Sometimes having a stay cation is a great idea. For me it was anyways! I was a tourist in my own town. Why? Well, my friend from Canada came to visit while on holidays in the land of the rising sun, so I decided to show them around. Along the way, I was also able to experience some new things, which is what makes living in a new country great. Speaking of new experiences, I also had my first ever futsal match... hear about my experiences today!

On February 13th, a famous J-pop company, Hello! Project, finally released all of it's music to streaming services in preparation for it's 30th anniversary. Hello! Project consists of many popular girl groups, such as Morning Musume, Berryz Koubo, ℃-ute, Juice-Juice, and more. You may remember me talking about Morning Musume on earlier episodes, so I was excited for all the music I could listen to. There were some songs that actually made me gasp. You'll have to listen to the episode to find out. I also share my top songs from all of the groups so you too can listen to Hello! Project!

*Please note that I am bad at math so I may have messed up the number of songs I gave. Please check the instagram for the correct number of recomennded songs!

Third time's the charm.... or so I thought. Unfortunately, I failed the N1 once again and this time it stung a little bit more than the other times. In this episode, I talk about the results, my feelings, and how I am going to get better for the fourth and final (I hope) time.

If you've been in Japan long enough you might have been asked this question: Kinoko no Yama (Mushroom Mountain) or Takenoko no Sato (Bamboo Shoot Village)?). These, of course, refer to a popular chocolate cookie snack. People prefer one or the other and it's quite interesting to see how heated people get over these chocolates. In this episode, I give both a try to see which one I prefer!

Well... you wouldn't believe it. I have another episode to add on to Tires and Tribulations. This time it wasn't my fault. I hope this isn't an ongoing series like the New Year's resolutions series was.... if you're interested, give this episode a listen!

Hello everyone! Can you believe that January is almost over?! Only 3 more days. Time flies by so fast...

On today's episode, we have the last installment of the New Year's Resolutions series. It's been quite interesting hearing about what other people want to do in 2026, and this next guest is no exception. I had the utmost pleasure talking with Roman, a fresh ALT who arrived to Japan six months. And wow, he was great to talk with. His perspectives on things were very interesting and he was so easy to talk with. I'm sure you will find the same when you listen to him.

I'm sure that we'll see more of Roman in TSOS's future!

Welcome to another New Year's Resolutions episode. Today, I had the utmost pleasure of interviewing my senpai and friend, Zhuangman or "Man" for short. Oh "man," what a great show we had. If you're interested in hearing about her goals or what she's doing in Singapore... or great restaurants to eat in Takayama (we went on many tangents), make sure to give this episode a listen.

On today's third installment of New Year's resolutions we have another guest that you may remember. That's right. It's Kaleb! Last year we talked about learning Japanese and today, we talked about Kaleb's goals, which are mostly related to.... you guessed it... Japanese language learning. I always get so motivated talking to Kaleb and I hope you do too!

Today on Two Shores One Story I speak with a very special guest, Andy. He and I go way back to university days and today, we talk about his goals for 2026. Of course, we go off on many tangents like we used to do when we recorded the Hot Pot so if you want to hear some boiling hot tea AND be inspired, make sure to give this episode a listen.

Happy New Year's Eve (at least in Japan). Today I discuss my goals for 2026 and share an exciting announcement! Make sure to listen today to find out.