I was a podcast host for two years before I got to Japan.
I was on a podcast called “The Big List”, which was pretty much just me talking about Japanese culture and the way I like to think of myself as a Japanese person.
It was pretty weird, but I liked it and it was great fun.
But I’d also be sitting around at a table and someone would say, “You know what?
I really like your podcast.
I really enjoyed listening to you.
Would you like to make a podcast about your podcast?”
And I’d say, Oh, yeah, that sounds great.
But then I’d be like, “Wait, you’re making this for Japanese people?
Why are you making this podcast for Japanese?”
And they’d say “Oh, I’m not making this to be about you.
I’m making this so Japanese people can listen to Japanese culture, too”.
So I was really disappointed, because I didn’t have a Japanese friend in Japan, and that’s the part I was hoping to find the most welcoming.
And I was looking for a Japanese podcast host who would give me a little bit of that.
And then I discovered The Big List.
And what was that podcast like?
It was really good.
And it wasn’t really about me, but it was really great for me because it was just me and the other hosts talking about the Japanese culture.
It wasn’t just about Japanese food.
It didn’t just talk about Japanese music.
It also talked about Japanese art.
It talked about Japan.
It did stuff about Japanese literature.
It had great Japanese actors, too.
It seemed really welcoming and kind of cool to be a part of.
And so I found it really easy to fall in love with it.
It felt like I was part of something.
And that’s what The Big Line did for me.
I love being part of that podcast.
It’s like being part on the big list of the best podcasts in Japan.
The big list was great.
It got me a lot of attention and a lot more Japanese people actually listened to it than I had hoped.
But the other part of it was also really great.
Because there’s this weird, super-small community of Japanese podcast hosts.
They’re really good hosts.
But they’re also kind of weird and weirdly self-absorbed.
They don’t really like the Japanese people who come to their podcasts, and they’re not really into listening to Japanese music or reading Japanese books.
So they don’t talk about them.
They have an odd fetish for Japanese culture that is totally alien to the Japanese, and so they’re totally oblivious to Japanese people.
So The Big Show was really nice to me.
And when I came to Japan I realized that I was pretty good at making podcasts, so I thought, “Oh my God, I want to try that”.
So The Best of The Big Lists was a Japanese American podcast where I did a podcast, The Best Of The Big Podcasts.
It just kind of felt like a normal podcast.
There was nothing really new about it.
And The Big Lines was a really good podcast.
And they had a very, very good Japanese American cast.
And the Japanese Americans were super-nice, and I think they were also very good at their job.
And we made a few podcasts together.
And you know, I didn, you know I’m kind of like a little brother to them, but at the same time I had the opportunity to talk to them a lot and learn about the culture a little more.
So I think the two podcasts have something in common.
They both started out really small, but they’re both really good, and one was a little niche, and the second one was very popular.
So the point is, they’re all kind of really good and are kind of, you want to talk about their podcast, and you don’t want to discuss their podcast.
So you can be like “Yeah, I know, but can I talk to my podcast hosts about my podcast?” and then they’re like, You know, no, we’re going to talk with Japanese people.
“So I guess the biggest thing is, I just wanted to be part of the Japanese podcast community.
And as soon as I did, it was like, Oh my God!
It’s just like, I love it.
They were super nice.
And really good at what they do.
So, yeah.
They’ve been my favourite podcast hosts ever since.
I’ve met all the people who are Japanese.
I mean, I met one person at a show who was Japanese, who was super-good at her job, and she’s super-cool and she speaks perfect Japanese.
So that’s why I’m a big fan of The Best.
And at The Big Shows I met a Japanese woman who was really helpful and funny and really funny.
So those are my two favourite podcast host hosts, and