Note: The video above was loosely based on the script below.   I’ve had a lot of pretty unique experiences in Japan but recently I had one of the most unique ones yet. That’s because I put on a giant shiba inu costume and went to a park in Chiba Prefecture to go see hundreds of dogs get their teeth …

On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about how dogs in Japan used to go on religious pilgrimages (maybe?). 👉Topics Discussed About religious pilgrimages in Japan About the 88 temple pilgrimage in Shikoku About Konpira/Kotohira About Konpira inu About the supposed history of dogs going on pilgrimages to Konpira Shrine in Kagawa Prefecture About the story of Shiro the …

There’s a new device being used in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward to scare off crows. It’s called the Crow Controller and it was developed by CrowLab. Video from CrowLab. Source: CrowLab, Yomiuri via SoraNews24

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is the lesson of Urashima Taro? Topics Discussed The story of Urashima Taro Discussing different versions of Urashima Taro About the mysterious box (tamatebako) seen in Urashima Taro How you shouldn’t trust strange talking turtles The history of the story of Urashima Taro About the origins of Urashima Taro About the …

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we talk to Wombat, one of the creators of Japan Trail Cam. About Wombat Wombat spends his day in Kyushu hiking and setting trail cams in order to capture footage for the YouTube channle channel/Twitter/Instagram account Japan Trail Cam. Topics Discussed Wombats in Hawaii How Japan Trail Cam got started About capturing …

We found emus in Tokyo, so we couldn’t help but investigate! Hiroshi Kato is from the city of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture. However, one day he decided to relocate to a rural part of the Tokyo Metropolis and become an emu rancher. In this video, we go to the twon of Okutama in Western Tokyo and Kato tells us about …

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, we talk about the probably extinct (but maybe not?) Japanese wolf with journalist Alex K.T. Martin. About Alex K.T. Martin Alex K.T. Martin is a feature writer for the Japan Times. He is also the author of a recent five-part feature about the Japanese wolf (nihon ōkami) titled In Search of Japan’s Lost …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What are Japan’s most famous dogs? Topics Discussed Who Japan’s most famous dogs are About Yukimaru, Prince Shotoku Taishi’s beloved dog About Prince Shotoku Taishi Yukimaru’s supposed ability to talk to Shotoku Taishi and chant Buddhist sutras The drone Nara made based on Yukimaru Sakhalin huskies/Karafuto-ken The story of Taro and Jiro …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Did Tama-chan the seal save the world and cause immigration reform? Topics Discussed The story of the famous seal that appeared in Tokyo’s Tama River in the summer of 2002 About Tama-chan the seal How Tama-chan being granted a jūminhyō (residency certificate) by Yokohama’s Nishi Ward led to foreigners protesting this action …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Are rabbits counted as birds because eating meat was taboo in Japan? Topics Discussed The practice of counting rabbits as if they were birds in Japanese Whether Japanese people eat meat What exactly qualifies as meat The history of meats “bans” in Japan The hypocritical and dubious nature of meat “bans” in …

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we once again ask: What annoys you about living in Japan? Topics Discussed The frustratingly useless nature of many English-language versions of Japanese websites Booking hotels in Japan The frustrating but hilarious nature of bad English translations of Japanese (a.k.a. Engrish) Engrish t-shirts The practice of using Japanese readings for kanji when reading a …

Today’s Question On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is a tsuchinoko? Topics Discussed What a tsuchinoko is How you say “cryptid” in Japanese Tsuchinoko’s status as a U.M.A. (Unidentified Mysterious Animal) What a tsuchinoko looks like Some of the abilities tsuchinoko are said to have The areas in Japan where tsuchinoko tend to live The sounds tsuchinoko …