Josh in Japan

sorry folks, but i’m going to have to do something i haven’t done in 17 weeks…… i need to take this weekend off from sitting behind the mic.

this weekend has been about the busiest weekend at work that i’ve seen in a long time. that and i’m sick with a touch of a cold/bronchitis……

i will also be catching up on some behind the scenes stuff that i’ve been procrastinating about for a while now….

please post on the forums, keep up the spirit of podcasting, and i will meet you all sometime late next week or weekend.

すみません！　ごめんねさい！

In Episode #17, I discuss what kinds of pets are common here in Japan.

I let you know where and how to get a dog or cat, how much they will be, and what kind of weird and wacky stuff they have for sale here for pets. Make sure to listen closely because there’s something here that ben and jerry’s is missing out on!

We review the last couple weeks of Japanese lessons, and introduce the numbers 100; 1,000; 10,000; 100,000; 1,000,000 and so on. It gets a bit confusing since you’re all unable to see what i’m discussing, so I would suggest you visit here, for a visual representation.

Promos this week come to us from LD Planet, and from one of the podcasts on my ipod, Israelisms.

Music this week is the song “summertime” by Brother Love.

As always, please be sure to email me any questions or comments, but even better, leave me those messages on the forums!!!

So, until next time,

mata-ne!

L from Iron Dove had me on a couple nights ago to discuss the differences between life here and back in the US.

It was a great discussion, and I had loads of fun! L was a great interviewer, and an even better post-production master! Wink

You can check out iron dove at http://www.irondove.com.

Thanks L!,

Josh

this just in from josh (another josh here in japan, not me):

Hey dude… I should wait until the show is done I guess. but IKEA is not a rumor… I was on my way to Costco yesterday I saw it under construction. It may have been the distribution, but it was in Chiba ken like out past Disneyland. I saw the IKEA sign, and it’s really big, so liek I said it may be the dist. center. I thought I saw something about the first store being down south but I may be wrong. It’s on the IKEA site, and I can’t wait! I’m from SoCal.. we have a bunch of IKEA stores there. Anyway dude… it’s true.. supposed to be open in early 2006 sometime.

Josh

that’s right folks, it’s a rumor no more! IKEA IS COMING TO TOWN! (well, a town far away, but nevertheless, a town in japan)

In episode #16, I discuss all kinds of different shopping in Japan. This is a very broad topic, and I apologize in advance for not being able to be more specific, but I feel that I covered some good points about where and how to shop in Japan.

The promos for this week were from The Closet Geek Show, and Quick Hitts

The Japanese lesson of the week is as follows:

to count any two digit number, do as i instructed you to do on the show (sorry there’s not much i can explain here. just listen to the show to find out).

As always, email me at josh[at]joshinjapan[dot]com or visit The Josh in Japan Forums…..

Music today provided by the group De La Vega. The song is “Let it Burn”. You can reach them at www.dlvmusic.com

so, as always, thanks for listening, and until next time,

mata-ne!

today we went to shibuya to the NHK Studio Park today so the big kid could get her picture taken with WanWan, her favorite TV character…….

it was a good day overall. even though it was raining, it was just a lisht mist, and it was cool so that made it a little easier. we went with friends a-san, m-chan and k-chan (that how japanese bloggers describe their friends so as not to reveal identies…. i personally find it lame) so it was a bit more fun since there were two kids there…..

we got to studio park and walked in on a live show with waku waku san. he shows kids how to make interesting and fun toys out of stuff just lying around the house…. he’s on every day with the rest of the afternoon nhk gang. the purpose of his so is to teach kids to use everything they can to save refuse, and to understand that you don’t have to spend alot of money to have fun! i love this dude!

we then hopped right in line and waited 30 minutes for picture taking with wan wan. as we were waiting, i think i was more excited than my kid! it was pretty cool. he was as furry in person as he is his on TV.

we then went all throughout the NHK museum portion (not really the museum, but a mini version of it). we got to see all kinds of cool exhibits, and got to walk over all of the active sets where shows are being shot. we even got to walk over the set of the show “yoshitsune” which is one of the historical drama shows, as well as the set for one of the afternoon kids shows, “okasan toishyo”. it’s the show with lots of music and dancing. we weren’t supposed to take pics, but i turned my flash off and shot one pic from up above. i’ll post it once i break it sown from being 1.5mb…..

after that we went to a great hamburg shop (yes i spelled it like that since there’s no bun on the hamburger) called Gold Rush. We saw it on debyua one night and decided we had to go. I got a dish with 2 hamburg patties and cheeses with a baked potato all sitting in curry! damn was it good! (unfortunately, i’m still tasting it)…….

after that we made our way slowly back to shibuya eki to catch the kaitoku back home……. we were all reminiscing back to our single/dating/honeymooner days. pretty much back to the time before we had kids…… there was so much to look at in all the stores there in shibuya, but because of the stollers and crying, it makes it a bit more difficult to shop. especially in those tiny tiny stores….

well, that’s pretty much it….. i guess i’ll try to get the pics up tomorrow…..

mata-ne!

EDIT:the pics from nhk studio park are posted in the sights of japan tab up top…. or you can click here.

In Episode #15, I discuss how to do your shopping at a major grocery store here in Japan. If you’re going to live in Japan for any amount of time, this is vital information! You don’t want to look like a fool when going grocery shopping. I’ll lay it all out there and explain what it’s all about, along with all the differences between American grocery shopping and Japanese grocery shopping.

Promos this week included sounds from Podcast 411, Comedy4Cast, and Gabber Jaw.

The “Japanese Phrases of the Week” have been changed to “Japanese Easy as Hell Lessons for the Week”

いち = ichi = one
に = ni = two
さん = san = three
よん or　し =yon or shi = four
ご = go = five
ろく = roku = six
なな = nana = seven
はち = hachi = eight
きゅ　= kyu = nine
じゅ = jyu = ten

Intro music provided by Cedric of POPmo

As always, visit the Forums and let me know how you feel!

until next time,

mata-ne!

nothing really too big today. got to go running ….. ugh….

but the main reason i’m posting is because i noticed something a little strange…..

when we go shopping for groceries, we’ll usually go to the commissary on base and get all of the american food we need, then we’ll go to the Japanese grocery store for all of the Japanese food and veggies we need…..

well, today was a rainy misty day all day (and i had to ride my scooter home in it which sucked!)…. and the commissary was packed! busy as all get out. it isn’t payday, and there’s no holiday coming up. just a normal wednesday afternoon/evening….

and then the Japanese store which is usually packed by the time we got there was dead. practically no one was there….

point being….. why do americans all go out in hordes to grocery shop when it is raining, but the Japanese who go shopping daily for groceries all stay home? you would think that the americans who shop once a week would be in their houses, and the Japanese who shop daily would pay no attention to the rain…..

my wife told me that they’ll check the weather the day before, and if it’s going to rain, they’ll stock up and buy two days worth of groceries…. that or just eat whatever they have at the house….

this isn’t coincidence, but something that i noticed long ago before i had the blog or show….

just something to ponder.

that and i was picked to be a moderator at the podcast pickle forums today.

i have been spending all of my time there at the pickle since my previous podcasting home started allowing white supremecists to list their podcasts as well as promote their shows of hate on the forums….

that and now they have a “childlove” podcast listed there, and also are allowing the makes of that show to post their views of filth all over the forums….. yet you are no longer allowed to use cuss words on those forums…..

odd huh?

i will no longer promote or talk about the other podcasting directory since there is no need for my awesome listeners to have to see that filth! that’s not what podcasting is about!

so….. josh in japan is now all about the PODCAST PICKLE!

if you ever get the time, i would highly suggest you go there, and add me to your favorites….. you can get there by clicking on the podcast pickle button at the top of my blog…. add me to your favorites and that’s it. no monthly voting, not pestering for votes….

any comments, please let me know by visiting my new forums at http://www.joshinjapan.com/forums…

so, until next time,

mata-ne!

josh in japan just surpassed 1000 listeners….. only by 5, but hell, you last 5 just tipped it over for me! love ya!

actually, i probably surpassed 1000 listeners a couple weeks ago since feedburner is always a conservative number, but i just wanted to say….

THANK YOU!

even though it will most likely fluctuate below and above 1k for a week or two, it can only get better as time goes on!

mata-ne!

josh

In episode # 14, I discuss what crime is like here in Japan, and what is being done to stop it (and there’s not much to stop).

I focus on crime, police, and the legal system a bit. Many emails read, busy week overall!

Make sure to visit the forums, drop a line and let me know how you feel about the show!

Props go out to Steve Friess, the writer who published my show in his Wired.com news story about podcasting!

Promos this week were from Reaching for Lucidity, and Bill Grady’s “You are the Guest”

The “Japanese Phrases of the Week” are as follows:

おあいそおねがいします = oaiso onegaishimasu = bill please (do me a favor and please bring the bill) relating to when you’re ready to pay for your Japanese meal.

ひだり = hidari = left

みぎ = migi = right

The link to the vending machine site is http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines i’ll try to get that on the forums as well…..

as always, email me with any concerns, gripes, or anything else josh\at\joshinjapan\dot\com

until next time,

mata-ne!