Sake Explained
I have no idea how it happened, but I still didn’t tell you anything about sake. Even though I should have brought it right after geisha – few things in Japanese culture are surrounded by…
Tokaido Explained
Once upon a time I had a grand dream to walk along the Tokaido Road, to embrace the spirit of 17th-18th-century Japan, to experience the life of a wanderer. A wonderful dream, but an unfulfillable…
Ramen Explained
Ramen, like curry rice, is firmly established in the category of kokuminshoku, the national food of Japan. But while curry is often prepared at home, ramen remains a restaurant food. If you can call the…
Yokai and Kyoto talk
A couple of days ago I had a great conversation with JJ from Southern Demonology podcast. We started with the mystic origins of Kyoto, monkey temples, Abe no Seimei and moved to Himeji – the…
Travelling in Japan and myth-busting
I was invited to Cornfries Podcast to talk about life in Japan as a foreigner, give some travel tips and play “true or false” about the country. Now we all just want to go to…
Ukiyo-e Explained
This time I’ll look deep into the history of Japanese soy sauce, walk you through the process of making traditional Japanese shoyu and tell you all you need to know to pick the perfect bottle.
Let’s talk about yokai!
You’ve probably already listened to Yokai Explained episodes of Japan Explained and wondering what do I have to add on the topic. What about personal experiences? This time I joined JJ from Southern Demonology Podcast…
Karaoke Explained
Why do people go to karaoke? Why in the West people prefer karaoke bars while the East is all about karaoke boxes? Was karaoke really invented in Japan? How old is it? Why do karaoke…
Japanese Curry Explained
Perry’s visits to Japan showed Japan how weak were its naval forces. And as I started thinking about the Japanese Navy, curry rice instantly came to my mind. In this episode let’s look at the…
I did it again! Being a guest is too much fun
This time I was invited to The WRap It Up Podcast to speak about Japan Explained, how and why it started, my favourite topics and plans. I also told Brooks about my work as a…