It’s no debate that Japan’s railway system is one of the best and most efficient in the world. If you’re a train otaku or interested in learning about how the Yamanote Line went from transporting mostly cargo and a few passengers, to now carrying over five millions passengers per day, do read on!

The history of the Yamanote Line has experienced assassinations, natural disasters, even a world war, and the way each station was rebuilt, some showcasing its original infrastructure, is a captivating read. Our host, Anthony, will tap the research and knowledge of Michael, who has featured the Yamanote Line’s history in his YouTube channel, Japanese History.

The initial purpose of the Yamanote Line was to move cargo

On Oct. 14, 1872, Japan’s first railway line, named Tokaido Line, would officially open – a 29-kilometer stretch connecting Shimbashi in Tokyo to the port city of Yokohama through Shinagawa. The line was born out of freight distribution, and passenger movement and flow weren’t even considered at that time. This stretch between Shimbashi and Shinagawa was ultimately the first bit of the Yamanote Line.

The second line, the Tohoku Line, came from the north of Japan. It was also used for freight distribution, namely silk and vegetables, manufactured or produced from the northern provinces. The line would stop at Ueno station, which would then be called the gateway to the north of Japan.

Connecting the north and south of Japan

When it comes to freight distribution, the most efficient and interconnected transportation system should be established. Japan soon discovered a missing link, a 5.5-kilometer section from Ueno in the north to Shinagawa in the south. However, in between that section, about a million people inhabited the area, making it a massive undertaking to connect the railway system’s northern and southern end.

So, in 1885, the Nippon Railway company opened a new private line (Shinagawa Line) through Tokyo’s virtually inhabited western land. It was almost quadruple in length than the 5.5-kilometer stretch, but the empty land made it faster to construct and cheaper to build. This stretch would eventually make way for Shibuya and its nearby stations.

50 passengers per day in Shinjuku?!

Here’s a mindboggling tidbit. When Shinjuku station first opened in 1885, it only catered to 50 passengers used the terminal each day. Today, Shinjuku is known as the busiest station in the world, seeing an average of 3.5 million passengers a day with 200 exits and 36 platforms. Don’t be surprised if you see north, south, east, and west all pointing in the same direction when reading the directions in Shinjuku station.

It should also be noted that the minuscule foot traffic of Shinjuku continued for a few decades. It was only after the 1923 earthquake where the eastern portion of Tokyo was devastated did the population make a move westward, thus boosting the roles of stations like Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Only two stations added since the full loop completion

The Yamanote Line full-circle loop was officially completed in 1925, with Okachimachi and Akihabara stations being the last two established. There were five train services offered per hour on the full-loop track. It took a train 72 minutes to complete the whole loop. After almost a century of operations, only two other stations were added to the full-circle loop, Nishi-Nippori and Takanawa Gateway, which opened last year.

Over half of the Yamanote Line devasted in World War 2

Yamanote Line was not spared from attacks during WW2. Ebisu, Gotanda, Osaki, Shinagawa, Yurakucho, Akihabara, Komagome, Sugamo, Ikebukuro, and Takadanobaba would all burn to the ground. Over half the train stations were damaged in some way or another. Harajuku’s iconic wooden station (already demolished in 2020) also got a direct hit attack, but the bomb turned out to be a dud, and the station was spared.

The jewel in Yamanote Line’s crown, Tokyo station, also suffered from multiple direct hits by bombs while the famous Marunouchi side building was destroyed by a fire. Although the Yamanote Line was severely damaged and operations were sporadically ceased, the entire loop continued amid quick restoration efforts.

Why many stations had a European theme

If you’re wondering why many of Japan’s earlier stations showcased European architecture with red bricks, wooden paneling, and arched ceilings, it’s because Japan commissioned German architect Franz Baltzer to design them. Baltzer was responsible for many of the train stations in Berlin, and he incorporated a similar approach in Japan.

However, when he later submitted his proposal for Tokyo station to the Japanese government, they were horrified by how he tried to fuse traditional Japanese architecture with Europe’s. Think extravagant castles meet minimalist temples. At this point in history, the government was focused on transforming Japanese society modeled on European and North American values.

The government then turned to Tatsuno Kingo, who was a Japanese architect passionate about Western design. He was tasked to make the foundation building long and spectacular. Needless to say, he didn’t disappoint. There are over 7.5 million locally manufactured red bricks in the crown jewel station, which cost about $650 million to create.

The future of the Yamanote Line

With the Yamanote Line reaching its full capacity in terms of the number of stations, the only direction now is for renovation and improvement. Take Shibuya station, for example, which is currently in the process of an upgrade. You can also expect that the design will be more user-friendly, especially to the aging population, so there will be more escalators, elevators, and wheelchair ramps.

Another reputation that precedes Japan’s railway system is its cleanliness and that the infrastructure works well 24/7. Over a century and a half into operations and the tracks are still functioning, and the overall system design is still intact. Furthermore, the cars might be old, but they remain clean.

According to Michael, the future for Yamanote Line and the entire railway system in Japan would be in the field of artificial intelligence and autonomous technology. JR East has communicated that about 25 percent of its workforce, or 10,000 staff members, are expected to retire in the next ten years.

In 2019, there was a driverless test in the Yamanote Line to test and debug this technology. There are a few issues to be ironed out, such as the train pulling up unaligned to the platform by several meters. The introduction of this driverless technology has not been announced, although it’s not expected within the next ten years.

The stations, as well, will be less and less staffed. For example, the Takanawa Gateway station is somewhat a prototype indicating an automated station. You will notice cleaning robots tirelessly sweeping the floor, information robots offering guidance in multiple languages, and security robots on standby for emergency assistance.

From a shack on the side of the road used as a loading bay for goods to a city within a city equipped with robots understanding your inquiry in your native language, it’s no doubt the journey of the Yamanote Line was an exciting one. Today, it is the heart and lifeblood of Tokyo.

Having worked with multiple Japanese companies, our host Anthony is no newbie to receiving resumes for job applications. In this podcast, he will talk about some of the common mistakes people make when filling up their resumes. They might seem like common sense things, but you’d be surprised how many applicants actually make these simple mistakes that would reduce their chances of landing a position.

1. Having a bad photo

In Japan, it’s required to have a photo attached to the resume, and there are strict requirements to follow. What companies want is a passport type of photo where the image is from the shoulders up, and you look like a hardworking and trustworthy person for the job. Keep in mind that Japanese companies pay a lot of attention to whether they think you will get along with the other co-workers or not, even more than your actual skillset.

If they think you will stand out and perhaps disrupt the harmony in the workplace just by looking at your photo, they won’t hire you.

While it doesn’t sound overly complicated to take a photo of yourself, you’d be surprised at how many people get this simple task wrong. Anthony has seen photos of people wearing sunglasses, pictures with their friends, pets, or manga collection, all in hopes that their personality would shine through the image and land them the job. Despite your outgoing and friendly personality or love for Japanese culture, this won’t make the cut when it comes to your resume photo.

Here’s a tip, head on over to any of those photo booths scattered in malls and stations, and you can get an ID photo printed in the proper format easily. Make sure to do it within three months before sending the resume out and use a plain background. The most common resume photo size is 4cm x 3cm.

2. Sending your resume without a cover letter

This is another common mistake, especially when someone is applying for multiple jobs at once. For some entry level job a cover letter might not be required but if you’re submitting that resume to a corporate-level job or one in the higher pay scale, you will need a cover letter. So, if you want to stand out above the rest, write a kickass cover letter because most don’t include one.

3. Having a generic copy-paste cover letter

In line with writing a kickass cover letter, make sure you don’t send the same one to all the companies. In case you are applying for the same position across different companies in the same industry, you can copy-paste your cover letter but make sure you change the headers and information. Imagine applying for a position in McDonald’s, and your file name is titled Burger_King_cover_letter.pdf or worse, the details inside include Burger King’s HQ or their hiring manager details.

Keep your cover letter concise and avoid irrelevant details like your love for Japanese martial arts for example (unless, of course, you are applying for a position in the sports industry). What should you include in your cover letter? Something about the company and why precisely you want to work there. Mention any experiences or projects you’ve had in the past that improved business systems and processes and include how you will do the same for that company. Keep it relevant, brief, and straight to the point because the hiring manager doesn’t have it all day.

4. Your resume is either too long or too short

Some people write every job they’ve had since the beginning of their career while others only include their latest roles. A super short or massively long resume doesn’t bode well with a Japanese company. You need to understand the Japanese psyche and what they’re looking for in your resume. One is gaps in the years you’ve worked. It should be noted that in Japan, it’s not common to job hunt. Fresh graduates apply for a position that they will keep until they retire.

Therefore, a Japanese hiring manager will not understand that year or two where you took a sabbatical or traveled. They’re looking for a natural progression in your career through the jobs listed in your resume up until the one you’re applying for now. What they do love is studying. The Japanese love to study, so if you took time off work to study the cherry blossoms, for example, your stakes are raised.

Keep your resume to about two to three pages long or go back to the past ten years of your work history and make it relevant. Another tip to remember is to keep your resume as uniform as possible because Japanese resumes are very strict, almost like a government form that you have to fill out. When applying for a Japanese company, your resume design and layout should be more professional than aesthetic because they’re not after individuality but a robotic staff and stick to the process. Therefore, let your creative juices flow in the content of your cover letter.

5. Having spelling errors or poor grammar in your cover letter or resume

The Japanese study grammar and spelling when they study English in school, making them masters in this aspect of the language. They might not be able to converse with a native English speaker, but they can tell you the grammatical rules by rote. This transfers to your resume, so get three, four, or five native English speakers to check your content and even pass the document through grammar checking platforms like Grammarly.com.

6. Don’t exaggerate your Japanese ability

You might get away writing in your resume that your Japanese proficiency is at an N2 level when in reality, it’s around N4. However, your downfall can be during the interview when the hiring manager suddenly starts conversing with you in fluent Japanese. Avoid the embarrassment by indicating your current proficiency level in your resume. Keep in mind that there is a difference between casual, everyday Japanese and business-level Japanese.

7. Don’t talk about your love of anime, manga, sushi, or cherry blossoms.

Some people think that their love for Japan will get them the job. It doesn’t matter if your hiring manager loves One Piece or doesn’t care much for anime in general – this piece of information has no relevance on the job whatsoever. What they care for are your skillset and how that can be applied to the company. You can leave all of that information out of your resume, and maybe you can have the opportunity to do so during the job interview.

These may seem like very common-sense mistakes, but as Anthony confirmed, these mistakes happen over and over again. So, if you’re applying for a job and you see many applicants, avoid these mistakes on your resume and apply anyway. There’s a good chance that many of those applicants have made those errors, thus turning the table in your favor.

If you’re currently looking for a job, head on over to Jobs in Japan. They’ve got some of the best lineups of vacancies for you to consider.

In this episode, Tokyo Podcast’s host Anthony Joh discusses his move back to Canada, how it will impact the show, and some recommended Japanese Youtubers to tide viewers over until the next episode.

Why Anthony is leaving Japan (Again)

Originally, Anthony had returned to Japan to work with start-up tourism businesses in lieu of the 2020 Olympics tourist boom. When the coronavirus pandemic put global tourism on hold, Anthony made plans to return to Canada before Japan’s infamous broiling summer hit in full force. Due to border closures on both sides, Anthony has been in Japan for longer than he originally planned. He recently did manage to find a flight back to Canada. While he hasn’t received any specific information about Canadian quarantine procedures, Anthony believes he may be unable to record for the next couple of weeks as he settles in. Once things have quieted down, he fully intends to continue recording and posting content until he can hopefully return to Japan in the spring of 2021.

Anthony’s favorite Japan-centered Youtubers

Anthony has never been a fan of the done-to-death genki J-vloggers that abound on Youtube, but he does have some other recommended channels relating to Japan that Tokyo Podcast listeners may enjoy. While not all these channels are physically based in Japan, they are each informative and full of good Japanese content. If you’re like Anthony and find yourself physically away from Japan, these Youtubers are a good chance to see The Land of the Rising Sun from a distance.

Currently Hannah

An Australian travel blogger currently based in Osaka, Hannah does fit into the genre of J-vlogging. It might seem that Anthony is contradicting himself when he recommends her. However, while Currently Hannah has posted a few of the classic My Japanese Apartment Tour videos, her content is professional quality and not soaked in that overly genki vibe mentioned earlier. Hannah manages to maintain a genuine persona while delivering informative and well-shot videos about Japan. Anthony especially likes the fact that Hannah calls out social media influencer culture on how synthesized and overly-perfect many online personas and content have become.

Tokyo Street View

According to their About Page, Tokyo Street View exists to give people “a bias-free experience of Japan.” They’re a travel vlog without a host on the screen, offering viewers high-quality, natural shots of different areas around Japan. If you’re itching to visit Japan but are stuck at home like most of the world, Tokyo Street View is the channel for you. Their raw footage of intimate Japanese scenery is both relaxing and inspiring. It’s also free for you to embed, so long as the video will not be used for commercial purposes. Anthony’s one critique of the channel is that their videos are quite short, typically limited to five or six minutes each. But there is little else that can be said in criticism of this channel. They offer 4k and even 8k content if you have the system to manage it. Check out this channel for a deep dive into Japanese scenery and life.

Nippon Wandering TV

Similar in genre to Tokyo Street View, Nippon Wandering TV centers around POV-style videos and ASMR experiences of daily life in Japan. If you’re feeling nostalgic for a personal experience of Japan, this is the channel for you. Nippon Wandering TV’s content is much longer than Tokyo Street View’s, with most cinematic videos hitting at least forty-five minutes each. They also focus more on city life than their counterpart, but the quality of the content is just as stunning. Nippon Wandering TV is perfect if you want something calming and beautiful on in the background while you plan that perfect post-pandemic trip to Japan.

Japan Guide

If you have ever visited or lived in Japan, Japan Guide is probably a well-known name to you already. This Youtube channel complements their travel content online. The videos tend to be a bit more instructional than the last two channels mentioned and do also have a host on-screen. Japan Guide posts content with excellent quality and provides helpful lifestyle and travel tips. If you want inspiration for a future trip to Japan, Japan Guide has a plethora of information for you to explore.

Monocle Films

Monocle Films is not so much a Japanese Youtube channel as it is a general travel and lifestyle channel. They prefer to stick to a more traditional sense of media not inundated with social platforms. This is something that Anthony likes about Monocle Films. They don’t have Facebook, Twitter, or other such profiles, but they are active publishers of podcast content (which they call Monocle Radio), Youtube videos, and a monthly magazine. Monocle Films also publishes guidebooks and has a café in Shibuya, Japan. Their collection of videos about Japan has such a high standard of quality that it feels more like a short film series. If you’re looking for sophisticated content on Japan, check out Monocle Films and their various resources on the country, as well as many others.

Tokyo Llama

Although the name of this channel may suggest the image of a man raising llamas in Tokyo, Tokyo Llama is actually even more interesting. Jaya is an Australian native who vlogs about purchasing and renovating an abandoned farmhouse in Ibaraki. The issue of abandoned houses is an big one for the Japanese government. As the population shrinks and younger people move into the cities to find work, more and more rural homes are being abandoned for nature to reclaim. Anthony is unsure of the details, but what seems to happen is that when the owners pass away, their younger surviving relatives may procrastinate on dealing with the home their loved ones left behind. The Japanese government faces a pile of paperwork needed to tear down the homes. Ultimately, the houses fall into disrepair and are left alone. Such houses are even free to those who offer to remodel and repair; at worst, they are dirt cheap. Jaya documents his experience of taking one such home and turning it into his own. This sort of project looks inspiring on the screen, but it would be a lot of work to tackle. Why not just watch it on Youtube? Give Tokyo Llama a look to watch Jaya’s work and understand this process better.

JDM Masters

Japanese Domestic Market Masters, or JDM Masters for short, is a car-specific channel; if that’s not your cup of tea, feel free to move on to our next suggestion! Anthony, however, has a real love for cars…especially Japan’s golden stretch of car manufacturing between the late 1980s to early 2000’s. Anthony offers a sneak peek at the many traditions and subcultures that helped shape Japan’s car industry at the time, including the “gentlemen’s agreement” amongst car manufacturers that no one would make a car with an engine more powerful than 280 horsepower. Of course, everyone secretly did just that. It was a sports car era, after all. While many of the cars made in this decade were officially listed at 280 horsepower, car enthusiasts who went the extra mile to test run the vehicles often discovered the numbers were much higher. This is the sort of in-depth look at Japan’s car industry you can expect to find at JDM Masters’ channel. They are professionals in the car industry and post raw, well-made content from around the country. If you like Japanese cars, this is the channel for you.

Van Girl Yuka

Although this channel is based in Canada, its host Yuka is 100% Japanese. She’s also 100% the odd one out in her mountain biking niche, which is predominated by young white men. Anthony has discussed his love of mountain biking in a previous episode of this podcast, so it should be no surprise that Yuka’s channel appeals to him. Yuka and her partner travel around North America, living in a van and documenting their mountain biking and outdoor adventures. Even though Yuka is physically small, she dominates the mountain biking scene. She’s incredibly skilled at what she does, and her channel is a fun look into a Japanese person living their best life abroad. Check it out!

Ghib Ojisan

The last Youtuber on this list is Ghib Ojisan, a Japanese Youtuber living and working in Singapore. Ghib keeps the tone of his content comedic yet informative, often comparing life in Japan to life in Singapore. For example, the two countries have vastly different working environments, which Ghib seems to enjoy poking fun at. His videos are subtitled in both Japanese and English, which makes them approachable learning resources. Ghib also has a food-themed Youtube channel called “Taberu Ojisan,” as well as a tourism website about Singapore. If you’re a former or current expat and find yourself comparing Japanese culture to your own, Ghib’s channel might be a refreshing watch.

What’s next for Tokyo Podcast?

That’s it for Anthony’s recommended Youtube channels. He expects to be off-air for some time while he finishes quarantine and settles down in Canada. He is still unsure about an exact date for when he can recommence recording shows but promises at least one more episode that he’s put a lot of time and work into. This is an episode Anthony is excited to air and will include several great interviews that he’s put together. Until then, thanks for listening in on Anthony’s favorite Japanese Youtubers! Remember to check out all the cool channels in this article.

In this episode, Tokyo Podcast’s host Anthony Joh interviews a friend of his who contracted the coronavirus while. This episode will cover some basics of Japan’s healthcare, as well as what you can expect if you contract COVID-19 while living in Japan.

Anthony comes to you one week into his two-week self-quarantine back in Canada. As mentioned in the previous episode, he’s recently returned to his home country after the coronavirus pandemic shuffled his plans in Japan around a bit. Anthony intends to stay in Canada until Japan’s tourism market will hopefully start opening up a little bit and he’ll be able to go back to work with the start-up company. Until then, he’s eagerly waiting for the end of his self-quarantine, as Canada’s summer is gorgeous compared to Tokyo’s furnace-like conditions. Anthony has a few interviews and content lined up, so you can expect to see more episodes being released here at Tokyo Podcast.

A Coronavirus Case in Japan

Anthony managed to do an interview with a friend of his named Tom. Tom is currently self-quarantining after being cleared to go home from a Japanese hospital. He is a former coronavirus patient. In this interview, Anthony and Tom will discuss what led to the unexpected contracting of the COVID-19 virus, the steps Tom took to get tested and receive care, and his overall impression of the experience.

Days 1~3

Tom most likely caught the virus from a friend of his while they were out playing football together. His friend was asymptomatic during the outing, and Tom himself didn’t begin experiencing symptoms until a few days following the event. He remembers coming home on a Friday evening and feeling sluggish. In addition to this, he developed a headache. Tom checked his temperature and realized he had a mild fever. He didn’t consider that he’d contracted COVID but imagined due to the mild symptoms that he was fighting off a slight cold. He went to bed early, expecting to bounce back by the next day as he always does in such cases.

When Tom woke up and felt no improvement, he still didn’t think about the possibility of the coronavirus. Thinking maybe he’d come down with a bad cold or perhaps the flu, he continued to monitor his symptoms.

On day three, Tom still wasn’t feeling great. Neither his fever nor his headache had gotten better. To make matters worse, his friend sent a message saying that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Tom knew he had to get tested at this point.

Days 4

Tom recalls that the process for getting tested in Japan is clearly aimed at native speakers. He had to make quite a few calls to find out what to do next. Ultimately, he found his way to the Himawari Service, which is a free resource offered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to help residents find medical care suited to their language and needs. The website is in Japanese, with a translation service offered for English, Korean, and Chinese. There’s a more succinct roundup of Himawari’s services here, in addition to some emergency medical numbers with multi-lingual options. Tom ended up making his arrangements in Japanese. The service directed him to a nearby clinic that accepted possible coronavirus patients.

If you’re getting tested for COVID in Japan, you absolutely need to call the clinic and set up a scheduled appointment, as they need to prepare special rooms to keep you separate from other patients. Fortunately, Tom was able to land an appointment on the evening of the same day.

When he arrived at the clinic, he was told over the phone to wait outside until a staff member ushered him in. Tom waited in a specially designated room, kept apart from the other patients. He was examined in a private room, where he told the doctor his symptoms and the timeline of events leading up to the visit. The doctor officially recommended that Tom get a PCR test. This is another vital step in Japan’s testing process. Tom was told that the doctor would contact the ward’s governing office, who in turn would connect Tom with a location at which he could be tested.

Days 5

Because Tom had visited the clinic in the evening, he had to wait until the next day for his call about where he could be tested. Fortunately, Tom lives alone and didn’t have to worry about spreading the virus to anyone in his home. When the ward’s government office contacted Tom, they told him he would be tested by appointment at a hospital about 5 kilometers away—and that he wasn’t allowed to use public transportation to go to the hospital. Unless he was experiencing respiratory issues, Tom was advised to bike or walk to the hospital for his test. Tom doesn’t own a bike, so he ended up walking 5 kilometers there and back!

On day 5, Tom’s fever actually broke and his headache eased. However, he noticed that his sense of smell was fading. Tom comments that this infamous coronavirus symptom doesn’t just happen in an instant; it was a slow fade that he noticed when his air freshener didn’t smell as strong as it usually does. Tom tested other condiments and foods before realizing that his sense of smell was indeed growing weaker. At this point, even though he hadn’t yet been tested, Tom was certain he had the coronavirus. He had already reached out to two other friends who had shared a meal with him before his symptoms started; they went to get tested as well.

After walking to the hospital, Tom was tested by a doctor wearing only a mask and surgical gloves. He confirms that the PCR test involving a nose swab is incredibly uncomfortable, but offers the assurance that this discomfort is brief. The test takes maybe 10 seconds max. While Tom’s friends ended up having to wait over a weekend due to the timing of their tests, he received his results later the same day: he had the coronavirus. Tom received a phone call first from the hospital that tested him, during which they informed him that they would be telling the ward’s government office. Then he received a call from the office. Tom would need to stay isolated in a government-dedicated facility, as they didn’t want him going out for food and possibly spreading the virus further. He was told to pack some clothes

Days 6

Tom was picked up in an ambulance and taken to his isolation area. There are plenty of coronavirus patients with mild symptoms in Japan who end up staying in special hotels, but in Tom’s case, the isolation facility was in a hospital. At this point, Tom had no fever and no other symptoms beyond his lacking sense of smell. Upon arriving at the hospital, he checked in and was given a CT scan, x-ray, and urine test. All his results were normal, meaning that the virus wasn’t impacting his health in any extreme way. Tom was led to the room he would be staying in until he was free of the virus.

Days 7~10

For the entirety of his hospitalization, Tom experienced no other symptoms. He was checked on daily by nurses in full protective gear and survived mostly by watching Netflix as opposed to the hospital TV. While the visiting nurses did their best to assuage Tom’s isolation with small talk, the fact that they were completely masked and layered for protection still left him feeling lonely. Fortunately, by day 10, Tom’s sense of smell had returned. With no symptoms for five consecutive days, he had passed the WHO guidelines for a recovered COVID-19 patient. Tom was discharged from the hospital and sent home. He notes that while he had heard he would be sent home in the same ambulance that had picked him up, he ultimately had to take a public bus back.

Tom wasn’t given a PCR test before he was discharged. However, he assures that there is a solid reason for this: while the virus may have died, its RNA remains in the body for some time. The PCR test is sensitive even to the RNA of a dead virus, so even a recovered patient will test positive on a PCR test. Still, Tom remains wary of official guidelines, and plans to self-isolate in his apartment for another two weeks to be totally safe.

Total cost of catching the coronavirus in Japan

Officially, if you go through the government-mandated process for being tested (as Tom did), your personal cost for catching coronavirus should be minimal or none. In Tom’s case, the only fee he ended up paying was the consultation fee from his first appointment at the local clinic. This was about ￥2,400 (~$22 USD).

There are some warnings from other people who have experienced either a coronavirus scare or who caught the virus that if you try to simply find a testing site on your own as opposed to a government service, you might end up falling short of the guidelines for coverage. This is especially important if you’re a temporary resident or don’t have national health insurance in Japan: ALWAYS contact your local government health center to arrange for the testing process. You should be able to find the nearest government health center on the Himawari website listed above.

Lingering Coronavirus Symptoms

Tom doesn’t seem to have any lingering effects from his brush with COVID-19. By and large, scientists believe that people who catch the virus will experience mild to moderate symptoms that will then dissipate after a week or so. However, there are some patients who continue to experience lingering symptoms for weeks or months after they’ve been declared officially virus-free. This phenomenon has been noted in severely-hit countries like the US, and although it especially isn’t the norm here in Japan, it is not unheard of. With so little still known about this new virus, this can be a frightening prospect. Tom even admits that these days, a sniffle or a cough is enough to make him anxious. Even without severe ongoing symptoms, the mental impact of his experience is a lasting one.

Tom especially emphasizes the mental consequences of his illness. Contracting COVID-19, whether you’re living abroad or not, can severely uproot your life. Tom had to stop working, stop buying his own groceries, and even had to live in a hospital for a week. He reflects that his coworkers and bosses were easy-going when he informed him that he might have the virus. They gave him the necessary time off and didn’t require that he work while hospitalized. Still, the fear of a social stigma attached to the coronavirus can truly weigh heavily on recovered patients. Whether or not it becomes serious, there is little doubt that the coronavirus has a heavy impact on the lives of those who catch it.

The New Normal

It’s still hard for even the experts to say many things confidently about a future with the coronavirus. Anthony and Tom both comment on how incredibly different the virus’ affect on its victims can be. Many people are like Tom: they catch what feels like a stubborn cold and have to isolate for a week or two before slowly returning to normal. However, there are many tragic cases like that of Nick Cordero, a healthy Broadway star in his 40s who lost his life after a grueling three month-long coma. And between these two extremes are a myriad of different stories. Is this due to various mutations of the virus? Does it rely on a person’s age, health history, and genetics? Scientists around the world work tirelessly to unravel these important mysteries.

It’s important to understand that we are rarely beyond the coronavirus’ reach. Perhaps due to extensive, daily media coverage, COVID-19 might seem like something that happens to a bunch of people on the news. Tom himself never expected to catch it. In fact, he’d barely left his home during the semi-lockdown Tokyo experienced, and only did this once to exercise outside with a friend. The irony of catching COVID-19 the one and only time he ventured outside isn’t lost on him. While this isn’t meant to instill fear, it can certainly be a cautionary tale. In this new normal, we need to stay vigilant and be ready for the scenario of getting infected.

COVID-19 Related Resources in Japan

Here’s a list of bi-lingual resources available in Japan.

• Japan’s official tourism website, which includes a list of entry bans, an updated national count of infected persons, and information pertaining to medical hotlines and insurance.
• The translation portal for Himawari’s medical service website. Languages offered: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and English. As mentioned above, Himawari is a service created by the Tokyo Metropolitan government that assists residents in finding medical care.
• TELL Japan’s COVID resource list. TELL Japan is an international counselling service.
• Japan’s official Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Labor English page. This ministry covers a myriad of government services including pension and labor, but they also manage health issues. Their coronavirus page can be found here.
• Information on Japan’s measures against the coronavirus, as well as updated information about lockdowns and so on, can be found on this website.
• Japan COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker. An excellent resource for tracking the spread of COVID-19 across Japan.

Thanks for listening in! Stay healthy, safe, and tuned for the next episode of Tokyo Podcast with Anthony Joh.

Japan’s tourism industry is booming with inbound numbers increasing every year but how accessible is Japan for tourists with disabilities? In this episode, Anthony sits down with Acessible Japan’s Josh Grisdale to discuss accessibility in Japan’s daily life and public transport.

Josh Grisdale is a fellow Canadian by birth, but he became a Japanese citizen in 2016. Due to his cerebral palsy, Josh has been using a wheelchair since he was four years old. That never stopped his love of travel and adventure, however, and in 2000 Josh visited Japan for the first time.

Something that struck him as he prepared for his journey was the lack of English information about general accessibility. Fortunately, Josh had local friends who helped him explore and enjoy Japan. He was struck by the convenience of Japanese public transport, especially as someone from rural Canada where driving was key to getting around. Josh’s experience in Japan was so impactful that he returned several times, and eventually moved permanently to the country in 2007. The initial shock of finding so little information for his first trip still stuck, leading Josh to create Accessible Japan, a website dedicated to providing information to people with disabilities hoping to visit Japan.

Japan’s History with Accessibility

Japan’s big push for nation-wide accessibility really took off in the year 2000, when the UN introduced new international standards to combat discrimination against disabled persons. While there are some traditionally Japanese elements to the infrastructure that remain a challenge to Josh as a wheelchair user—the ever-present genkan, a large step up at the entrance of most Japanese buildings, is one good example—he has seen the benefits of Japan’s desire to follow UN standards everywhere. The braille bricks placed on sidewalks for the visually impaired, Japan’s nation-wide demands for more elevators and accessibility ramps, and other changes, have been implemented with speed and efficiency. Both Josh and Anthony suspect that this has a lot to do with Japan’s homogenous society and the pride the country takes in seeing every task through to the end. Compared to countries like Canada, which make a lot of noise about eventually making nationwide shifts in infrastructure but end up taking years or decades to complete them, Japan follows through in good time.

Japan’s big push for nation-wide accessibility really took off in the year 2000, when the UN introduced new international standards to combat discrimination against disabled persons.

There has certainly been a positive shift in Japanese welfare for the disabled. In times past, a disabled person was fully reliant on family members to provide them with any necessary accompaniment or care. This meant that if a disabled citizen ended up alone, they might be forced to enter a facility. They also had fewer opportunities to go out and enjoy themselves. However, with recent changes, paid government employees accompany disabled people as part of their jobs. This leads to individuals with disabilities making more use of public facilities—which in turn alerts authorities about which facilities need better accessibility. It’s a chain of cause-and-effect that is leading to steady growth around the country.

Anthony and Josh are both particularly impressed by Japan’s attention for detail when it comes to the little things. Several amenities for disabled people are kept subtle but useful, so that people who don’t use them might not even notice them. For example, handrails in the stations and airports have braille on them—but the braille is always underneath the handrail. If you don’t use braille, you might use Japanese handrails a thousand times without realizing this useful feature is even there. Another great example is the ever-so-slight difference in size between standardized conditioner and shampoo bottles in Japan. Seeing-impaired users can tell the difference between the two, but it’s so beautifully subtle that it doesn’t stand out to other consumers. It’s this minute attention to detail that elevates Japan’s accessibility…even though the country does have its areas that still need improvement.

Accessibility in Japan’s Public Transportation

Japan is world famous for its public transportation system…but how does it hold up in the eyes of someone who needs accessibility to travel with ease? Anthony and Josh break down the different types of public transport in Japan and how accessible each one is for disabled individuals.

Trains and Shinkansen

Josh has only good things to say about Japan’s commuter trains. Every train station that has over 3,000 people using it daily is required by law to be up to national standards when it comes to accessibility. This might sound like a high bar to reach, but in a country like Japan that is so reliant on public transport, at least 90% of the stations reach the bar with ease.

That said, Josh has had largely positive experiences in Japanese stations. The ticketing machines are easy to reach, and anyone who has difficulty using their arms can easily ask for assistance from the station attendant. Once you have your ticket, you take it to the special lane at the gate and tell the station attendant where you want to go. They will not only take you to the train and give you a ramp, but will radio ahead to the station you need to disembark at. Station attendants will be waiting with ramps to help you get off and on each train—and they will do so while ensuring the train runs on time. It’s sort of like the red-carpet treatment and is available not only for wheelchair users but for the seeing-impaired as well. The one caveat might be the language barrier, so Anthony and Josh both recommend that if you need this service, you should memorize your destination names and maybe learn a bit of basic Japanese.

Using the Shinkansen, Japan’s unique bullet train, might be a bit more challenging in terms of accessibility. While the Shinkansen are all required to have accessible seating, these seats are not available for reservation on the websites. Josh—and Japan Railways—recommends calling or visiting the ticketing office a few days in advance to reserve your seat. If you’re travelling between large stations like those in Tokyo or Kyoto, it might not be difficult to get accessible seats on the day you’re travelling. However, in smaller stations with fewer trains it’s almost a necessity to call or visit ahead of time. You can still use the JR Rail Pass if you have one—you’ll just have to be a bit more careful if you choose to travel by bullet train.

Buses and Taxis

According to Josh, Japan’s city buses are quite accessible. Just make sure that the driver sees you want to get on, and they will put a ramp down for you at the bus’s middle door. In the accessible seating area of the bus are special chairs that can be folded to make room if you are in a wheelchair. Japanese city buses are all equipped with buttons on the poles or railings that you can push at your stop. As you get off, the driver will assist you again.

Highway buses and airport buses are a different matter. As these tend to have a luggage bay, they’re much higher off the ground. If you use a wheelchair, this poses a problem unless your wheelchair is foldable. If you’re using a powered wheelchair, however, Josh advises to avoid these buses; it might not be possible for you to get up the stairs. While airports in Tokyo especially have started offering wheelchair-specific vans and buses, keep in mind that these were designed to cater to local passengers and might pose a language barrier problem if you’re not comfortable with Japanese.

Taxis are another popular method of public transport in Japan. Josh warns, however, that the taxi fare can really add up, especially if you’re going long-distance through a major city with toll roads and such. While Tokyo in particular has been adding wheelchair-accessible taxi services such as Toyota’s JPN Taxi, both Anthony and Josh agree that some trouble can spring up when actually attempting to use the specialized taxis as a wheelchair-bound person. The cab drivers might grumble about the extra trouble of attaching the special ramp or might not have trained to handle disabled customers in the first place. If you want to hail a taxi and you’re using a wheelchair, it might be best to reserve one ahead of time using an app or online service, just to be safe. Anthony also recommends checking out Uber, if you’re in a major city. Uber is relatively new to Japan, but in areas like Tokyo the service is steadily growing.

Japan’s Hotels: Accessible, or Not so Much?

Another major point of concern if you’re travelling abroad is room and board. How do Japan’s hotels hold up in terms of accessibility? According to Josh, they’ve still got a long way to go. In addition to being smaller and more cramped than hotels in other countries, Japanese hotels have only recently been expected by the government to have more than one accessible room—and that’s only if they had more than fifty rooms in the building!

Fortunately, the Olympics and growing tourist rates did kick the law up slightly: now for every 100 rooms the hotel has, they are legally required to have one accessible room available. That still isn’t a lot, and Japan’s hotel industry seems to trend towards the minimum standard of “accessible.” Josh points out the troubling statistic that only 0.4% of hotel rooms in Japan are wheelchair accessible. Many rooms claiming to be “accessible” might still have a random step up into the bathroom or might simple be too cramped for a wheelchair-bound guest to be able to move comfortably around the room.

Many rooms claiming to be “accessible” might still have a random step up into the bathroom or might simple be too cramped for a wheelchair-bound guest to be able to move comfortably around the room.

On a more hopeful note, Anthony and Josh do some quick research to add that Airbnb might offer a wider selection of options for tourists with disabilities. The website offers a healthy variety of filters if you want to search for accessible rooms or homes to stay in. Unlike many Japanese hotels, which cater more towards officer workers on a business trip, Airbnb is aimed at tourists. They might be the better choice for booking a place to sleep in.

What About Tourist Attractions?

To answer the question of accessibility when it comes to tourist attractions, Josh separates Japanese tourist attractions into two broad categories: one-site attractions and area attractions.

Site attractions would be exemplified with spots like Senso-ji: the main attraction and anything you’d is all located on the same site. Senso-ji itself wins high praise from Josh, as it’s been very specifically adapted to be accessible for everyone. Steps near the gate were leveled so the whole area is flat and the high-standing temple has an elevator near the side entrance for anyone in a wheelchair. Josh adds that most temples and shrines strive to be accessible, even if they aren’t major tourist attractions. This is probably due to the fact that Japan’s population is aging, and the elders are the ones who tend to place more importance on religious or traditional activities at these holy sites.

In contrast to site attractions, area attractions are a bit more difficult in terms of accessibility. These would be along the lines of a wider area or town such as Akihabara. They’re famous attractions, but before that they’re also public spaces that are stretched over a certain area and often are owned by various groups and individuals. There’s no guarantee that this sort of location will be consistently accessible, and in addition they tend to be jam-packed with people. An area attraction is still worth it if you really want to go, but be aware that it’s best to look up accessible restaurants, stores, and amenities in the area before heading there.

Josh adds that cultural heritage sites can also be lacking in accessibility. This is less so due to crowds or the size of an area, and more to do with the fact that changing infrastructure in these sites runs the risk of damaging the structure or losing the heritage title. For more information on this sort of thing, check out Accessible Japan’s attraction page.

Gaijin Status: The Great Equalizer

Anthony asks Josh whether he feels like Japanese people look at him as a disabled person first or as a gaijin (foreigner) first. Josh affirms the latter, and admits that he sometimes appreciates it. In a small, homogenous society like Japan’s, being foreign will often be seen as more of a novelty than being almost anything else. Your specific race, gender, and body can sometimes seem to disappear in the greater picture of just how different you are as a foreigner. Josh feels he’s treated as a guest even now, and as such might receive more patience and possibly better treatment than a native disabled person might.

Your specific race, gender, and body can sometimes seem to disappear in the greater picture of just how different you are as a foreigner.

Why Accessible Japan?

When asked why he created his website Accessible Japan, Josh admits that it started out as more of a personal project. He had been surprised by the lack of English information on using a wheelchair in Japan and had begun posting his own research. However, more and more people in different situations and walks of life began to reach out to him with questions. Now, Josh eagerly collects viewpoints and experiences from around the spectrum of differently-abled people to build Accessible Japan’s repertoire. Beyond wheelchair accessibility-related information, the website now offers information about rest areas for people using walkers, service animal guidelines, how-to guides for bringing medication into Japan, and more. It’s a treasure trove of resources for people who want to visit Japan.

Before COVID-19 shook up Japan’s 2020 Olympics plans, there were going to be a projected 40 million tourists arriving in Japan this year. Anthony points out that even if only 1% of those tourists had needed the sort of accessibility information that Josh puts on his website, that would still be 400,000 people. Japan still has work to do, but it’s a society that is pushing steadily towards accessibility goals. Both Anthony and Josh urge listeners to visit someday.

Have you ever been surprised at how much influence Japanese tech and media has on your daily life? In this episode, Anthony has a chance to talk with author Matt Alt about Japan’s influence over modern pop culture and Pure Invention, the book that Matt wrote on the subject.

Matt Alt is a man of many trades who has seen Japan’s media industry from the outside and the inside. Originally from the United States, he currently lives in Japan and is a co-founder of the English localization company AltJapan. Matt is also the author of various essays, social commentaries, and his latest book Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World. Pure Invention is on sale now, and is in Matt’s words “a cultural detective story” about how one tiny island nation in the east reshaped modern pop culture across the globe.

The Sony Walkman: A Success No One Expected

When the original Sony Walkmam was released in 1979 it completely changed the way we listened to music and became a status symbol and a central part of western entertainment culture.

Was this a planned move on Sony’s part? Matt doesn’t think so. In fact, when Sony originally opened sales for the Walkman, they only manufactured 30,000 copies of the device. Worries were rampant within the company about how unpopular an aesthetic it would be to wear headphones out in public. As such the initial target group was students who might listen to music as they studied without distracting anyone else.

Anthony and Matt agree that this sort of “soft power” isn’t something that can be planned or strategized like a big movie franchise. It has to happen slowly and naturally in a grassroots sort of way. This accidental and unexpected success probably adds to the appeal of many Japanese products or media. Instead of being spoon fed to consumers, they are gems that must be discovered. Like the original Gameboy, which was a hit worldwide despite its tacky green screen and lack of backlight, the Walkman paved the way for a whole new generation of media technology.

Karaoke: The “Human Algorithm”

It’s hard to imagine Japan without karaoke but the karaoke box wasn’t invented until the 1970’s and surprisingly it was invented by five different people at around the same time. Various people around the world had the idea, but Japan took the extra step towards making it a reality.

This was not without some outcry. Up until then, Japan’s booming and unique post-work nightlife culture had been held up by hiki-katari (弾き語り), traveling minstrels moved between bars, cabarets, and clubs to provide instrumental music for people to sing along with. Hiki-katari artists were right to feel threatened by the appearance of the karaoke box; karaoke boxes replaced them almost completely by the 1990s. Other complaints rose in response to the novel invention: too much noise late at night, the loss of heart-to-heart conversations that had been a staple of bar nights, and the unfortunate incidents of “karaoke rage,” in which one drunken salaryman might fight his fellow for the mic…or simply because he couldn’t stand the off-pitch tunes.

For all this, karaoke went on the revolutionize and change the music industry as we know it. Matt points out that the “diva culture,” in which an artist became famous for singing notes and songs normal folk couldn’t dream of reaching, took a back seat as karaoke-goers began to listen to artists and bands that were possible to cover. It is true that the original karaoke night was a sport for the elders—those who preferred the traditional, wavering melancholy of Japanese enka—but by the mid-90s, over 90% of the population was going to karaoke. Younger people ushered in an age of attainable pop songs as artists began to cater specifically to karaoke-goers with their music.

Matt points out that there are differences in the way that Japan and the West approach karaoke. In countries like the US, karaoke is more a spectator’s sport: crowds gather at the karaoke bar to enjoy the music of a few willing participants. In Japan, karaoke is more often than not an individual or more intimate experience, aimed at strengthening bonds or enjoying some quality time alone. It isn’t strange to see a single person singing their heart out in a karaoke box.

There’s no denying the massive impact that karaoke has had on modern culture. In many ways, it shaped the algorithm culture we see on digital platforms like YouTube or Spotify: catering music to the needs of the listeners, with each song birthing remixes, covers, and other user-generated content.

Japan’s Products are a Dialogue with the World

Even though Pure Invention is about how Japan’s products have shaped pop culture around the world, Matt discovered a bit of irony as he researched the book: most of these same products are inspired by the cultures they went on to shape.

Both the Walkman and the karaoke box were inspired by American tape decks. Japan’s first anime, Astro Boy, has homages to Disney and other American animations within its large cast of characters. In another striking example, both Anthony and Matt reminisce about the classic Marusan Kosuge cars and how their original models were created based on (and using trash from) occupying American vehicles.

When people in the West think about Japan, toys and entertainment are often among the first things that come to mind. In his book, Matt writes about how the best of these toys and products are often the result of a dialogue between Japan and the world around it. American tapes inspired the Walkman, which in turn inspired American entrepreneur Steve Jobs to create the iPod. It’s a baton pass through history and a conversation between cultures.

Hello Kitty: The Cat on the Coin Purse

Hello Kitty is perhaps one of the most iconic characters Japan has given the world. Everybody knows her. But does everybody know that she was originally just going to be a one-time character on a coin purse? Even Sanrio, the company that created Hello Kitty, didn’t see the world-wide phenomenon she would become.

Founder Shintaro Tsuji had originally wanted to make a coin purse that fit his concept of “cute,” or kawaii. But now Hello Kitty is everywhere. She is universally loved. This is elating for Sanrio and Tsuji, who hoped that the title “Hello Kitty” would symbolize their company motto of open-hearted communication. Hello Kitty not only wins hearts all over the world, but she has redefined femininity and girl power for an entire generation. Truly, Hello Kitty stands as a perfect example of how the design slips through the fingers of the designer to achieve greater things than could ever be dreamed.

What’s Next For Japan?

Anthony asks Matt if he expects more industry-changing products to come directly from Japan. Matt believes that, in this age of interconnection and fast communication, it’s more likely that the game changers will come from outside of Japan, but with a heavy Japanese influence.

Take the collaboration of Pokémon Go: developed by American company Niantic but consisting entirely of Japanese Pokémon characters and world building. Avatar: The Last Airbender is another good example. While the story and creators are American, Avatar was created as a homage to Japanese anime. It’s a remix, of sorts. Remixes and collaborations like this are probably going to be the next chapter of pop culture and media technology.

2020 has been a rough year for most of us. This week, Anthony teams up with Rieko Uesaki to discuss strategies for maintaining mental wellness in uncertain times. Rieko is a therapist and life coach. She runs a counselling service called Mindox and has recently authored a blog post about her recommended step-by-step process for living with uncertainty. In this episode, Rieko will break down her method with Anthony and take a closer look at habits we can build to be kinder to ourselves.

Conditioning: our learned responses

According to Rieko, conditioning is formed by various societal and personal factors in our lives. In other words, conditioning is a learned response to an object or a situation. For example, if you live in Australia you will probably be conditioned to react with fear when you see a big, dangerous-looking spider. Another well-known scenario for conditioning would be Pavlov’s dogs, who received the reward of food so often from the same person that they began to drool every time they saw him. You can learn more about conditioning here. Conditioning can be great for building survival instincts, but negative conditioning is possible too. Rieko believes that it is through negative conditioning that our mental health suffers in uncertain times.

Learning new things in a new norm

So how do we deal with negative conditioning and its impact on our mental health? In Rieko’s experience, the ultimate goal is compassion and greater kindness towards ourselves. Much of our negative conditioning is created when something unpleasant triggers a past trauma or difficulty. We end up reacting to this current situation the same way we did to the situation it reminds us to. To end this cycle, it’s important to identify old traumas and the reactions they cause. Then you can start building new, positive reactions and a better mental conditioning. To achieve this, Rieko outlines a five-step process.

Step 1: Learn about yourself

Rieko believes that getting to know yourself is the first and most important step towards practicing self-kindness. A good place to start would be a personality test like the 16 Personalities Test. These are evaluations based on compiled data and theories; you don’t need to consider them to be gospel truth. As Anthony points out, though, these tests can illuminate parts of your personality that even you might not have known about. Anthony, for example, had never considered himself to be an introvert. Taking the test and reading up on the result’s meanings helped him to embrace his less social side and live a life that was more suited to his character. If nothing else, personality tests give us food for thought on why we react in certain ways and how we can live happier lives. For Rieko’s process, learning about yourself can help you identify negative emotions and the triggers that cause them. This is already a big step towards certainty.

Step 2: Make a list of positive emotions

Now that you have a list of things that trigger negative reactions, try making an opposing list of feelings or situations that make you feel positively. For example, what are things that you can do or thought processes you can make that give you a sense of joy? How about gratitude? Find the positive emotions that are most impactful for you personally and write them down.

Step 3: Identify the actions or thoughts that cause positive emotions

It’s possible that many of us don’t spend enough time thinking about what makes us happy or positive. When we’re children, we actively seek out only things that bring us joy—and we never feel guilty for doing so. Both Anthony and Rieko consider how strange it is that the older people get, the greater an expectation there is for less fun and more business. In Japanese, the kanji for busy is 忙しい (isogashii): literally heart (心) death (亡). When we grow up and leave our childhood pursuit of unhindered happiness behind for a busy, responsible life, maybe we are also killing our hearts in a sense.

So think about your list of positive emotions from the previous steps. Think about what stimuli typically cause them. In Anthony’s case, an action that brought him great joy and excitement was mountain biking. He realized that if he watches recordings of his runs, it brings back the rush of when he was on his bike. Hobbies are a great place to start. What hobby or activity makes you feel positive? What are you passionate about? The coronavirus and consequent lockdowns may put a limit on activities we’re used to doing—work, vacations, parties, etc.—but there’s a good chance that you can use that extra time to invest in something else you genuinely enjoy.

Step 4: Combing your positive emotions and their triggers into an action plan

Using your list of positive emotions and actions that trigger them, try creating an action plan for the next time you feel stuck in uncertainty or weighed down with negative thoughts. Using Anthony’s example, his action plan might look like this:

Watching my mountain biking sessions gives me a feeling of joy. 
When I feel stuck in a negative mindset, I should watch some of my mountain biking videos.

If you’re more of a visual learner, it might help to physically write this formula down:

Doing ________ makes me feel (positive emotion).
When I feel stuck in a negative mindset, I should do ____________.

You can also download Rieko’s visual for the five-step process, which can be found here.

Step 4: Combing your positive emotions and their triggers into an action plan

Using your list of positive emotions and actions that trigger them, try creating an action plan for the next time you feel stuck in uncertainty or weighed down with negative thoughts. Using Anthony’s example, his action plan might look like this:

Watching my mountain biking sessions gives me a feeling of joy. 
When I feel stuck in a negative mindset, I should watch some of my mountain biking videos.

If you’re more of a visual learner, it might help to physically write this formula down:

Doing ________ makes me feel (positive emotion).
When I feel stuck in a negative mindset, I should do ____________.

You can also download Rieko’s visual for the five-step process, which can be found here.

Step 5: Practice, practice, practice

Positivity is like a muscle. The best way to make a stronger habit of positivity is to practice continually. The more you practice these steps, the less you’ll have to think about the process each time. According to one study, it takes about two months (66 days) to form a new habit. Why not set a challenge of positive thinking for yourself? Try to form a new habit of positivity. In Rieko’s words, this is “essentially giving yourself a gift of joy, a gift of gratitude, a gift of kindness, and that in itself is compassion.”

Other mental health resources

This has been a tough year, and we’re still only halfway through. If you find that you’re struggling with positivity and mental health, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Below are some links to resources both in Japan and abroad that can provide you with support and assistance.

• TELL (Japan) – An international mental health support and counselling service for those residing in Japan. TELL offers free phone calls and chat services with the promise of anonymity, professional counseling, psychological assessments for children or adults, and more. Visit their website for extra tips on dealing with mental health during the pandemic and foreign-friendly emergency numbers or help lines.
• Tokyo Counseling Services (Japan) – TCS is a private counseling service with certified multi-lingual staff. One of the senior staff, Andrew Grimes, has discussed mental health culture in Japan with Anthony on a previous episode. Tokyo Counseling Services caters to a variety of needs, including individual therapy styles such as behavioral therapy, marriage or couple counseling, family therapy, therapy for LGBTQ+ related issues, and more.
• The Thrive Programme (UK, Remote) – The Thrive Programme is a sort of mash-up between counseling and behavioral therapy. It is a course which can be guided with a certified counselor or taken alone using one of the tailored manuals. The Thrive Programme is based in the UK but has several centers around the world, including China, the USA, and Canada. They also offer online services via video chat. For a list of the mental health issues Thrive can help you with, see their Get Help page.
• Try a therapy or mental wellness app. There are countless options and price ranges out there, including services that accept various types of insurance.
• Rieko Uesaki’s counseling service Mindox (Japan) – if you’re living in Japan and are curious about Rieko’s services, feel free to check out her website and inquire about a counselling plan that works best for you.
• Lifeline – Remember that no matter how strong a sense of isolation this pandemic may cause, you are not alone. If you’re struggling with thoughts of self-harm, depression, or loneliness, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you’re based in Japan and want some Lifeline resources that are more local, please check the page here.

For women who are considering living—or already live—in Japan, you may have wondered what it’s like being pregnant and giving birth in Japan. This week, Anthony speaks with LaShawn Toyoda, an American living in Japan who runs the blog The Yokohama Life. Through her personal experience being pregnant and giving birth in Japan, LaShawn has learned a great deal about the entire process of becoming a mother in Japan, all while speaking minimal Japanese.

Maternity leave:

If you’re an expecting mother, one concern you’ll have is how much paid time you’ll be allowed off from work. In Japan, maternity leave consists of two types: regular maternity leave and childcare leave. Maternity leave is provided to every female resident or citizen of Japan, regardless of salary or employer. It guarantees 67% of your salary starting from 6 weeks before your expected due date up until 8 weeks after giving birth. Childcare leave is available as well, but qualification depends on several factors, one of which is your employer guaranteeing your position once you return.

Hospitals and reservations:

Because Japan is so well-organized, an expecting mother is required to choose early on which hospital she will deliver her child. The choice of hospital and room can range widely, from public hospitals with shared bedrooms to private hospitals with private beds and meals for the mother and other family members who wish to stay.

According to LaShawn, a very important choice to make is whether to receive an epidural. In Japan, natural births are highly preferred, so hospitals which will administer epidurals are not as common. This leads to a limited choice of hospitals and potentially longer waiting lists. Choosing a hospital and method of delivery is best to do as early in your pregnancy as possible.

Assistance and costs:

You’re undoubtedly wondering—how much does having a baby in Japan cost, especially compared to a country like America with its infamously high healthcare costs? Lashawn was kind enough to share details about this, and the numbers may surprise you.

First, pregnancy and giving birth are technically not covered by Japan’s national healthcare system. However, according to Lashawn, the government will give you vouchers called ninsanpu hoken hiyō hojoken, which are used to cover costs of hospital check-ups and tests during pregnancy. Each time you visit a hospital or clinic for check-ups prior to giving birth, you present one of these vouchers, and your bill will be reduced. For LaShawn, this cut the cost of simple visits and check-ups down to about ¥2,000 (about $20), and more comprehensive visits such as blood tests down to about ¥20,000 (just under $200) each.

This relieves a bit of the burden for the time leading up to the birth, but what about the hospital stay around the time of birth? Japan also offers lump-sum assistance for expecting families. If approved, it’s sent to the hospital you’ve chosen and deducted from your total costs. The amount of this depends on various factors, but for LaShawn, it was ¥450,000 (about $4,200).

That’s not all. Japanese employers offer another form of assistance stemming from Japan’s gift culture, a kind of lump-sum ‘congratulations’ to expecting mothers. At least one year of employment with the company is required to qualify, so LaShawn, who had just started her new job around the time of her pregnancy, was not eligible. However, her husband was, and they received around ¥30,000 (about $300)

For LaShawn, her total—including check-ups, delivery, and room fees—was about ¥800,000, or about $7,400. This figure can vary greatly based on factors such as which hospital you choose and if you have a c-section. However, considering Japan’s famously top-notch quality of healthcare, this is relatively low, especially when compared to the price of giving birth in America as a foreigner.

Here’s a breakdown of what LaShawn paid for her pregnancy and childbirth:

• ¥497,000 Delivery
• ¥72,000 Hospital Entrance
• ¥60,000 Newborn Care and Management Fee
• ¥72,000 Room Fee
• ¥95,000 Surgery, examination, and medicine
• ¥16,000 Delivery benefits
• ¥3,000 Newborn Hearing Test

Total: ¥815,000

Follow-up care and support groups:

Japan highly values the family, so for most new Japanese mothers, her family provides plenty of much-needed support after her baby is born. However, if you’re a foreigner, it’s likely your family is not with you in Japan. Luckily, the Japanese government does offer some services post-hospital-discharge. According to LaShawn, these include a cleaning service, where a social worker will occasionally come and cook meals and clean for you, as well as a counseling service with personal home check-ups on your well-being. One catch to these services is that they’re only in Japanese, but if you’re willing to struggle through the language barrier, they could help to provide the support you need.

For more long-term peer support, there’s Tokyo Mother’s Group, which is an English-speaking support group for mothers and families in Tokyo. LaShawn herself is the co-founder of smaller online support group for new moms in Japan, which mostly communicates through a LINE chat group.

To hear more details of LaShawn’s personal story of being pregnant and giving birth in Japan, be sure to listen to this week’s episode. And if you’re interested in even more details, tips, and stories of becoming a new, foreign mother in Japan, visit LaShawn’s blog, The Yokohama Life.

Idols are a unique part of Japanese pop culture. The term technically refers to male or female singers, performers, and actors with highly-commodified images and an intensely passionate fan bases, but idols are more commonly teenage girls performing in groups. We’ve touched on the topic of idols in previous episodes—most recently with our endorsement of the excellent documentary Tokyo Idols. In this episode, Alice shares with us her story of breaking into the industry, insights into the idol sub-culture, and thoughts on why fans of teenage girl idol groups are primarily middle-aged men.

The first foreigner-only idol group

Alice’s dream was to work in the idol industry, so, naturally, she reached out to countless talent agencies. After more than enough failed attempts and run-arounds, she eventually found an agency who specializes in foreign models. Once she began working with them, however, she found they wanted her to focus mostly on cosplay events. Frustrated that no one would take her idol dreams seriously, she spitefully left the agency with two other foreign models, and formed マイドレミ (Maidoremi).

Breaking into the idol industry

For Alice, the idol industry was surprisingly easy to break into, even without the help of an agency. Because the industry is always looking for fresh, new faces, all it took was crafting the group’s brand, setting up a social media presence, and reaching out to event organizers. She found that most organizers were welcome to letting Maidoremi perform at idol events. This could have possibly been due to the novelty of a foreigner-only idol group, but Alice saw it as the opportunity needed to start performing and building a strong fan base.

It’s all about the fans

An idol’s success hinges entirely on fans. At idol music events, attendees must name which group they are coming to see when they purchase their tickets. This gives the event organizers clear numbers of which groups bring in more fans and are therefore more profitable. This might seem like new idols struggle with maintaining a presence at events, but, due to this strong fan-idol association, there’s one phenomenon of idol events that can be exploited by up-and-coming groups:

If there’s a massive crowd for one group, the people there who are there other groups are going to be like ‘Oh, what’s going on over there?’ and then it’s really easy for you to steal other groups’ fans.

Why are idol fans mostly middle-aged men?

A surprising realization one might have when first seeing a teen idol group perform is the fanbase demographic—it’s almost entirely middle-aged salarymen. While it’s difficult to argue against there being unsavory motivations behind a few of the fans, it’s more likely that the mediocrity of the Japanese salaryman lifestyle has created a yearning for youthful excitement and aspirations captured in the performances of these young girls. According to Alice, there’s also a sense of fulfilment felt when fans support idols:

I wouldn’t say these people have given up on their dreams, but they’re watching someone else working so hard to make their dreams come true, and supporting that person makes you feel like you’re part of something bigger than yourself.

For more of Alice’s story, including her excellent advice on taking risks and starting your own business, be sure to tune in to this week’s episode.

This week, Anthony discusses what it’s like being hafu in Japan. Anthony himself is half-Japanese, and in this episode he speaks with three other hafus—Nina Cataldo, Wataru Miyazaki, and Hikari Hida—all with different non-Japanese “halves,” yet all with shared life experiences and outlooks stemming from their hafu upbringings.

What is hafu?

Hafu is a term derived from the English word “half.” It refers to a person who has one Japanese parent and one non-Japanese parent, thus being “half” Japanese. The word is an example of wasei-eigo, a type of English word that has been transformed into a Japanese word using the Japanese syllabary system. Being multiracial might not seem significant to those from western countries, as almost everyone we meet is mixed-race in some way. However, in a country as homogenous as Japan—a place in which everyone is placed into the category of either “Japanese” or “non-Japanese”—being hafu is so unique that is has garnered its own distinction and community.

Growing up hafu in Japan

Despite Anthony and his three guests being so different and having different levels of exposure to their Japanese cultural halves, they all had similar shared experiences being raised hafu, specifically during childhood in school. For those who spent their childhoods in western countries, their Japanese culture was seen as weird, whereas those who grew up in Japan were treated with the same oddity as a foreigner. Hikari recalls one incident during grade school that left a lasting impression on her:

When I was in, I think it was first or second grade, but a boy asked me whether my parents met at a kyabakura.

Kyabakura, or hostess club, is a type of Japanese bar or club in which women are paid to flirt and drink with men. Hikari continues by explaining that this type of problematic stereotype is still sometimes instilled in Japanese children—“that’s not something that a 6 or 7 year old comes up with on their own.”

More innocently, the group also recalls their “bento moments,” something that every hafu shares. Anthony describes being mocked by his Canadian classmates for his onigiri wrapped in seaweed, while, across the pond, Hikari’s bento packed with her mom’s authentic Thai cooking caused an uproar with her Japanese classmates. On the other hand, Wataru was praised as the cool kid for bringing exotic furikake seasoning and Kewpie mayonnaise.

Hafu superpowers

While growing up hafu has its challenges, Anthony and his guests also discuss advantages of being raised under two different cultures. All agree that, due to their multicultural backgrounds, they’ve developed a keen sense of looking at multiple sides of any problem or situation, which is a huge advantage, especially in Japan:

“Being bi-cultural helps a lot, especially at my work. A lot of the nuance is there.” – Hikari

“I like to explore different opportunities and see that there’s more than one solution, there’s more than one way to look at something, and I credit that to my upbringing as a bicultural person. And I think that’s helped me in my personal settings and well as professional settings.” – Nina

“Two sort of ‘superpowers’ that I have would be I have kind of two different opinions, like what Nina said, and also being able to get humor from both sides, like, it’s a very different set of humor—Japanese humor and western humor.” – Wataru

Can hafus change Japan?

The homogeneity of Japanese culture makes it difficult for new ideas not generated by Japanese people to be accepted. There’s also the Japanese concept of wa, or harmony, that leads to the inability to question ideas or go against the grain, which can create stagnation and a lack of development, especially in business. Hafus are unique in that they may be more accepted as Japanese, yet not expected to abide by Japanese norms:

“I think hafus are uniquely positioned to push Japan in the right direction. Japan … needs different thinking thrust into the country. I think that, for Japanese, it’s really hard to accept viewpoints from non-Japanese. I think hafus can push this mindset a little bit…” – Anthony

“We’re positioned in a place where we can bridge that gap.” – Nina