussed this topic today.

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#199 毎年、新しい言葉が必ず生み出していて、こういった言葉を「造語」と呼ばれています。その中には、若い世代の人がよく使われる「若者言葉」があります。今回は、私たちがその知らない言葉を実際にクイズ形式で意味や使い方を当ててみました！

Every year, new words are created, and these are referred to as “neologisms.” Among them are “youth slang” terms commonly used by younger generations. In this episode, we’ve put those unfamiliar words to the test in a quiz format to see if we can guess their meanings and usage!

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#198 人生は常に選択肢がたくさんある中で、自分の道を考えて選んだ上で、歩んでいくとも言えるのでしょう！今回は、日本語の練習にもなる、「二択ゲーム」をやってみました！すごく面白いので、ぜひ聞いてやってみてくださいね！

You could say that life is all about navigating a sea of choices, thinking carefully about your path, and then setting out on it! In this episode, we tried playing a “two-choice game,” which is also a great way to practice Japanese! It’s really fun, so please give it a listen and give it a try!

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