This episode was recorded by me, Alex, in Tokyo and Asuka, on the east coast of the United States and I think it actually worked quite well so we will be recording some more podcasts soon this way.

In this episode we talked about various things including Japanese food, comparing New York and Tokyo and what Asuka misses from Japan. We also talked about our new magazine featuring Japanese lessons and articles on traveling to Japan which you can sign up to here.   If you sign up, we will also be sending some free PDF Japanese lessons in the near future as we discussed in the podcast.

As always, we’d love to talk to you so please check out our forum, Facebook page or email us at info[at]learnjapanesepod.com

Enjoy!

On this week’s Fun Friday, Sandra (@sandrajapandra) and I talked about Quakebook, a collection of essays, photos and art by those affected by the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan.

Originally started by a tweet by a former British journalist @ourmaninabiko, the idea was to crowd source contributions for a book that could be quickly edited together and sold to help those in need in Japan.

100% of the profits go to the Japan Red Cross so if you haven’t already please consider purchasing a copy on Amazon.

A huge thanks to Sandra for hanging out with us, sharing her thoughts and explaining how this inspired project came into being.

Sandra also appeared in this Fun Friday episode, and this one too.

Other topics mentioned in this podcast are:

• William Gibson - Neuromancer
• Yoko Ono
• Japan Red Cross

Hiragana and Katakana are the two basic phonetic scripts used in Japanese which beginners should tackle to start being able to read the language.

Rob found Kanatap through his studies of Hangul which could also inform people how to learn the basic phonetic scripts of Hiragana and Katakana.

Other methods include using Anki and also watching youtube videos with basic vocabulary lessons on Japanese.

We hope you enjoy the podcast.

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Today’s Fun Friday edition of Learn Japanese Pod was recorded at the A to Z cafe in Omotesando in Aoyama. I was joined by Jim and Sandra of Japandra fame.

The walls of the A to Z cafe are adorned with drawings by the artist Yoshitomo Nara and they even have a mock up of his studio.

In the podcast we talked about Sandra’s latest article for Japan Pulse Blog which is about Twiwari. It’s an ingenious scheme where businesses post discounts for services on Twitter.

We also talked about the renovation of Kabukiza and old theatre in Higashi Ginza which has daily Kabuki shows popular with fans and tourists. This led us on to the topic of the Tokyo Marathon as Jim took part and ran past Kabukiza. We gave a shout out to Joseph Tame who podcasted his marathon run. We mentioned Run Keeper which is a great iPhone app and time keeper for athletes.

Other points mentioned in the podcast:

Tokyo International Anime Fair
Tokyo Kawaii Exhibition @ The Design Festa Gallery
Daniel and Yuki
El Gringo and News From The Other Side
Dan Morales of How to Japanese
K-Pop boys
Smart FM
Kotoba iPhone App
Run Keeper iPhone App
Anki
Learn Japanese Pod Forums

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Today’s Podcast Location

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This week’s podcast was recorded by the fountains in Yoyogi park in Tokyo with Karamoon and myself. Here are some of the topics we talked about with some useful links.

1) The Learn Japanese Pod Facebook group, Mixi community, Twitter and the Forums.

2) Useful websites and blogs about Tokyo: Tokyo Heels which can be found at Tokyo Weekender

3) Tame goes wild

4) Tokyo Marathon

5) Japanese Pod Get Together.

This is a great chance to meet new people, learn some Japanese and hear some traditional Japanese music for free. This event is being held in conjunction with The Japanese Lounge at The Pink Cow on 7th December from 7pm.

6) Baird Beers Tap Room

This is a micro brew pub with some awesome little beers just off Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. The “Yabai yabai” beer is excellent.

7) Oriental Bazaar

8) Kiddy Land

9) Japanese Language Proficiency Test

Other topics included were
Yoyogi Park, Harajuku and Omotesando.

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Natccu

Today’s Fun Friday was recorded at Agave in Roppongi with the lovely Liz and Kelly, authors of the “Tokyo in Heels” blog which can be found at the Tokyo Weekender Website. The music at the beginning was “Command Z” by Natccu.

The podcast was spiced up a little with a few frozen margaritas and delicious Mexican food. It’s a hard job but someone has to do it. We mostly talked about fashion in Tokyo and the sorry state of my current wardrobe.

Here is a basic timeline and list of topics we touched in during the podcast.

(00:00)
Intro music: “Command Z” by Natccu

(02:42)
Shout outs: Congratulations to Daniel and Yukki on their wedding day. I wish you both health and happiness for the future.

(03:07)
Get involved with the Learn Japanese Pod community:
LJP Facebook group
LJP Mixi group
LJP Forums

(03:32)
Clothes Shopping in Tokyo:
Kelly, Liz and I talked about the sad state of my current wardrobe. We also discussed some points about the ease of using the Uniqlo website to buy clothes. The general consensus was that knowing kanji would help you but it wasn’t absolutely necessary to work out how to use the website. They bought me a purple shirt. People…help.

(05:30)
Tokyo In Heels:
Tokyo In Heels is a new blog written by Kelly and Liz that will soon be up on the Tokyo Weekender website. It’s about fashion, shopping, cool gadgets and more for your discerning lady around Tokyo town. Tokyo Weekender is a magazine and website for expats living in Tokyo. It has lots of event and lifestyle information in it so check it out.

(06:11)
Shout out to Danny Choo

(06:44)
Shout outs: To Leviathon, Nick, Zombiehead and Isacksen for writing some awesome blogs entries on Learn Japanese Pod.

(07:19)
Sin Den: Sin Den is simply a wickedly good hair salon in Tokyo. It came up in discussion as I may be forced to get a hair cut as well as new clothes…

(07:47)
Japanese Lounge: The Japanese Lounge is an event where you can hear some great traditional Japanese music live. The venue is The Pink Cow in Shibuya and it will be held on 20th December 2009. This is also being held in conjunction with the Learn Japanese Pod Get-Together. So come along and enjoy the fun.

(08:36)
Liz’s story: According to Liz, she met an Australian friend who came over to Japan. Apparently he had listened to Learn Japanese Pod. So that’s who our listener is…
A big shout out to Matt Johnson and thanks for listening.

(10:23)
Cool blogs and websites from Japan:
Tokyo Weekender
Japandra
Tokyo Werewolf
Transit Lounge

(11:17)
Natccu live dates in Tokyo:
Thursday 3 December
Sangenjaya Heaven’s Door
With Seiji Kimura (ex-Zeppet Store/Hurdy Gurdy/Pale Green), Prague (new Sony signing) and more!
From 6.30pm; 2,000/2,500 yen

Friday 18 December (all night)
Green Green Cyclone @ Shibuya Cyclone
Rock out all night, with The Great Funny Pant Sounds, Danny Blanco, DJs and more!
From 12am (midnight) till first trains; 2,000 yen

Thursday 14 January
Chelsea Hotel, Shibuya
with GURUGURU (ex-Softball) and others!
From 6pm; 1,500/2,000 yen

Friday 22 January
Club Mission’s, Koenji
‘Three-man’ live show, with BAKUBENI and more
From 6.30pm, price tbc

Well, that’s it for now. Thanks to all those who were involved in this week’s podcast.

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Today’s podcast was recorded at Ocean’s Table in Lumine Est in Shinjuku. A huge thank you to Miki, Jim and Sandra who joined me on today’s podcast and made it as hilarious as ever. I humbly bow in your general direction.

Here are some points mentioned in the podcast.

Serial Trial Lesson Enthusiast

Miki told us that she has become a serial trial lesson enthusiast. This means she goes around various schools and culture centers trying out their free first introductory lessons. So far she has tried vocal training and intends to do Tahitian dance next. She said it is a good way to meet people she would not normally meet. I look forward to future reports from her.

Poster Competition

Sandra‘s poster competition is underway. Please check out her blog at Japandra to find out how you can be the proud owner of a JR “Do it at home” poster. In the podcast, she also told us about an interesting cafe in Kashiwa where you get the order of the person who came before you. Check out the podcast for more on that.

We’re Still Here

Luckily, Yukki’s friend’s friend’s mother’s acquaintance’s mate who works in the secret underground government bunker somewhere in Japan was wrong about an earthquake predicted for tonight. Tokyo was supposed to be rubble after the 9th and happily the earthquake to end all earthquakes decided to stay in bed. This was a little story continued from last week’s Fun Friday.

Other News and Points of Business

Don’t forget the next Learn Japanese Pod Get Together on Sunday 18th October at The Pink Cow in Shibuya. We are doing it in conjunction with the Japanese Lounge event which will be featuring tradition Japanese musical performances. This is a great chance to make friends, learn Japanese and experience the culture. Details are here.

Joseph Tame, we’re calling you out! Let’s do a podcast together. If you don’t know who Joseph Tame is, please check out his great website and podcasts at Pokya.

Check out the Forums. Leave your comments, ideas, suggestions, questions and anything else you care to share with our growing community of Japanese learners.

Finally we have a new lesson which will be posted on Monday so stay podcasted to Learn Japanese Pod.

Featured music in podcast- Radwimps “Iin desu ka?”

Follow us on Twitter

Have a great weekend!

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This week’s Fun Friday was recorded at The Pink Cow on Friday 2nd October 2009. I was joined by Sandra, Jim, Daniel and Yukki who all injected some hilarity and fun into today’s podcast. A big thank you to all of them who put up with a badly behaved iPod recording device. And apologies to you dear listeners as the audio skips a few times at the end of the podcast.

What did we talk about today?

Here’s a list of topics we talked about with some links and other information:

1) The Learn Japanese Pod Meet Up at the Pink cow

We will be having a meet up on Sunday October 18th at the Pink Cow. We are doing this in conjunction with the Pink Cow’s Japanese Lounge event which is an opportunity for you to experience some excellent traditional Japanese music. There will be traditional Kimono wearing, Shakuhachi and Shamisen performances. So come along, have some fun, learn some Japanese and meet some great people.

Pink Cow Facebook group

Learn Japanese Pod Get Together Event Information (Facebook)

THE PINK COW MAP

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2) Earth Quake Prediction

It turns out that Yukki chan has a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone who works in a secret underground government agency that can predict earthquakes. According to Yukki, Tokyo will crumble to the ground around 9th October. That’s good news because it means I might not have to go into work.

3) Japandra’s Amazing Poster Giveaway

Sandra of Japandra fame has just given away an anti “chikan” poster to one of her subscribers. She has her mits on a new one and will be giving it away soon in a new competition. Listen to this podcast or check out her blog for some upcoming information on that.

Sandra writes great blog containing interesting and witty observations about life in Tokyo.

4) John Cusack’s in Town

Apparently John Cusack is in town promoting his latest movie. One of Sandra’s friends is going to interview him. We tried to work out which hotel he was staying at so we could stalk him.

John, if you are reading this blog post or listening to the podcast please make it easy on yourself and come out for a drink at The Pink Cow we want to hang out.

That’s pretty much it for this week. Thanks again to Jim, Sandra, Daniel and Yukki for making this a fun Fun Friday. Stay tuned, check out the forums and send us an email with your ideas, suggestions, questions and comments to: info(at)learnjapanesepod(dot)com

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Today I checked out the Namaste India Festival in Yoyogi and took along my ipod recorder. I bumped into my friend Ady who took the pictures in this post. I’ll be posting some of my own pictures up soon. Here are some pictures and thoughts on what happened today.The food was amazing, the smells intoxicating, the dancing amazing and the music more jolly than a herd of elephants dressed in saris crashing through a Bollywood set. It was great to get my India fix and as an Englishman, I need my curry, it has become the national dish or after pub grub in the UK now.

I mentioned during the podcats that there were 100,000 people which I think was an exaggeration. Probably more like 20,000, oops. Suffice it to say it was packed out with people queuing for food, chatting and slowly

getting drunk by the food stalls.

I also claimed in the podcast that Indian restaurants in London give you free papadoms and condiments whereas the ones in Japan don’t. Ady corrected me on this saying that you can get free appetizers but it probably helps if you are Indian.

I’ve noticed that Indian culture has become gradually more popular in Japan in recent years. The numbers of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis have been increasing. When I first came to Japan more than 12 years ago there weren’t as many Indian restaurants as there are now. Now there are not only small run family restaurants but big chains such as Samrat. Japan just became that little bit more delicious.

Ady taught us a little Hindi and how the grammar is similar to Japanese. Perhaps that is why many of the Indian people I have met here don’t seem to struggle with picking up the Japanese language quickly. I won’t tell you the Hindi my mates from London taught me from my school days. It wasn’t something your grandmother wouldn’t want to hear.

All in all it was a great festival and even better for bumping into Ady and my friends.

It’s still going on tomorrow (26th September 2009) so if you have a chance check it out. Lola Kutty would be proud.

Here is a video of Chadha, an Enka singing Indian who has been in Japan for 30 years. Ady told me he was popular about 20 years ago but has now had a bit of a come back. Who’d have thought…

NOTE: At 14:05 you will hear a woman shouting “Alex!”. This is Lola Kutty, an MTV VJ and very funny woman from southern India. You can check her out here.

Holy okonomiyaki, it’s Fun Friday podcasting at you from a humid Shibuya with me Alex and the lovely Waka sensei. If you don’t know what Fun Friday is, it’s a podcast with music, chat, news and other general hilarity from Japan.

In this week’s show we covered quite a few topics including the weather, haiku, the economy and a story about a crazy guy who has been stealing garden ornaments. The poor man said he stole the ornaments, took them home and then he talked to them as he was lonely. Maybe not as original as most traveling gnome pranks but more bizarrely entertaining. (Original article here)

The featured bands in this week’s show were Natccu, a talented singer song writer who will be touring the UK soon. Check here site for details.

At the end of the show we played some Yugo Sato, a  unique blues guitarist and singer from Tokyo. Yugo Sato was introduced to me by my good friend Ethan Green, creator of Tokyo Werewolf, a website that covers the underground music scene in Japan. Someone give this talented man a job.

We also talked about the latest goings on at Learn Japanese Pod which involve tidying up the site and a new set of articles and lessons which will be posted on the main site. Here’s what it looks like:

Monday – J-Slang

Weekly lessons on slang and the street Japanese you usually don’t find in text books

Tuesday – Main Lesson

As always we will be bringing you the main podcast lesson on Tuesdays

Wednesday -Kanji

We are thinking of doing some sort of weekly kanji lesson. Still thinking about the details but that should be coming up in the next week or so

Thursday – Japan guide

We will try to post some kind of travel guide and reviews at least twice a month for those interested in exploring Japan

Friday – Fun Friday

Of course. Did we really need to tell you that?

If you have any questions or comments either leave a comment at the bottom of this post or send us an email at info[at]learnjapanesepod[dot]com