和歌山市 I’ve been to Wakayama a few times. I work there on occasion, and the city is a gateway to the Kii Peninsula, an amazing place for motorcycle touring. My ramen adventures, though, have been lacking. I visited the famous Ide Shoten before, as well as the shop that is constantly in the top 3…
Zoom In Super! This was the first TV spot I did in Japan, back in 2010. Zoom In Super! is now off the air, but my memories will remain forever. やっぱりうまい！ A very weird experience. The production staff set up a tiny camera in front of me, then left the shop so I could eat…
せかいでニホンGO Definitely the strangest TV show I’ve been on. Sekai de Nihongo is a general show about how the world sees Japan. They sit around a digital koi pond and the fish swim to the people who are meant to comment. There is also a CG robot announcer with an annoying high pitch voice. Welcome…
スクール革命 School Revolution. You guessed it, a panel of famous people watch videos and talk about them. Shinoyama-san is the son of a very famous photographer. His character is that of a spoiled school boy at a prestigious university. Yeah, every one of these talents has a specific character. This one was a little strange.…
知っとこ “Wa-su-a-pu?” Satomi Shigemori’s character is cute and clueless. A well-known idol / talent / bikini model, if you watch TV with any regularity in Japan you should see her face pop up. As always, we took her around to some ramen shops. This time was a double dose of ramen-loving foreigners, with Abram and…
News Every It looks like I have on lip gloss! And my subtitles make me sound girly. Not to self, stop saying めっちゃ and ヤバイ. That’s girly talk in Japan! News Every is a daily news program. For this show, you guessed it, I took the talent around to some ramen shops. The subtitles say…
今、この顔がすごい I received some requests to talk about my TV appearances in Japan. Since starting this blog I’ve done a handful of these spots. It is fun, as long as you have the time. Shooting for a five minute clip seems to take an entire day! The NY Times article I helped with a few…