What do you do for your body? For the last few weeks I have been running on a regular basis to take part on a race in the town where I live. A 10 km run I have never done in my life.

To keep on learning even when I’m running I decided to listen to Podcasts during my training sessions, which take place three times a week, 90 minutes each.

Looking for something interesting I found The Japanofiles, a free podcast by Dave Carlson, an american living in Matsumoto, Japan for over 15 years now.

Matsumoto is located in the island of Honshu, in Nagano Prefecture. Nagano is most known for the 1998 Olympic Winter Games.

Dave interviews english speaking foreigners in Japan as well as giving the possibility to get a real impression of life in Japan far from Tokyo. I really reccommend this podcast for everybody who is looking for job possibilities in Japan since you will listen to genuine experts who have been not only living in Japan for several years but also are well experienced in different job businesses, from teaching, to translation and construction. Furthermore you will listen to authentic sounds in Japanese whether  its japanese kids, trainstations or a nearby Matsuri, a japanese festival.

Even though I will have listened to all of his episodes by the end of next week I can hardly imagine running without his podcast. I really hope this podcast continues to grow. I am a true fan!

If you can find any Podcast about non-native english speakers living in Japan telling me how they made it to live there, I would love you to share it with me.

Best regards,

Andrés

After uploading this post two days ago I was able to contact Dave Carlson, Author of “The Japanofiles” Podcast, who not only agreed to let me use his “Japanofiles” Logo for the website but also made a statement I am happy to  be able to share with you:

“I used to live in Tokyo, so I have a good sense of what the Japanese big-city experience is like.  In contrast, life here in Nagano-ken is very different from that, and I’d like podcast listeners to realize that there is much more to Japan than just the wild and wacky city life of Tokyo that seems to dominate many Japan blogs and podcasts. Japan is much more than a world of just anime, electronic gadgets, and bizarre new stories.  So I just talk with English-speaking foreigners here and let them tell their stories, and good stuff seems to come out. And I’ve been getting lots of positive feedback. I also have plans to interview some non-native English speakers soon.”

Did you read that? non-native English speakers. My dream come true! Maybe I will even finally find out whether non-native English speakers are eligible as an English ALT (Assistant-Language-Teacher) or not! I have been wondering for some months now as I read that Japanese companies have high expectations and if you are not native speaker it will be kind of difficult to get a job as ALT.

Although I have just been to Japan once and only for a total of 24 days I can agree to Dave words “There’s much more to Japan than just the city life of Tokyo”. I went two or three times to Tokyo but spent most time in smaller cities in Saitama Prefecture. Life outside Tokyo can be as normal as in your  hometown: spending time with your family, meeting friends, going out and so on. I will catch as many situations on my notebook (a book to make notes) next time I am in Japan.

Meanwhile I will continue my running programme and make my 10 km run this afternoon, of course, listening to “The Japanofiles”.

Best regards,

Andrés