Voices in Japan

Today, we are joined by Matt from America. He shares his story of coming to Japan and living in Sapporo, which he did for a few years,  before heading back to the US for graduate school to study law, and then returning to Japan, Tokyo to work as a lawyer, after which he  moved back to Sapporo 6 years later, where he currently calls his home, working remotely and dividing his time between Tokyo and Sapporo. 

We also talk about the two cities, comparing them as places to live, work, and socialize, Matt’s experience working as a lawyer in Japan, coming close to Karoshi (working to death), the high turnover of friends living in Tokyo, working remotely in Tokyo while living in Sapporo, how Corona virus has affected the law industry, Matt’s thoughts on being a lawyer, his long term plans, and much much more.

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Sam from England joins Ben and Burke to compare her experiences as an English teacher in the early 2000s and as a mother being pressured in recent years by her Japanese in-laws on how she should be raising her children.  The two periods of her life have varied greatly despite both being connected to Japan and its culture.  It is a very insightful conversation highlighting many things that Sam enjoyed about Japan, but also how old-fashioned attitudes towards mothers, especially foreign, can take their toll on family relationships.

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https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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Today, special guest Keiko joins Ben and Burke on the podcast. She talks about the #kutoo movement, which was about women opposing the need for wearing high heels in the work place, and happened towards the end of 2019. She shares her insights into the impact that #kutoo has had on the working environment for Japanese women, dress codes at work and schools, discrimination, sexual harassment, gender roles and expectations, and much much more.

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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On this episode of the Voices in Japan podcast, Ben and Burke are joined for a second time by Harry, who is an interpreter with Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo - a J1 professional football (soccer) club in Japan. Harry details how the club started to learn about the coronavirus as they were just getting started with the new season, the impact that the currently postponed season is having on everyone in the league, the ways that football matches could be changed going forward, and much much more!

This episode of Voices in Japan is supported by Slice - a YouTube channel that has just released an amazing documentary on Kabuki (Path of the Flowers), which is a traditional Japanese form of theater. It follows the story of a young performer who is the heir to a dynasty of famous players and can be viewed on Slice's YouTube channel.

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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Today we talk about Japanese gadgets. Now, many people who have never been to japan have this image that japan has all these wacky gadgets. If you search the internet you’ll often come across sites showing all these weird looking contraptions. But, in reality,  Japanese people don’t use hardly any of them, especially the ones that look absolutely ridiculous. If you’re thinking to your-self, “that can’t be true”, then most it likely isn’t. 

Burke and I give you an insight into the cool gadgets that you can see every where, and people actually do use every day in Japan. Some of these things include umbrella "parking" spots, unique traffic signal sounds, pocket compact translators, and a few more. Enjoy the show!

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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On this episode of Voices in Japan, Ben and Burke are joined by a listener in Vancouver, Peter Ahluwalia, who has traveled to Japan five times for vacation.  He provides a lot of helpful tips for planning a trip to Japan (using the subreddit about Japan travel), choosing accommodations (HostelWorld), finding food choices (Gurunavi and Tabelog), his personal recommendations on locations to visit, and much much more! Check out Peter's YouTube channel for highlights of his travels to Japan and other areas of Asia!

If you would also like to join the podcast to share some of your experiences in Japan or related content, let us know by sending an email to [email protected]!

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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On todays show we have three special guests. Eric, who has joined us twice before, in the episodes talking about Halloween in Japan and theme parks in Japan. Also, Matt who was on the podcast to talk about his modelling and entertainment career, and finally Gareth. It’s his first time to join us and he is a long time Sapporo resident who owns some businesses in Hokkaido. We talk about the Corona virus pandemic in Sapporo, our work situations, dealing with isolation, daily routines during the crisis, and much much more. We have a lot of laughs during this conversation, so we hope you enjoy the show.

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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On this episode of the Voices in Japan podcast, our hosts Ben and Burke take a look at some of the positives in their lives that have resulted from situation that has been created by the coronavirus.Topics include Ben's improved cooking of Japanese food thanks to a cooking YouTube channel he has been learning from, Burke's new found love for bathing in the Japanese ofuro, cleaning up and organizing the clutter around the house, "on nomi" parties (online drinking sessions with overseas friends), positives from the cancelation of the Tokyo Olympics, and much more!  Enjoy the show, and please share the podcast with your friends on social media!

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Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

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Burke and Ben share some of their gripes, annoyances, and frustrating experiences of living in Japan. They talk about being annoyed with certain foods, such as how the Japanese have ruined pizza with tuna, sweetcorn, and other toppings that should never be allowed anywhere near a pizza. Ben shares a story of his only confrontation, in Japan, with a group of Japanese men on a night out. The hosts talk about being frustrated with the language at times, the use of the word "gaijin", and much much more. Enjoy the show!

Support the show

Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

Follow us and check out our other content:

https://twitter.com/voicesinjapan

https://www.facebook.com/voicesinjapan/

https://www.instagram.com/voicesinjapan/

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On this episode of the Voices in Japan podcast, Ben and Burke discuss some of the behaviors of Japanese people that you would normally not see in Western countries.  Why do people loiter in the magazine section of convenience stores freely reading the magazines?  With Japan having a very trustworthy culture, is it rude to count your change at the register after making a purchase?  Why can it be very stressful to be the first person to get on an elevator?  Will the new smoking laws introduced on April 1, 2020 actually reduce the amount of smokers at restaurants, bars, and other locations around the country?  Find out the answers to these questions and more in this episode, which was based on information found on Live Japan.com and You Could Travel.com.

Support the show

Website:

https://www.voicesinjapan.com/

Follow us and check out our other content:

https://twitter.com/voicesinjapan

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Get in touch: 

[email protected]

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