Podcasts about Sapporo

In 2008, 21-year-old Skye Budnick told her family she was staying with a friend for a couple of nights. Quiet, thoughtful, and deeply fascinated by Japanese culture, Skye had always seemed like the child her parents never had to worry about. But when days passed with no word from her, her family discovered a shocking truth: Skye hadn't gone to a sleepover at all—she had boarded a one-way flight to Japan. In this episode, we trace the early life, private struggles, and baffling disappearance of a young woman who seemed to vanish by choice… and without a trace. This is her story. If you have information that could help in the investigation of Skye Budnik's disappearance, in the U.S. you can contact the U.S. National Missing and Unidentified Person System (NamUs), which is the official federal database for missing persons cases. You can submit tips or information via their online form, or you can call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-843-5622. In Japan, you can contact the U.S. Consulate in Sapporo, Japan: If the information is related to her location or activities in Japan, contact the consulate directly. Listen Ad Free And Get Access to Exclusive Journal Entries Episodes: Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4HEzJSwElA7MkbYYie9Jin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/themurderdiariespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Apple: Hit subscribe/ 1 week free trail available ⁠Resources: https://en.everybodywiki.com/Skye_Budnick https://www.survivingskye.com/https/anchorfm/survivingskye/https/anchorfm/survivingskye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHcEbqOCMUo https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=675&q=background+information+about+skye+budnick&cvid=cd3c831e381a4f6685e259706e16850c&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQ6QcY_FXSAQg3NDQ2ajBqN6gCALACAA&FORM=ANNAB1&PC=U531&source=chrome.ob Music Used: Walking with the Dead by Maia Wynne Link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Maiah_Wynne/Live_at_KBOO_for_A_Popcalypse_11012017⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ License: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Our Links: Link Hub: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://msha.ke/themurderdiaries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/themurderdiariespod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Edited by: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.landispodcastediting.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Japan has a reputation for being incredibly safe, but what does “safe” actually mean? The Krewe is joined by Jordan Green, aka AfroInJapan from YouTube & Instagram, to explore safety in Japan beyond just crime, including natural disasters, wildlife, xenophobia, & the considerations travelers & foreign residents should keep in mind. Does Japan live up to it's rep? You be the judge! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for Jordan Green/AfroInJapan ------ AfroInJapan on YouTube AfroInJapan on Instagram AfroInJapan's "The Myth of Crime in Japan" ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

John is back home from a very crappy anime con and ready to talk a WHOLE lot of wrestling! Their good pal Arametha is back to hear them complain about how much Otakon sucked (again), how much their latest flight to Japan cost, and- especially- how bad The Zoomers™ are at taking turns at arcade games, but eventually they get around to talking some wrestling too! First, it's three nights of the STARDOM 5 Star GP (Nights 9-11- 8/3, 8/8 & 8/9), a mixed bag of shows from Korakuen and Sapporo, as the picture starts to get a lot clearer on who's moving on (especially in the Red Blocks!). Then it's the NJPW G1 Climax (Nights 12-15- 8/6, 8/8, 8/9 & 8/11) as they talk a legitimate MOTYC *and* a couple Worst Match of the Year contenders! Wow! And no, one of them wasn't *that* match.The third and final ongoing tournament they check in on is the Tokyo Joshi Princess Cup, as they cover the quarterfinals from 8/8 at Ryogoku KFC Hall- featuring an amazing match between Suzume and Shoko Nakajima! They also speculate on who among the final four will ultimately take home the crown. Then it's over to NOAH for the first time in a while as John watched two (2) whole matches, but Arametha thankfully watched way more than that. One of the matches John did watch though was, swear to god, a ****1/2 Tetsuya Naito match. In 2026. Truly wild. They also discuss the revealed blocks for the 2026 N-1 Victory tournament.Up next it's Marvelous' 8/8 Korakuen Hall show featuring two matches that John happens to think are a bit overhyped, and also a very funny wrestler-joining-a-unit angle. And then finally the episode wraps up with a check in on Marigold (another one we haven't talked about much in forever) to see how things are going over there for their big 8/9 Ota Ward Gym show. Spoiler: Not particularly well! And then they talk about the Dream Star GP blocks, aka Why The Fuck Is Megaton In This.Follow Wrestling Omakase on Twitter: http://twitter.com/wrestleomakaseFollow John on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/justoneenby.bsky.socialAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We speak to Kendall Bharath, a real estate agent and construction project manager based in Asahikawa, Hokkaido - what's the local market like, how do foreigners and Japanese differ in mentality, both at work and when shopping for homes, what should people consider and avoid when purchasing, and much, much more.

Solo travel or group travel: is one really better for seeing Japan? The Krewe welcomes Ryotaro Sakurai back to the podcast to break down the pros and cons of both, from flexibility and independence to planning, convenience, and shared experiences. Plus, Ryotaro gives us a look at Umami Travel, the group tour company he's building and why he thinks there's room for a different kind of Japan travel experience. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for Ryotaro & Umami Travel ------ Ryotaro's Japan YouTube Channel Ryotaro on IG Umami Travel Website Kessennuma Knitting INEtoAGAVE (Craft Sake) ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Just in time for the start of the new J.League season, the JTET team finish off their big J2 season preview by looking at the other 10 clubs who will be taking part in the second tier in 2026/27. James and Jon analyze 8 teams, and we are grateful to special guests Tom (Sapporo) and Leslie Mabon (Iwaki) for their contributions on their clubs. Before the boys depart, they take a quick look at the opening weekend of J2 fixtures, and pick out the games that they are most excited about. We hope everyone enjoys the show, and sticks with us for the season ahead! Timestamps: 02:00 to 06:00 - Kofu 06:00 to 14:00 - Omiya 14:00 to 21:00 - Fujieda 21:00 to 31:40 - Iwata 31:40 to 37:30 - Sapporo (with special guest Tom) 37:30 to 56:00 - Iwaki (with special guest Leslie Mabon) 56:00 to 01:01:00 - Toyama 01:01:00 - 01:06:50 - Niigata 01:06:50 - 01:11:40 - Tokushima 01:11:40 - 01:20:15 - Imabari 01:20:15 - Finish - J2 Round 1 Preview __________________________________________________________________________ *These are the questions that we asked Tom and Leslie to cover in their previews: 1) How would you sum up your club's performance in the 100 Year Vision League? 2) What have been the big transfers at your club (in and out) since the end of the 100 YVL? 3) How do you feel about your club's prospects for 2026/27 (head and heart)? 4) Is there anything else you'd like to mention ahead of the new season? *Join the J-Talk Podcast Patreon here: https://patreon.com/jtalkpod *Find our JLeague Chat Discord server here: https://discord.gg/UwN2ambAwg *Follow JTET on Bluesky here: @jtalket.bsky.social

Benvenuti e bentornate in questa nuova collaborazione di Giappone nel mondo. Oggi vi presento Focus Giappone, la rassegna stampa curata da Simone Ottuzzi, creatore del canale YouTube Omotenashi Anime e caro amico. Ogni lunedì alle 6:00 vi porterà le notizie più interessanti della settimana dal Sol Levante, arricchendo il nostro feed con contenuti freschi e approfonditi. Passate a salutare Simone sul suo canale Omotenashi Anime e… buon ascolto!-- Link utili: --- Valutate l'idea di ISCRIVERVI al canale di Simone OMOTENASHIANIME: https://www.youtube.com/@OMOTENASHIANIME- Il canale YouTube su Giappone nel Mondo: https://www.youtube.com/@giapponenelmondo- Il nostro canale su approfondimenti e cultura pop LIVE PLOT-TWISTER: https://www.youtube.com/@plot-twister--- SHOWNOTES ---RIASSUNTO:Focus Giappone raccoglie le principali notizie della settimana dal 27 al 31 luglio. Tra i temi: l'apertura del mercato alle patate americane, l'ingresso di BYD con mini veicoli elettrici, la proposta di riduzione dell'imposta sui consumi alimentari, un'ondata di calore pericolosa e il blocco della scuola internazionale a Sapporo per l'opposizione antiimmigrazione.CAPITOLI: 00:53  Patate americane: il Giappone valuta la revoca delle restrizioni 02:13  BYD inizia la vendita di mini veicoli elettrici in Giappone 04:03  Premier Takaichi propone riduzione dell'imposta alimentare al 1% 05:46  Ondata di calore pericolosa investe il Giappone 08:03  Manifestanti bloccano la scuola internazionale Global Indian Education a SapporoARGOMENTI: - Importazioni patate fresche dagli Stati Uniti - BYD mini veicoli elettrici Giappone - Riduzione imposta sui consumi alimentari - Ondata di calore e temperature estreme - Proteste antiimmigrazione Sapporo - Scuola internazionale Global Indian Education - Disinformazione sui social media - Politiche di integrazione stranieri in GiapponeDESCRIZIONE SEO (per Spotify):Le notizie principali dal Giappone della settimana dal 27 al 31 luglio. Scopri come il governo giapponese valuta l'apertura del mercato alle patate americane, l'arrivo di BYD nel mercato dei mini veicoli elettrici, la proposta di riduzione dell'imposta sui consumi alimentari del primo ministro Takaichi, l'allerta per l'ondata di calore che investe il paese con temperature fino a 39 gradi, e il caso di Sapporo dove manifestanti antiimmigrazione hanno bloccato l'apertura di una scuola internazionale.

What goes into kicking off, planning out, & sustaining a podcast? The Krewe presented their lived experiences in podcasting, along with recommendations & tips for aspiring content creators in the US-Japan space, during a workshop on July 30, 2026 at the NAJAS (National Association of Japan-America Societies) National Conference. This episode is that workshop! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for NAJAS ------ NAJAS Website NAJAS Conference Website ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Former LSU standout, NBA veteran, and professional basketball player Johnny O'Bryant III joins the Krewe to discuss his unique connections to Japan, from playing for the Ibaraki Robots in Japan's B.League to founding Noir Caesar, his own manga publishing company. We explore his experiences living and competing in Japan, how a lifelong passion for manga grew into a business, and what it takes to balance life as a professional athlete and entrepreneur. It's a conversation about basketball, Japanese culture, creativity, and chasing passions both on and off the court. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for Johnny & Noir Caesar ------ Noir Caesar Website Johnny on IG B.League Website ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

I’m on the road in a 16 foot Penske truck  I’m doing this show from a hotel room in Bolingbrook, Illinois. friend Of The Show Jeff  Zelepugas  joins me and my undisclosed beautiful travel companion Music by The Kinks ? Donate to the show – Rock and Roll Geek Friends And Family Membership Thanks to Ralph Miller for the $125 Penske truck donation Thanks to Dan Gerawan for the $100 Penske Donation Donate on Venmo Dan Gerawan – $100 Concerned Donation John Morgan – $50 Hang In There Bud Kirk Crawford – $50 Tim Schall – $50 Rockbottom Rob Giglio – $25 Gregg Brofer – $20 Blake Johnston – $20 Todd Cunningham – $10 Danny Borden – $5 Steven Cohen $5 Richard Fusey – $4.44 Richard Fusey – $6.66 Bruce McMillan – $3 (Venmo donation id is @Michael-Butler-11) PATREON DONORS Joe Pawlak – $16.66 Kirk Crawford – $12.77 Patrick Shanahan – $10 Brian Springer – $8 Jon Scott – $8 Michael Street – $7.50 Dave Slusher – $5.55 Robert Harvey – $5 Chiaki Hinohara – $5 MedakiMetal on Instagram Jamie Jefford – $5 Erik Klein – $5 Paul Smith – $5 Justin Lefkowitz – $5 Steve Trice – $5 James Shapiro – $5 Martin Clawley – $5 Nadi Itani – $5 Eric Stowell – $4 Mike Hellyer – 4 pounds Mark Mazzel – $3 Adrian Boschan – $2 Amelia Bowen – $2 RnR Pleeb – $1.42 3Legs4wheels – $1 Arne Stach – $1 Paypal Donors Richard Strom – $20 Dave Franco – $20 Steven Laperriere – $20 Bradley Lisko – $10 William Bealle – $10 Ralph Miller – $10 School Of Podcasting – $10 Jason Shepard – $10 Jeff and Cheri Thieleke – $10 Christopher Del Grande – $5 Jayce Lesniewski – $5 Benjamin Mueller – $5 Jon Tennis – $5 Rachel Rosenberg – $5 Vincent Crimi – $5 Gregg Long – $5 Peter Spark $5 Andrew Howe – $5 John Ofenloch – $5 Chad Kiffmeyer – $2 Dave Alexander – $2 Adam Croft – $2 Kai Matsuda – $2 Lasse Satvedthagen – $2 Brian Grattidge – $2 William Moffett – $2 Deborah Dreyfus – $2 Show Transcript  0 00:00:05 From somewhere in the middle of nowhere, this is the Rock and Roll Geek Show. This is the story of my rock and roll butler. Welcome to the Rock and Roll Geek Show. 00:00:21 My name is Michael Butler. Thanks a lot for joining me. I really appreciate it. 00:00:25 Today is Friday, July 17th, 2026. It’s 540 when I’m doing this. We’re going to do it shortly because we have people in the hotel room. 00:00:37 A friend of the show is here that I met. We’re in, what town are we in? Bowling? 00:00:44 Bowling? Bowling Brook. Bowling Brook. 00:00:46 Bowling Brook, Illinois. Introduce yourself. It’s Jeffrey. 00:00:50 Jeffrey Zalapugas. Zalapugas. I can’t pronounce his last name. 00:00:54 I don’t know why but Zalapugas. Zalapugas. Zalapugas. 00:01:03 It’s not my pizza name. My pizza name is Paige. So is that an Italian? 00:01:07 Zalapugas. Lithuanian. Lithuanian, ooh. 00:01:10 I don’t know what they say about Lithuanians. Yeah, for sure. If I order a pizza, it’s never that. 00:01:18 What do you mean? It’s never a Lithuanian pizza? No, it’s never Zalapugas. 00:01:21 Oh, it’s Zalapulagas. Zalapulagas. That’s what you’re going to hear going back. 00:01:24 I’ve heard it all. Talk into that microphone. You can’t butcher the last name. 00:01:32 Jeffrey Zalapugas. We’re going to meet up with Jeff Thielicke today. That’s who you were with last time when I was in Milwaukee. 00:01:40 And Chicago. And Manitoba. Oh, you were in Chicago as well. 00:01:43 Yeah. Thielicke got pretty wasted, huh? Milwaukee as well. 00:01:48 Yeah. Hats off to Jeff. He’s a fun guy. 00:01:51 Sure is. As you are as well. He’s a good dude. 00:01:54 I was telling undisclosed, beautiful travel companion Raquel how hilarious you got. You crack me up all the time. Last time you were there, I was cracking up. 00:02:07 Well, we had the gentle giant with us, though. Stirring up the pot. Yeah, your bodyguard. 00:02:13 Yeah, we went to a Mexican place. Did you know he came to? Oh, his wife is here, Winnie. 00:02:18 His beautiful wife, Winnie. Say hi, Winnie. Winnie, did you know he came all the way to see… 00:02:26 Yes, yes, he told me about it. Yes, he told me, yes. You okay with that? 00:02:30 Yes, I was. Where are you from, Winnie? I’m from Africa. 00:02:36 You’re from Africa? What part of Africa? East Africa. 00:02:38 East Africa. What country is in East Africa? Uganda. 00:02:41 What is it? Uganda. Uganda? 00:02:44 Wow. I went to Cape Town, and I went to… Oh, fuck. 00:02:51 Botswana? Botswana, oh, yeah. Is that near Uganda? 00:02:55 No, that’s south, south, south, yes. They had no… In Cape Town, because I wanted to have wild game, I wanted to eat wild game. 00:03:02 Wow. Cape Town, they had all kinds of wild game you could eat. Yes, they do. 00:03:06 Botswana and up there, there was no wild game. Yeah, Botswana is a bit a desert of a desert. There were game reserves, but there was no wild game to eat. 00:03:16 No, no, they don’t. What about Uganda? Oh, Uganda is beautiful. 00:03:19 You have… Is there wild… Can you eat wild game there? 00:03:22 Oh, yes. Springbok was delicious. Yes, you better come to Uganda. 00:03:27 I’ll… Can you have… You have a place I can stay there? 00:03:30 No, I’m kidding. Oh, yes, I do. We had… 00:03:32 I had ostrich carpaccio in Cape Town. Okay. That was the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. 00:03:40 Wow. It was so good. You come in Uganda, you’ll eat the luwombo. 00:03:45 Luwombo? Luwombo, yes. What is that? 00:03:49 It’s beef or chicken stewed in banana leaves. Oh, that’s great. Yes, real tender. 00:03:56 Oh, man, I’m hungry. We haven’t eaten today. Zellopagus. 00:04:00 We’ll feed you. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Winnie. Nice to meet you. 00:04:04 So you go back and forth to Africa? Yes, yes, I do. I do. 00:04:08 I had… We had a woman who was a friend… We started off as cleaning our house, but then she became a really good friend and part of the family. 00:04:15 She’s from Cape Town. She goes back. Her husband’s still there. 00:04:19 Her husband stays in Cape Town. She goes back and forth. Now I have my husband here, so I better go see my other family. 00:04:26 You get away from your husband for a while. Does Jeffrey go with you? Yes, for a break. 00:04:30 He hasn’t yet, but we hope to go. You’ve never been to Africa? Not yet. 00:04:34 It’s a hell of a flight. Yes. We got married in Fiji. 00:04:39 I don’t know where that is. Fiji. Is that near Australia? 00:04:43 Yeah, above Australia. Oh, right, yeah. You’ve got to lay flat. 00:04:46 You’ve got to get first class. It’s a shit flight if you don’t lay first class. When I sell the house, we’re going to lay flat in Japan. 00:04:56 Nice. Wow. Yeah, I would love to go to Japan. 00:04:59 Yeah, we’re going to do some drinking and eating in Japan. Come with us. We’re going to go. 00:05:02 It’s beautiful, yes. Tokyo, for sure. Yeah. 00:05:05 We’re going to go to Alcatraz. We’ll let you know where we’re going. Kyoto. 00:05:08 Oh, yeah. We’re going to go to Kyoto, Osaka, maybe even Okinawa. Because they have good beer in Okinawa. 00:05:14 Beautiful place. Yeah. You like sake, brother? 00:05:19 No, I don’t drink sake too much. But I do like a Japanese beer. I’ll take a Sapporo. 00:05:26 Oh, that’s too generic? Well, it depends on which. Now we’re going to geek out on beer. 00:05:30 Because I’ll tell you, if you have a Sapporo 22-ounce can, they’re brewed in Japan. But if you get a 12-ounce can or a bottle of Sapporo, it’s brewed in Canada. It’s by Molson. 00:05:43 Oh, wow. I didn’t know that. Microphone up to your mouth. 00:05:45 Fun fact from Michael Butler. And if you go to a Japanese restaurant, if they have Asahi on draft, that is brewed in Japan. But if you get an Asahi bottle, it’s another Americanized. 00:05:57 It’s like made in America somewhere. What about sake in that goofy barrel? I don’t know anything about sake. 00:06:02 You’re not a sake drinker? My good friend Shaki, Metal Moment, he knows all about it. But I don’t know anything about sake. 00:06:08 How’s he doing? We had dinner. Undisclosed Raquel came. 00:06:13 We had dinner with them on Sunday before we left. Went to a Korean all-you-can-eat place. It was good. 00:06:18 Cool. Glad you reconnected. Yeah. 00:06:21 That was the first time Shaki’s seen me since the shit went down. But yeah. Yeah. 00:06:28 He took it all in stride. Well, good to have friends. Yeah, because his wife was, well, I don’t know if she was friends with the other one. 00:06:37 So she met Raquel, and they were very impressed by how great of a person Raquel was. Well, definitely. This whole mission you’ve been on these last couple of weeks, having a partner in crime, is essential. 00:06:53 So I’m happy for the two of you, and thanks for doing this for Michael. So what brings you to Bowling? What are we at again? 00:06:59 We’re in Bowling Brook, Illinois. The claim to fame was the first indoor amusement park. It’s no longer here. 00:07:07 I saw the Ramones, actually, at that venue called Old Chicago. It’s on YouTube if you guys get bored. But there was a riot afterwards, chair throwing. 00:07:20 Yeah. Oh, nice. And I got one of Didi’s picks. 00:07:23 I should have brought that. Just a brag deal. Chair throwing where they’re like, people wanted to see the punk rock circus or something, and they started to fight with the punk rockers? 00:07:32 No, I don’t know what the uproar was. But there’s some footage of the Ramones walking around Old Chicago in Bowling Brook. Oh, okay. 00:07:41 Maybe I’ll throw that out on the Facebook. You didn’t create that, though, did you? No, I don’t. 00:07:46 No, I did not create it. But let’s not get into that. It’s a running gag. 00:07:51 My brother just became a rock and roll geek, and I asked him about it. He’s like, oh, did I? You’re going to meet him tonight, hopefully. 00:07:59 Oh, good. Did he bring his harmonicas? Well, we were talking about that before we jumped on this cast. 00:08:05 Well, if he gets asked, he needs to be prepared. Well, he doesn’t want to assume. Do I need to bring my harmonicas in case he wants to blow? 00:08:16 Yeah, if they’re handy. He does have them with him, right? He said he wasn’t going to bring them. 00:08:20 Let me look in the truck before we get out of here, and I’ll see. On the way here, go ahead. So Bowling Brook is just a suburb of Chicago. I told you about the claim to fame, the old Chicago, but it’s probably maybe an hour, hour and a half west of Chicago, 00:08:37 just a suburb. You’re pretty much in and out on I-80, but that’s really all Bowling Brook’s about. But we’re going to see a blues band that my brother used to sit in with years ago called the Griff Band, so Don Griffin. So he’s going to do one set, and then somebody’s going to do just 00:08:55 classic rock after that. So we’ve got blues and then classic rock? Blues and classic rock. 00:09:00 All right. Well, good. Where are you coming from? 00:09:04 I live in a town called Lakewood, Illinois, which is next to Crystal Lake. It’s halfway between Chicago and Rockford, as the crow flies. You know Rockford? 00:09:13 I asked beautiful Raquel if she knew what Rockford was famous for. Does she know? She does now. 00:09:23 She knows now. The band that has no past? Yes, exactly. 00:09:28 She thought it was where the famous oysters were from. You’re going to have to. If you guys had time, the Hard Rock Casino has a huge. 00:09:36 In Rockford or in Chicago? In Rockford has a huge. We already passed Rockford. 00:09:41 Yeah, I guess you did, but I mean, you’re not like. I mean, if you were a diehard Rick Nielsen fan. They got Rick Nielsen’s guitars, right? 00:09:49 They got, I’d say, probably 30 guitars, probably 10 outfits. You know, all kinds of, you know. Rick, you know, from Rockford, living in Rockford, has a huge display. 00:10:00 I could probably forward some pictures there. How far is Rockford from here? I don’t know. 00:10:06 Maybe, probably 45 minutes. We got to go back track 45 minutes? No, it’s north and probably a little bit. 00:10:12 It’s probably more due north and probably a little bit east. All right, maybe we’ll see. Or west, rather, sorry. 00:10:19 West, so we got to go back track. We’ll see if we can. I should have mentioned that, but you know that crazy knit jumpsuit that he’s got? 00:10:27 With the, what is it? Is it Glenplaid? With the checkerboards, you mean? 00:10:32 Checkerboards, but kind of like offset. Those pants that he wears? Uh-huh. 00:10:37 You remember when he had the arrow with the red sweater and the goofy hat? Yeah, that’s early, that’s in color. With those knit pants, there’s a pair of those on display. 00:10:46 And a bunch of his guitars. He can’t fit in those anymore. I spent more time taking pictures of that than actually seeing the gig that we were going there to see. 00:10:59 We’re going to Nashville to see them open for GZ Top. Nashville’s great. Joe Pollock invited me to see Cheap Trick and Hart. 00:11:10 That was last year, year before? With the lovely Gina. That was a good time. 00:11:16 Did you go? Yeah, I went. They invited me. 00:11:19 We hung out. Did Robin get up and sing? Love Hurts? 00:11:25 No, I don’t think they did Love Hurts. Did he get up and sing with Hart? I don’t even remember if the kid was there or not. 00:11:30 Robin Jr.? Yeah, Robin Jr. I don’t really recall. 00:11:33 I’ve been to so many gigs. Ann Wilson was in the wheelchair, but I think she’s gotten better since then. We, on the way here, we stopped at the world’s largest truck stop. 00:11:44 You ever been there? I’ve heard of it. I’ve never been. 00:11:46 I was a little disappointed. This is a big shopping mall? Thielicke told us, you need to stop at the world’s largest truck stop. 00:11:54 So we stopped, and it’s not that great. It’s not like you guys have been to the Buc-ee’s, I’m sure, right? That’s what I said. 00:12:01 I said, well, this Buc-ee’s looks as big as this. I like Buc-ee’s better than that place we were at today. Buc-ee’s has all branded stuff. 00:12:10 Yeah, there’s one. Wisconsin has one called Quick Trip. I’m not a Wisconsinian, but on the scale of Buc-ee’s, I don’t know where they fit. 00:12:23 But they’ll have stuff like hard-boiled eggs pickled, stuff like that, weird. Like 110 different kinds of beef sticks. I’m sure the Wisconsinians would know more about it. 00:12:39 But Quick Trip, if you see one, is a little bit of a trip. If we see a Quick Trip, we’ll stop at a Quick Trip. I’m hoping we see a Buc-ee’s, because I would like everybody to experience the Buc-ee’s. 00:12:49 It’s something you should check out once. Yeah, they’re mainly from the south, I think, right? But they’re starting to make a little bit of a jump up north here. 00:12:56 Yeah, I think so. All right, so thank you for meeting up with us, General Paulodoulos. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. 00:13:05 I’ll probably have a beer with you just to get off my sabbatical. There you go. My health sabbatical. 00:13:09 Why are you not drinking right now? I went through some health issues, man. I’m on a bunch of meds, and it doesn’t mix with booze that well. 00:13:16 Do you have a stroke? No, I had AFib about three years ago, and then it came back about nine months ago. And then I had a situation where the blood wasn’t pumping through the heart appropriately. 00:13:29 How did you find that out? Well, I knew it was gurgling, you know what I mean? Were you wearing a watch? 00:13:37 Because if you’re wearing a watch and you have AFib stuff, it’ll blow up. Yeah, so I bought the watch to monitor for it. That’s why I’m wearing one. 00:13:44 Yeah, I started getting it again. And then I had an ablation on May 11th, and I’ve been pretty good since then. What’s an ablation? 00:13:50 They go in there and zap some of the overacting areas of the heart that send electrical pulses to make your heart beat. What do they zap it with? Sound waves or radio waves or something. 00:14:02 And they deaden some of the overactive sites, and hopefully they get the right ones. And since then, they shocked it back in the rhythm and then did the ablation, and I’ve been okay since. So I’ve been staying off the beef, staying off the booze. 00:14:18 Staying off the beef? Yeah, they take you off the beef. Fuck that. 00:14:24 Fuck that shit. Well, they say your good years are between 63 and 73. What’s that? 00:14:31 What do they want you to eat? Chicken, fish, vegetables, fruit. That’s okay, too, but you’ve got to eat. 00:14:38 The beef is… Once in a while. Yeah. 00:14:41 So once in a while. You got money? Not really. 00:14:45 So you better… Sorry, Winnie. If he kicks it, you ain’t going to get much. 00:14:50 You better hope he lives. I mean… I got enough to retire today. 00:14:58 Okay, good. So Winnie’s not going to be homeless until she can die. No, no, no. 00:15:01 She’s… Good. Yeah, yeah. 00:15:03 I’m sure she has her own money. Yeah. You have your own money, right, Winnie? 00:15:07 Yes, I do. Good, good, good, good. She’s got a big compound back in Africa, so she probably, you know… 00:15:12 She mourned for a week and then be back in Africa, probably. But, anyway. Well, I appreciate you coming, Zellablogs. 00:15:18 No worries, man. Thanks for having me. So, friends, we’re trying to get back to New York by Sunday. 00:15:24 We’re taking I-80. I said this yesterday. We’re taking I-80. 00:15:29 So if you’re along I-80 and want to have a beer or something… I think we do get off I-80 at some point, don’t we? Oh, I don’t know. 00:15:36 Very soon, I think. We got two more days. So we’re going to be heading through Pennsylvania, then up to New York. 00:15:42 So if you’re on our route, friends, I’d love to meet up with you and have a beer or something. And, again, thank you to everybody who’s been contributing to this trip. It’s much appreciated. 00:15:55 And it’s been so far so good. Oh, you want a beer? Okay. 00:16:02 I’ll get you a beer. Hold on a second. Now I’m frazzled. 00:16:07 No, I wanted you to have a sip of that fine… Let’s take a sip. Oh, yeah. We’re all drinking, except for Zella Pelugas, 00:16:14 we’re all drinking Modelo in the can and a Yeti knockoff. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you, everybody, for supporting the shot. 00:16:21 Take a sip of this fine Modelo. It’s new. There you go. 00:16:26 Ah! You know what they say. The eighth one of the day is always the best. 00:16:32 This is actually the first one of the day. It’s the first one of the day for me as well. Cheers. 00:16:35 Cheers, Michael August. Cheers. That’s not going to give you a heart attack. 00:16:39 What meds are you on? All kinds of shit, man. I’ll tell you offline. 00:16:43 Okay. Well, thank you for listening, friends. 00:16:46 Rockandrollgeek.com is where you can find the show. Find me on the Facebook, R&R Geek. 00:16:51 Rockandrollgeek Facebook group. Going strong as usual. Thanks to the sheriff. 00:16:57 And find me on the Twitter, R&R Geek. Find me on the Instagram, rockandrollgeek. Don’t ask. 00:17:02 Please keep the donations coming. Without your donations, this show would die a horrible, putrid, stenchful death. And if you get any value out of this, please contribute what you can. 00:17:10 And I thank you for everybody who’s been supporting so far. Zella Palougalos. We’re going to go watch some blues and have some beer. 00:17:17 This is not going to be your only beer for the night. I’ve got a feeling. All right, friends. So I’m going to close out with something that Chris Cappell, 00:17:23 the rockandroll copywriter, sent. We’re playing all songs that have road in the title. And this is from the Kinks 1977 sleepwalker album. 00:17:32 You know what song this is? I don’t. You don’t know the Kinks? 00:17:36 Only the hits. This one is called Life on the Road. Thank you for listening, friends. 00:17:40 I’ll talk to you tomorrow.The post On the road in a Penske truck day five -Bolingbrook, Illinois first appeared on The Rock and Roll Geek Show.

This is the Art Life Faith Podcast, and I’m your host, Roger Lowther. I’m excited to announce to you that we just released a new book, Consolations of a Christian by Japanese writer Kanzo Uchimura. Written in 1893, it has never before been translated into English, which is surprising because this is the book that made Uchimura famous, instantly becoming a bestseller and launching his career as a writer. Here’s some backstory for this book. In 1890, the Emperor of Japan issued an Imperial Rescript on Education. Kanzo Uchimura was at that time a teacher in one of the top schools in the country, but he did not bow deeply enough to the Emperor’s signature on the document, for as a Christian, he saw this as a kind of idolatry. However, his fellow faculty members saw this as a huge sign of disrespect, and the press saw it as an act of treason. His name and face were plastered on newspapers across the country. He was fired from his job. His friends distanced themselves from him. He fell into deep poverty. And from all the stress, he got really, really sick, even to the point of death. While his wife was caring for him, she too got very sick, and then she died. This was especially crushing because they were newlyweds, having been married little more than a year. Uchimura hit rock bottom in his life, but rather than giving up, he cried out to God in ink, brush, and paper, capturing the minds and hearts of so many with his uniquely Japanese understanding of the Bible. And his book came out during a time when Christian books were mostly just translated Western authors. This book is fascinating for many reasons, but I can tell you from personal experience that I was greatly encouraged working on this project, and so I know it can be a great consolation and comfort to you as well, and anyone going through a difficult time in their life. Let me say a quick word about the translator. Chris Born is a longtime friend of our Grace City Church community here in Tokyo. First, he came for a year to work on his doctoral thesis on Uchimura, and during that time he and his family poured into the church community, helping with many of the ministries. Then he returned to the States, where he’s the Associate Professor of Japanese and Asian Studies at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. But he recently came back to Japan for post-doctoral research and to write a number of books including this one. Again, he and his family poured into the community, and even his oldest daughter worked with us as an intern, giving piano concerts, leading worship with her playing and singing, and helping out in so many ways. They go back to America this month, and we’re very sorry to see them go. They will be missed. Let me also say a word about the cover designer, created by the immensely talented Emma Grace von Fange, one of the interns who worked with us this summer. She did such a beautiful job getting inspiration from the text and making it appealing while also giving a sense of what we find inside. It’s a very attractive cover and really a work of art. I’m so grateful for her hard work on this project. Recently we had the launch day, and one of the church members threw a dinner party for the event. So I took a few minutes to sit down with a translator just before the party to invite all of you into the celebration. Here’s our conversation. Roger So today is the launch day of Consolations of a Christian by Kanzo Uchimura, translated by Christopher Born, who is sitting right next to me. Thank you so much for being with us tonight. Chris Thanks for having me, Roger. This is awesome. Roger Yeah, so we are meeting in a friend’s home downtown Tokyo. We’re going to have a launch party tonight. Some of us are already here preparing the food, and others are going to be arriving soon. You’re probably going to hear some doorbell ringing… Chris So pull up a chair and hang out with us. Roger I’m just so thankful that it’s finally out in the world as of today, July 13, 2026. Chris Wow. Unbelievable. Roger A lot of time has gone into this, hasn’t it? Chris Yes, from your own kind encouragement for me to follow through and get it done from about 10 years ago when I started it to bringing it to completion just now. It’s been quite a journey, but exciting to be part of it and also be working so closely with an amazing team. Really, you assembled a wonderful cover designer, and you’ve done so much of the editing. Roger She was great. Chris She was fantastic, and you put it together so quickly. I mean, you really have a lot of talent behind this project. You just made it pop and shine. I’m grateful. Roger I really like that about putting out books. It’s not just about the writer writing solo in a solitary room somewhere, but there are a lot of people who are part of the whole project and are excited for it when it comes out. Chris That’s right. It’s a big production team. Roger Yeah. So, how did you get into this project? Why did you translate this book? Chris So that’s a great story for me. I’ve been studying Uchimura since about 2009. When I was working at a seminary, and I was able to take courses while I was working there as like staff. I took a course called Christianity in East Asia because that was always interesting to me. And when I did my master’s in East Asian studies, we covered some tangential aspects about Christianity in the Meiji period and how it influenced social movements, how there was a big missions movement that helped grow women’s education and the YMCA, things like that, but we never focused on Japanese Christian thinkers. So this course was the first time I was exposed to an actual Japanese Christian thinker who not only originated a number of writings but also had his own theological perceptions from a Japanese perspective that he wanted to add to sort of global Christianity. And he really thought that if Japan learned about Jesus and became more Christian, it would be a light to the world. So I thought that was an interesting entryway. Roger Okay, so using Western years, when are we talking about? Chris Uchimura lived from 1861 to 1930. He became a Christian around 1873 when he went off to Sapporo Agricultural College, which is now University of Hokkaido, one of the larger state schools. And when he became a Christian, he realized monotheism was the answer to a lot of his problems because he had such a strong religiosity as a kid and would bow to every shrine and every temple. And as he got older as a student, he really still held on to those beliefs. But when monotheism was presented to him, he really didn’t want to become a Christian. He was sort of pressured into it, but he went along with it primarily because he said, well, there’s only one God I need to worship, then I don’t need to worry about all the other gods. So that I thought was interesting because Japanese are famously known for having 8 million gods or something like that. Roger Okay, so for those who don’t know their Japanese history, this is like the very beginnings of Protestant church planting in Japan. Chris Yes. Roger So he’s one of the first of modern Christians. Chris That’s right. Christianity was banned from about 1609 to 1872. In the interim, in 1859, there was some missions activity but it was kind of underground. Uchimura was a part of the early generation of the different bands. There’s the Sapporo Band and the Yokohama Band and the Kumamoto Band in Kyushu. So these were sort of early Christian groupings. Uchimura was from up north. But yeah, he was active in the 1890s when he came back to Japan. He had studied abroad in America in the 1880s and sort of grew. He was always good at English, but he went to, Amherst College and then went off to Hartford Seminary before realizing— Roger Near Boston. Chris Near Boston, yes. Northeast. In the book, you’ll see a lot of references to northeastern literature and sort of abolitionist thinkers. He loved them. Roger Yeah, actually that was fun for me because I grew up near Boston, so a lot of the things he’s mentioning only people in Boston know. Like Mount Monadnock, a mountain I climbed with my dad. Chris Does it look like Fuji? Roger Well, it stands on its own and it is kind of conical, but it’s really short. It’s not a very tall mountain at all. It’s more like a tall hill. Chris There you go. So even better comparison to how much more grandeur Fuji has, which he keeps referring to. But yeah, he loved the northeast. In his other book that was written in English called How I Became a Christian, or Diary of a Japanese Convert, he talks about his experiences in the northeast. Roger How can you explain why Uchimura is important? Why should we care? That was a long time ago. Chris As one of Japan's earliest modern Christians—I mean, his collected works are 40 volumes. He was an important thinker for the time period. Not only did he write in a Christian vernacular of the time, he attracted a number of future authors who would become aware of Christianity, at least in terms of their own understanding of the world. Even if they didn’t become Christians, they embraced a partially Christian worldview or romantic worldview. So from a literary perspective, which is what my main focus of my academic work was on how he’s an important literary figure, but I knew that he was an important Christian figure. And for Japanese theologians in general, anybody who’s going to seminary knows who Uchimura is and has read him. Now, the reason this book is important is everyone suffers, right? Everyone has a hard time. We get sick. Our wives get sick. People die. People we love are gone in an instant. We don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like. We can lose our job. We can get canceled because of the things we say and do. Even if we’re speaking the truth, we get punished for it. Roger Mm-hmm. Chris Uchimura suffered for telling the truth as he saw it, and he was willing to take that on and be that lightning rod in a society that was quickly becoming anti-Western and anti-Christian. And especially in the mid-1880s when he was still in America, there was a big turn toward emperor worship and connecting the state to religion in a very strong way, and in the 1890s when the Imperial Rescript on Education came out and later the 1891 Constitution, they really pointed to the emperor as the Confucian father of the nation that everyone must worship and obey. And Uchimura’s like, “Look, I respect the emperor as much as the next guy. He is my sovereign, but I’m not going to bow down and worship him in that way.” And as a result, that made him become persona non grata. That turned him into an anti-patriot to like the worst of the worst, the most disloyal of the disloyal, and of course in a Confucian samurai heritage worldview, that’s terrible. Disloyalty is the worst thing, right? So Uchimura suffered as a result of his own public intellectual beliefs, and then as a result, he lost everything, and part of losing everything meant he had to reinvent himself, and so he became an author as part of that process. Roger One of my favorite parts of the book is in the afterword where he’s talking about when he was writing the book and an American missionary, came in and said, so Mr. Uchimura, what are you working on? And he’s like, well, I’m writing this book. And he’s like, oh, what are you translating? He’s like, no, I’m not translating. I’m writing it, my own words. And the missionary was, was surprised and like, how can you be doing that? I mean, because Christianity came from the West, what right do you have as a Japanese to write? That was the attitude of the time. Chris Yeah, it was a very culturally bound enterprise, reproducing Western culture, civilizing the world, so to speak. And many Westerners didn’t think Japan was civilized. They had no idea how civilized it was. Roger Yeah. And you were explaining to me earlier how he was trying to figure out what it means to be Japanese and be Christian because there wasn’t— Chris It’s an identity issue. Roger There wasn’t any literature at that time. They were only looking at translated Western literature. And so he was kind of delving into this to try to figure it out, right? Chris That’s right. When he did become a Christian, the amount of stuff they had at Hokkaido University or Sapporo Agricultural College was so small. The amount of things they had to work with were so small. They were just some tracts, a few— they had a Western Bible, they had some parts of the Bible translated that was still in process, and they had things from many different denominations, so they didn’t know what was what and which one to ally with. And he became a Christian through the Methodists, but in Sapporo you had a Methodist church and an Episcopal church, and he wanted to work with both, and sort of create an independent Japanese church in Sapporo, but there was really no way to do that. They had to make it up themselves. And when the Western missionaries who they borrowed money from got wind of this, they were like, “You have to give us all our money back because you’re not part of us anymore.” So they scrimped and saved and did everything they could to pay it back. So there is this sense that independence, Japanese theology from a Japanese perspective became his life’s work. Roger So Uchimura is part of the birth of the church in Japan. So to me, as a missionary here, it’s especiallyinteresting. This is the first time ever that this book is in English. Chris That’s right. Roger I mean, it was published in 1893. Chris Yes. Roger And it’s incredibly important to missionaries today, and yet there’s never been an English version. And you translated it from classical Japanese. Chris That’s right. Roger So it’s really difficult Japanese. Chris It’s really difficult. It’s a long process of learning to be able to parse all that out. There is a modern translation now, but the original I thought was best to go from and take it from Uchimura’s own words. Roger It uses a lot of characters that aren’t used anymore. You showed me your manuscript, which is a work of art, by the way, all your notes around all of his, all the earlier published version, but like, I don’t even know what to call that. I mean, just various characters that are… Chris Yeah, kyujitai. Most Japanese don’t read it. I was talking to some students earlier today at a campus here, just kind of explaining that this book’s coming out and what it’s about, and I think maybe one or two knew who Uchimura was, and they knew about this fukeijiken or this incident of disloyalty to the emperor, or lesè-majesté as they call it, but they said they’d never read him, and when I mentioned it’s all written in this kind of really classical style Japanese, they’re like, “Yeah, we don’t really read that.” Yeah, I imagine not. He’s still unknown, so we can also help people understand that you can get a modern Japanese translation too, but I think Americans especially who want to know more about Japan at that time and about sort of authentic Japanese Christians and just from the perspective of a very sensitive soul who loves God and is searching for answers to his pain. Roger Right, that’s what I love about this book. He’s not afraid to basically be cry out to God, Why are you allowing these things things? And trying to search for the answers as a Japanese person, not trying to look for pat answers, but asking in his context, really what’s going on, how can I apply to it? And it’s just so interesting? Chris Right? Because one of the most important questions any human being will ever ask is, who is Jesus Christ and why does he matter? Roger Right. Chris And Uchimura knew who he was and why he mattered, but in the midst of this sort of dark doldrums of the soul why Jesus really mattered wasn’t just a nice, you know, it’ll all be okay someday, and just being a Christian makes everything all right. No, it’s like, Lord, you are my God, and I’m imploring you to give me an answer and give me strength and understanding to get through this situation. Roger Okay, so now you touched on this briefly. It’s called Consolations of a Christian. Why is this book important to people who may have little interest in Japan? Chris Sure, well, it certainly is full of what we call classical allusions to both Japanese literature, nature, history, and culture that are written for a Japanese audience. So he wasn’t writing it for us. So as a foreigner looking in on that, we can get a glimpse on the conversation which Uchimura is having with his own people about Christianity. Roger And with himself. Chris And of course with himself, and with God, and all the other little demonic voices that are harassing him. Roger You know, one of the things I thought was really interesting about the book, you’ve mentioned to me in conversation just how there’s a number of places where he lists scripture verses, but he doesn’t print it out. Chris That’s right. Roger And you said it was your idea that perhaps it was because he was wanting people to open the Bible for the first time. Most of the people who read this book were not Christians. Chris That’s right. Roger Because he wanted people who didn’t know anything about Christianity, very few did at that time, to read this and become interested in the God of the Bible. And he really makes that clear at the end of the book, right? Especially on the last two pages. “We looked at different answers throughout this book, but it’s clear the Bible is going to offer these answers that you really are searching for. God has those answers. Don’t stop until you find those answers.” That kind of thing. Chris That’s right. All of his literature points back to that. He doesn’t waver on that one bit. And in fact, he devoted his life to becoming a journalist for a while. He wrote for the Yorozu Choho for about 5 years, which was kind of like a New York Post or a LA Times kind of magazine, a little bit sensationalist but very political. He was the English language editor of that for a number of years until he decided to quit that and start his own work, which was called Seisho no Kenkyu (the Study of the Bible). And it was a magazine that he put out, which was all his own reading, parsing, interpreting the Bible and applying it to daily life. Roger To the general public, right? Not only to churches or Christians, but to everybody? Chris A lot of people were reading this even if they weren’t Christian. They were curious. Consolations of a Christian was a bestseller. And then as a result, he became hired as a journalist, then those copies of Yorozu Joho were also circulating, and then Seishun no Kinkyu as well. So, he really did use the words that he wrote as a way of reaching people in an evangelical way and pushing them to look at the Bible. That’s what all his life was about. Roger Well, this book was very meaningful for me. The fact that he, in the lowest point in his life, that he would turn to writing, crying to God, and trying to bring the nation along with him to cry out to God. He didn’t fall into despair, but he gave that anguish to God. Chris Yes. Roger And that's just such an important message for all of humanity. Chris Yes. Roger You know, anywhere in the world, we all suffer. Chris That’s right. Roger And the fact that he writes a whole book addressing that and trying to help us turn to God through that is so important. Chris Yeah, because the Bible says God draws near to those who are suffering, and we suffer with Christ. But Christ was there with him in that suffering. In that moment, he knew it, but he had to put that anguish towards and use it for something. And that’s what’s really cool. He never wasted the experiences he had. He says it’s not my autobiography, but it’s a record of an authentic person who’s trying to struggle with being Christian. I think that’s gorgeous. Roger So I hope many of you who are listening to this will download this book, either buy the paperback, buy the hardcover, buy the ebook, go get the Kindle. It’s such a blessing that you’ve done this. Thank you so much. Chris Thank you so much for working with me and giving me the opportunity. Roger Yeah, so I guess we better get this party started. Chris Let’s enjoy this gathering around this table in many ways similar to what Uchimura would have done. Roger All right, so thank you for talking with us now. Chris Thank you. Thanks so much. Roger You’ve been listening to the Art Life Faith Podcast. You can pick up a copy of Consolations of a Christian by Kanzo Uchimura wherever you buy your books online. As we say in Japan, “Ja, mata ne!” We’ll see you next time. BUY “CONSOLATIONS OF A CHRISTIAN”

What role do Japan Societies and Japan-America Societies play in strengthening the relationship between the United States and Japan? In this episode, the Krewe sits down with Dr. Joshua Walker, former President and CEO of the Japan Society in New York, to discuss U.S.-Japan relations, the unique impact organizations of all sizes can have at every level of cultural exchange, and why local interactions remain essential to the partnership between both nations. We also explore what the future may hold for U.S.-Japan relations and how individuals and communities can help shape it. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for Joshua & Japan Society ------ Joshua's LinkedIn Joshua's Book -- Japan: Beyond the Genkan (Amazon) Japan Society (NYC) ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

节目简介｜Episode Description｜エピソード紹介中文去年在日本爬山时，一根登山杖让我结识了一对日本情侣；今年在北海道旭岳，又因为一根登山杖，我认识了一对住在札幌的日本老夫妇。这一次，这段缘分没有随着登山结束，而是一直延续到了札幌，也成为了这次北海道旅行中最难忘的一段回忆。EnglishLast year, a trekking pole led me to meet a young Japanese couple while hiking in Japan. This summer in Hokkaido, another trekking pole brought me a new connection—an older couple from Sapporo. This time, the story didn't end on the mountain. It continued all the way to Sapporo and became one of the most memorable moments of my trip.日本語昨年、日本で登山をしたとき、一つのトレッキングポールがきっかけで若い日本人カップルと出会いました。今年は北海道・旭岳で、また一本のトレッキングポールが札幌に住むご夫婦とのご縁を運んでくれました。今回は山で終わらず、そのご縁は札幌まで続き、北海道旅行の中でも特に忘れられない思い出になりました。#北海道 #旭岳 #登山 #登山杖 #札幌 #日本旅行 #旅行故事 #Hokkaido #Hiking #TravelStorySend us Fan MailSupport the show如果您喜欢我的播客，欢迎通过下方方式表达您的支持。您的支持对我来说是巨大的鼓励。但无论如何，我都很感激有您作为听众。能够每周与您分享几分钟的时光，对我来说是莫大的荣幸。❤️If you enjoy my podcast, you're welcome to show your support through the options below. Your support means a great deal to me and is a huge source of encouragement. But no matter what, I'm truly grateful to have you as a listener. It's an honor to share a few minutes with you each week!❤️ ☕

Season 7 is here! The Krewe kicks off the new season with language learner & content creator Kyle Metcalf, known for his viral street interviews in Japan where he practices his Japanese through conversation... until he's fluent in Japanese! Kyle joins us to share his Japanese language journey, how real conversations helped him build confidence & move towards fluency goals, practical advice for overcoming the fear of speaking, and what goes on behind the scenes of his popular street interview videos. Whether you're just beginning to learn Japanese or looking for inspiration to take your skills further, this episode is full of insights, encouragement, & plenty of fun stories. ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Links for Kyle ------ Kyle on Instagram Kyle on TikTok Kyle on YouTube Kyle's TEDx Talk (YouTube) ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Carlsberg har talt meget om ølmarkedet, der er presset, og hvorfor selskabet derfor satser mere og mere på læskedrikke. Men det betyder ikke at øl er glemt - eller ikke er vigtigt. Derfor har Carlsberg netop indgået en kæmpe joint venture-aftale med Japans ældste bryggeri Sapporo. Hør i denne Lyn-analyse, hvorfor Carlsberg og Sapporo har brug for hinanden og hvorfor Carlsberg indgår nye øl-aftaler, når færre og færre kloden rundt drikker de gyldne dråber. Gæst: Niels Lunde. erhvervskommentator, Finans. Vært: Mads Ring. Foto: Thomas BorbergSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Business storytelling is one of the great untapped advantages in professional presenting. Most executives compete in crowded markets, red oceans and data-heavy meetings, yet very few use stories well. That creates a blue ocean opportunity for leaders, salespeople and professionals who want to be remembered. Data, statistics and charts matter, but they rarely stay in the audience's mind by themselves. When information is wrapped inside a clear story, it becomes easier to understand, easier to remember and far more persuasive. In Japan, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US, business audiences still respond to a good story because persuasion has never gone out of fashion. Why does storytelling matter in business presentations? Storytelling matters because it turns dry information into memorable, persuasive communication. Data can inform an audience, but stories help people remember, feel and act. Many business leaders still treat presentation delivery as fluff, smoke and mirrors. They believe the audience only wants facts, numbers and the latest update. Wrong. A presentation full of statistics can become crusty and dry, like week-old bread left outside. In boardrooms, sales meetings, investor updates and leadership town halls, the speaker must help the audience connect the dots. Stories create that connection by giving the facts a human shape. Do now: Do not just deliver data. Wrap the key information in a story so the audience can remember the message. What is the first step in building a business story? The first step is choosing the main characters because audiences need people to picture in their minds. A story without recognisable characters quickly becomes an abstract explanation. The characters might be the founder, CEO, CFO, senior leadership team, researchers, scientists, clients, suppliers or customers. If the audience already knows the person, even better. Mentioning Elon Musk, Akio Toyoda or a well-known internal executive immediately gives listeners a face to imagine. In a Japanese company, the founder's story or a client's struggle can carry strong emotional weight because relationships and reputation matter. Do now: Choose one or two main characters the audience can clearly visualise before building the rest of the story. How do presenters create context in a business story? Presenters create context by describing when, where and why the story is happening. The goal is to transport listeners into the scene so they can see what the speaker saw. Context needs guideposts. Was it last month or two years ago? Was it a snowy February morning in Sapporo, a brutal August day in Tokyo, a boardroom at headquarters, a hotel restaurant in Osaka, a convention in Singapore or a research lab in Yokohama? These details are not decoration. They paint word pictures. Without context, the audience hears information. With context, they enter the story. Do now: Add time, place, season and situation so the audience can mentally step into the business moment. Why do business stories need conflict or opportunity? Business stories need conflict or opportunity because tension is what keeps people listening. Every strong drama has stakes, obstacles and pressure, and business is full of all three. The antagonist may be the market, currency movement, competition, regulator, bank, supplier, customer, government policy or a technology shift. Supply chain disruption, Covid, the war in Ukraine, inflation, AI adoption and digital transformation all create business tension. Nokia facing the iPhone is a classic example of technological disruption changing the rules. In Japan, a shrinking labour force or slow digital transformation can also become the conflict driving the story. Do now: Identify the pressure point. Show what is at stake and why the audience should care now. How should a business story end? A business story needs an outcome because audiences feel unsatisfied when the story is left hanging. The ending may be positive, negative or unresolved, but it must give the listener closure. The outcome could be a win, a loss, a warning, a turning point or a current situation with an expected next step. In sales presentations, the ending may show how a client improved results. In leadership talks, it may show what the organisation learned. In investor briefings, it may explain what management expects next. The speaker must tie a ribbon around the story so the audience knows what the point was. Do now: Give every story a clear finish. Do not leave the audience wondering, "So what happened?" What insight should follow a business story? The insight is the business lesson the audience should take away and apply. A story without insight is entertainment; a story with insight becomes leadership communication. Audiences love learning from business disasters because failure reveals what to avoid. "How I lost $100 million" often sounds more compelling than "How I made $100 million" because people want the juicy train wreck and the warning signs. This does not mean leaders should be negative. It means they should extract practical lessons from both success and failure. The best business stories move from characters to context, conflict, outcome and insight. Do now: End by stating the lesson clearly. Tell executives, leaders or salespeople what they should do differently now. Final Summary Successful business storytelling is not mysterious. It has structure. Choose memorable characters, create vivid context, introduce conflict or opportunity, explain the outcome and finish with a practical insight. This structure helps presenters make data easier to remember and messages easier to act on. Every executive, salesperson and professional already has business stories inside them. Client wins, missed opportunities, market shocks, supply chain problems, leadership decisions and competitor moves all provide material. The key is not waiting for a perfect story. The key is learning how to structure the stories already sitting in front of you. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

Sapporo, Ford Motors, Nissan, Aflac, U.S. Department of Homeland Security are having a "great" week!

SURPRISE! Season 7 is almost here! The Krewe has been grinding away, putting together a jam-packed line-up of spectacular guests & intriguing episode topics. This preview is packed with sneak peeks at what's to come in Season 7. Some snippets include: - Interviewing Kyle Metcalf in English about interviewing people in Japan until he's fluent in Japanese - Discovering the roles of Japan Societies big & small with Dr. Joshua Walker   - Exploring the intersection of manga & basketball with pro basketball player & entrepreneur Johnny O'Bryant III - Debating the benefits of solo travel vs group travel with YouTuber & travel expert Ryotaro Sakurai of LifeBridge & Umami Travel - Finding out if Japan really is safe with Jordan Green aka AfroInJapan - Unearthing opportunities for intercultural exchange through the Fullbright Program with Dr. Rose Honegger - Indulging in some Kabuki theatre with Larry Kominz   - Tapping into the creativity of cosplay with Maria of Oz Costumes - Teaching Japanese through the J-LEAP Program with Aina Kondo - Hitting the hiking trails of Tohoku with Quinlan of Go North Japan This is only HALF of what's to come this season... we got a lot more still in the works but gotta keep that unwrapped! So stay tuned for our season 7 premiere on July 10, 2026 and stick around for the rest of the season to find out what else we have in store on Season 7 of Krewe of Japan Podcast!! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!