On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, Tony talks to Jessica Gerrity, a TV personality working in Japan, martial artist, pracitioner of kyudo (Japanese archery),and writer! Topics Discussed Jessica’ work on Japanese TV How she became interested in Japan Why she first went to Japan How she got into the Japanese entertainment industry Working with SMAP Learning Japanese How …

Never underestimate the drunken fist. The Japanese pop idol group Yurumerumo! (You’ll Melt More!) has just released an action-packed music video inspired by one of the most famous series of kung fu movies of all time. This new music video is for Yurumerumo!’s latest single: “Nebagiba Suiken” (Never Give Up Drunken Fist). Inspired by the classic 1978 Jackie Chan kung …

Atsuko, you’re the best! Around! Nothing’s gonna ever keep you down. There’s a lot of stereotypes about Japanese people but perhaps one of the more infamous ones is that they all know martial arts. Plenty of Japanese people have little to no training in martial arts and would be pretty lost in a dojo. As proof of this, one need …

You’re never too old to kick some butt. Last month the city of Tome in Miyagi Prefecture released a sequel to their award-winning action-packed promotional video from last year: Tome Musō (Tome is Unparalleled). In Tome Musō 2 actress Sanae Kaneko, now 62-years-old, reprises her role as the aptly named Tome (Tome can also be a woman’s name), a butt-kicking stick-wielding …

The most samurai convenience store clerk ever. It’s not all that uncommon in the United States to hear stories about someone trying to rob a convenience store only to find themselves in serious trouble when the cashier pulls a gun on them. In Japan though, with it being almost impossible to own a gun, this sort of thing doesn’t happen. …

Don’t get in between this lady and her noodles. A video intended to raise awareness of the city of Tome in Miyagi Prefecture is getting a lot of attention for featuring some intense action scenes and a 61-year old woman that doesn’t like it when you get between her and her food. The roughly 4-minute action packed video, which was …