Many Japanese towns are losing population. This is what one Japanese town did with its abandoned schools.
LWIF EP151: My Obsession with Japanese thermoses
For a long time I’ve been living under the assumption that Japanese thermoses (tumblers, travel mugs, insulated drink bottles, vacuum flasks… whatever you call them) are the best. To test out my convictions, I added to my already large collection of thermoses to test out a whole bunch of them.
LWIF EP150: Making Cloth from Tree Bark with Ainu in Japan
The Ainu are Japan’s indigeneous people who live in Hokkaido, it’s northernmost prefecture. In June of 2019 I visited the Ainu village of Nibutania to see how their traditional textile Attus (アットゥシ) is made using tree bark.
LWIF EP149: Living in Tokyo During the Pandemic (First half of 2020)
I interviewed friends and family about their experiences living during the pandemic in Tokyo during the first half of 2020.
LWIF EP148: Tokyo by Bike
How about a bike around Tokyo… all of it. I go on a 120km trip from the Eastern banks of the Edogawa river to the Western banks of the Tamagawa river. I did a similar journey by train four years ago.
LWIF EP147: Tokyo’s Coronavirus Timeline (COVID-19 in Japan | Jan 16 – May 25, 2020)
A timeline of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Tokyo, Japan: from the first case to the end of the state of emergency.
LWIF EP138: What Traditionally Making Japanese Knives is Like
Over 700 years ago, a katana master from Kyoto was searching for the perfect place to make katanas, found that Echizen had the best water and ingredients, and set up shop. Nowadays the most sought after blades in the city are chef knives. See how they’re made when we visit Ryusen Hamono, which hand makes the knives that are a Japanese traditional craft. Thanks to Ryusen Hamono for letting me film. What are traditional crafts like where you’re from?
LWIF EP137: How Japan’s North is Like Canada… But Not
I finally went to Japan’s Northernmost prefecture: Hokkaido. As the plane was descending, I thought to myself, huh, this looks a bit like Canada. Thanks to the following for providing for my family’s travel, accommodations, and food.
LWIF EP136: Why Japan Isn’t Cutting Down Enough of its Trees
Visit https://teamtrees.org and lets get some trees planted! #teamtrees I started off making this nice video about how Japan got its forests back through afforestation. Then I did too much researching on the Internet and came to the conclusion that Japan should be chopping down some of its trees. Trust me, it’ll all make sense once you watch the video… I hope.
LWIF EP135: Japan: Where Gods Aren’t Gods and Worshipers Aren’t Religious
Have you ever wondered about all the gates (torii) you see around Japan? They are entrances to the sacred ground of Shinto shrines (jinja). While some might see Japan’s traditional practices of Shinto as a religion, and their various kami as gods, it’s not quite as simple as that. Special thanks to David Chart for explaining the ins and outs of Shinto. Find out more about Shinto on his blog at https://www.mimusubi.com/ and support his writing on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/mimusubi.