The Japanofiles Podcast

Episode 81

For today's Japanofiles Podcast, Dave talks with Kelton Boyer, fellow long-time resident of Nagano Prefecture.  Kelton discusses some of the many interesting experiences he's had, including his most recent business venture -- Mount Desert Island Ice Cream Matsumoto.

Episode 79

Today Dave talks with Alistair Ramsbottom, "a Brit who's been living in Asia for many years and experienced many cultures, (and who now) works in Tokyo, but still enjoys coming home to Nagano". Alistair explains about how he switched from living and working in China to being in Japan, about his connections to the Matsumoto area, and about the challenges of settling into a new Japanese living and working situation.

After a brief visit to the Shinmai Media Garden, Dave talks with fellow Matsumoto resident Kevin Chang. Kevin is the founder and CEO of Kai Analytics, a Canadian-based market research firm. Kevin discusses some of the challenges of maintaining a base in both Canada and Japan, and he also talks about his podcast, Python Out Loud.

Episode 76

Japanofiles Podcast, Episode 75: Takenori Kato, an international medical aid worker with the Japan Chernobyl Foundation (JCF), is usually stationed in Iraq. However, because of international travel restrictions due to COVID-19, he's currently working remotely from the JCF headquarters in Matsumoto. In today's Japanofiles Podcast, Kato-san talks about his experiences as a Japanese expat in the Middle East.

For this month's Japanofiles Podcast, Tyler Lynch drops by to talk about life in Togura Kamiyamada, a hot-spring resort area about 40 miles NE of Matsumoto. Besides running a traditional Japanese inn, Tyler has also been involved in many interesting projects to help promote tourism and local businesses.

For today's Japanofiles Podcast, Dave is joined by James Van Lieu to talk about the mountains of the Matsumoto area. James has set himself the very ambitious goal of getting to the top of the all mountains in Matsumoto, and he has been documenting his activities online on YAMAP.

Today's show features Charles Ward, a prize-winning board game designer who lives in Matsumoto. Charlie explains how he got into board game design, as well as what it takes to get a game produced. He also details the development of one of his recent creations, ROKUMON -- a two-person strategy game based on the true story of Sanada Yukimura, a famous samurai warrior from nearby Ueda Castle.

For Episode 71 of The Japanofiles Podcast, Chris Koch, owner of The Storyhouse Cafe in Matsumoto, stops by to talk about his experience of starting a business in Japan.

Episode 70

Episode 69

Episode 68

Episode 67