Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language

On this episode of Japan Station, I dig into the world of dead Japanese Bubble Era slang. Specifically, I talk about the term hanakin (花金). Also I talk about the days of the week during World War II in Japan.

• What is hanakin
• What hanakin means
• About the kanji used to write hanakin
• How I learned the days of the week in Japanese
• How there were no weekends during World War II in Japan
• And much more!

On this episode of Japan Station, Sensei Martian talks about what it was like walking 3200 km from Cape Sata, the southernmost point on mainland Japan, to Cape Soya, the northernmost point on mainland Japan.

• About the Kyushu Challenge
• Why Sensei Martian decided to walk 3200 km/3000 miles+ across Japan
• About walking the old Tokaido Road
• About walking from the southern end of Japan to the northern end
• About encounters Sensei Martian had with people while walking across Japan
• About booking lodging while walking across Japan
• About getting injured while walking across Japan
• About the presents people gave Sensei Martian while walking across Japan
• How difficult it was to get to Cape Sata
• Japan's dwindling population and how it is affecting rural areas
• About Sensei's Martian walking 100 km across Tokyo over the course of 30 hours
• And much more!

On this episode of Japan Station, I talk about the Kyushu Challenge, my recent 558 km walk from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi to Sakurajima, Kagoshima.

• About the Kyushu Challenge
• The route I took to walk from Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture to Sakurajima in Kagoshima Prefecture
• About how a restaurant owner gave me money
• How I appeared on TV in Yamaguchi Prefecture
• About kawara soba
• About okonomiyaki
• About the scariest tunnel I ever had to walk through
• About walking through rural southern Kumamoto and Kagoshima
• About the Hisatsu Orange Railway
• The benefit of regional JR rail passes
• About Sakurajima
• My plans for 2026 (Tohoku tandem bicycle ride)
• And much more!

On this episode of Japan Station, I talk about how I was able to save money on airfare for my latest trip to Japan. I also share how I almost lost money due to a luggage issue and I talk about why regional JR passes can save you lots of money while traveling in Japan.

• How I get the cheapest plane ticket to Japan ever
• About smartfares.com
• Why you should check how many bags you are allowed to check in on a flight
• About regional JR passes and why they can be better than the national JR pass
• And much more!

This is a rebroadcast of episode 76 of Ichimon Japan.

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we talk about the history of pillows in Japan and an absurd belief regarding the sleeping

• About the history of pillows in Japan
• About early pillows in Japanese history
• About the evolution of pillows in Japan
• About pillows during the Edo Period
• About hakomakura (box pillows)
• About the oldest pillow in Japan
• X
• About stereotypes regarding Japanese people versus Westerners
• About the idea Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners
• About Sobagawa/Sobakawa buchwheat pillows
• About dakimakura (hug pillows)
• About anime waifu dakimakura
• About the Shironeri Ayano Oomakura (the oldest pillow in Japan) in Shosoin Temple in Nara
• About the mistaken idea that Japanese people sleep on their sides due to being an agricultural society
• About Japan's unique status as the only place in the world with four seasons
• About nihonjinron
• And much more!

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