I’ve finally caved and made a video about how to get by in Japan when you first step off the plane. The fact of the matter, is that if you’re coming to Japan, you’ll probably be arriving at one of Tokyo‘s two international Airports: Narita or Haneda. For that reason, and the fact that I live in Tokyo, I’ll be covering this from the perspective of landing at those airports. Here’s the things you’ll wanted to get sorted in your first 60 minutes.
LWIF X EP27: Expectations vs. Reality and Why I Thought I Was Making YouTube Videos
I was listening to a Freakonomics podcast and the topic was what it was like to be a CEO. It explored what people thought a CEO did vs. what they actually do. It got me thinking not only about my days being a boss (I was one at one point, I swear), but also the differences between what I learned about Japan and what I actually experience.
LWIF X EP26: Why is Smoking Indoors in Japan Still a Thing?
Currently it’s completely legal to smoke indoors in many places in Japan, such as restaurants, cafes, and bars. The national Japanese government did start working on a bill to introduce partial indoor smoking bans, but those have been abandoned for now. Local governments can also introduce smoking laws and the Tokyo Metropolitan government has started working on one that it’s hoping to implement it in time for the 2019 Rugby World Cup and especially before the 2020 Olympics.
LWIF EP92: Meeting and Helping Japan’s Homeless
This is part 4 of a series of videos on homelessness in Japan. In this episode we get together with Sanyukai (http://sanyukai.or.jp/english.html), which is a non profit organization dedicated to helping the homeless and former homeless. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Initial video Special thanks to my wife who assisted with the interviews, interpretations, translations, and editing. I’m hoping that by putting the thanks here, instead of in the video, she’ll be less likely to notice (she doesn’t like attention). Also a shoutout to Michael Goldberg, thanks for your help!
LWIF EP91: What an Indoor Japanese BBQ is Like
We use our indoor grill to make yakiniku (grilled meat) and yakisoba (grilled noodles).
LWIF EP90: Housing Japan’s Homeless
This is part 3 of a series of videos on homelessness in Japan. In this episode we talk once again with Professor Tom Gill from Meiji Gakuin University as well as take a tour of a doya (flophouse) and doya-gai’s (skid rows) in Tokyo (San’ya) and Yokohama (Kotobukicho).
LWIF EP89: How Good is Google Translate in Japanese?
Traveling to Japan, you can’t always use English. So how well does the Google Translate app do in Japanese? Aiko and I (Dad) test out the different translations modes, from auto speech translation, to image capture, to hand writing.
LWIF EP88: Why Japanese Love Bathing
Ever wondered why Japanese cultures has such an affinity for bathing? Take a trip with me in this brief history of bathing in Japan.
LWIF X EP24: I Own 8 Microphones! Let’s Talk About Them
Here’s my list of microphones:
LWIF EP87: Elementary School Rules in Japan
These are what the rules are like in Aiko and Shin’s elementary school in Japan. There are some rules the kids forgot to talk about, like no wearing outdoor shoes in school or everyone has to eat the same lunch (which is made fresh everyday at school). What are school rules like where you’re from?