009 Podcasting About Japan

05/02/13 • 14 min

In this episode, Nick provides an overview of other great Japan-related podcasts available to listeners on the Internet. This list is by no means meant to be exhaustive. If one of your favorite podcasts did not make the list, feel free to email [email protected] and Nick will add it to the “listener recommended” category below.

LIFE IN JAPAN

The Japanofiles Podcast

Tokyo Podcast – @tokyopodcast

JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY

Japanese Pod 101 – @japanesepod101

HISTORY

A Short History of Japan – @frugcam

Samurai Archives – @samuraiarchives

SPORTS

Japan Baseball Weekly – @jballallen

The J Talk Podcast – @jtalkpod

FOOD

Japan Eats Podcast – @japaneats

Japan Booze Blind

CURRENT EVENTS

The Japan Show – @thejapanshow

LISTENER RECOMMENDED

Anime World Order Podcast – @AnimeWorldOrder

Otalkku Podcast-

Notebook on Cities and Culture – Though not strictly a Japan-focused podcast, there are some great Japan interviews. I especially recommend the interview with Pico Iyer.

Studio 360 in Japan Episode –

LIFE IN JAPAN

The Japanofiles Podcast

Tokyo Podcast – @tokyopodcast

JAPANESE LANGUAGE STUDY

Japanese Pod 101 – @japanesepod101

HISTORY

A Short History of Japan – @frugcam

Samurai Archives – @samuraiarchives

SPORTS

Japan Baseball Weekly – @jballallen

The J Talk Podcast – @jtalkpod

FOOD

Japan Eats Podcast – @japaneats

Japan Booze Blind

CURRENT EVENTS

The Japan Show – @thejapanshow

LISTENER RECOMMENDED

Anime World Order Podcast – @AnimeWorldOrder

Otalkku Podcast-

Notebook on Cities and Culture – Though not strictly a Japan-focused podcast, there are some great Japan interviews. I especially recommend the interview with Pico Iyer.

Studio 360 in Japan Episode –

Previous Episode

008 The Art Of Japanese Bonsai

In this episode, Nick speaks with Aaron Packard, assistant curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which is located within the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Together they discuss:

The history of bonsai
How Aaron became interested in this art form and was able to make it a full-time career
The contents of the National Arboretum’s bonsai and penjing collection
The rewards and pressure that can come from working with bonsai
Advice for anyone interested in starting a bonsai collection

Below are photographs of the four trees from the museum’s collection that Nick and Arron discuss:

Resources for anyone interested in learning more about bonsai:

The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum
Aaron’s great blog, Capitol Bonsai

Recommended books for bonsai beginners:

Bonsai Survival Manuel, by Colin Lewis
The Complete Book of Bonsai, by Harry Tomlinson
Indoor Bonsai for Beginners, by Werner Busch

The podcast receives a small percentage of each sale from the links above to help offset production costs. Thanks for your support!

Next Episode

010 Smile Kids Japan

In this episode, Nick speaks with Meredith Smith, Media and Public Relations Director for Smile Kids Japan. Since 2008, Meredith has worked as an ALT on the JET Program and has volunteered with Smile Kids Japan since 2009. Smile Kids Japan is a volunteer organization that encourages visits to Japanese orphanages. Through its website and volunteer leadership, Smile Kids Japan helps facilitate such visits by serving as a resource for best practices and activity ideas. This is an amazing organization, and I’m glad to help share their story.

To learn more about SKJ, check out their website and facebook page. You can also follow SKJ on Twitter @SmileKidsJapan (English) or @SmileKidsJP (Japanese). Also, be sure to check out the website of Living Dreams, Smile Kids Japan’s partner organization helping orphans in the Tohoku region of Japan.

Other SKJ Resources:

Smile Kids Japan’s founder Michael Maher King speaking at TEDxTokyo on May 21, 2011.

Some great videos of volunteers interacting with the children can be seen here, and here.

Anyone interested in contacting Smile Kids Japan with questions or comments can click here.