Put the kettle on & enjoy an enlightening chat with the charming Charlie, a tea shop owner in London with real passion for Japanese culture. I got INSPIRED with so many TEA BREWING TIPS from talking with Charlie, and I think you will too!

A milliner by training, Charlie has established the tea shop Tencha with her husband Chris, a jeweller after they fell in love with the taste & aesthetics of all things tea in Japan on their honeymoon.

The couple study Urasenke Chado (tea ceremony) here in London and they love the link that tea has with all facets of Japanese culture, including seasonality, history, clothing, ceramics and art. Charlie want to celebrate tea & all the hard-working Japanese tea farmers! 

In this episode we talk about: 

• How Charlie was weaned on tea from the bottle!
• Tencha’s friendships with the hardworking tea growers in Japan 
• The caffeine hit in coffee ☕ vs. matcha 🍵
• PROS & CONS of Yorkshire Tea bags!
• How to prep your water for clear (NOT murky) tea 💕
• Hojicha (Charlie’s fave) for beginners

Thank you so much for listening! To read the podcast transcript, click here.

Get to know Charlie & her tea better:

• You can explore Tencha’s online shop here for a carefully curated tea range & tea making accessories, along with homeware & incense.
• Follow Tencha on Instagram to know about tea, pop-ups and markets where you can find them.

I'm SO chuffed to finally catch up with my talented friend, Yuki Gomi, a professional chef, teacher and cookery writer. I can still remember the taste of the delicious aubergine dish we made when I attended one of her wonderful Yuki's Kitchen cooking classes in her home near my old haunt, Crystal Palace, about 10 years ago!

Since then, Yuki has gone from strength to strength, with her first book 'Sushi at Home' published in 2013 by Penguin, and her Japanese cooking expertise has reached many thousands of people. Yuki has been featured in the Guardian,  Monocle Weekly, Vogue magazine, and has been on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, to name just a few!

Alongside regular classes at her home in South London, Yuki offers courses and private lessons at special events around the world and colleges such as the prestigious Leiths School of Food & Wine.

In this episode, we chat about:

• The ubiquity of the soya bean in Japanese food
• Bacteria, mould and heritage spores
• What to do with the miso lurking at the back of your fridge
• 5 core ingredients of Japanese cooking & what they all have in common
• Why koji is magical ✨ & where to get your hands on some in London

Thank you so much for listening! To read the podcast transcript, click here.

Get to know Yuki's work better::

• Instagram @yukiskitchen
• Website https://www.yukiskitchen.com/

If the Way to Japan mission to explore the art of Japan-inspired living to be found in the UK resonates with you, click here to subscribe to the newsletter. You'll be notified of the latest podcast episodes & blogs, as well as receiving our encouraging edit of juicy, Japan-inspired recommendations.

Let's connect on Instagram! @thewaytojapan

Korekara yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡ Vanessa

It was SUCH a joy to speak with my writing mentor & bestselling author, Beth Kempton, who is an award-winning entrepreneur and producer of online courses, a Reiki Master, a yoga teacher, a mama of two young girls, and a self-help author whose books have been translated into more than 25 languages.

Even if you don't have a copy of her book 'Wabi Sabi', you would likely recognise it from it's gorgeous pale green cover... I see it in practically every book shop, gift shop & boutique! 

I loved speaking with Beth about what the pandemic revealed about the true nature of things, her fifth book 'The Way of the Fearless Writer', as well as this small but significant details of what tea & toast she likes best when she gets up to write at 5am!

In this episode we chat about:

• The significance of 'Wabi Sabi' in a post pandemic world!
• Why we always use pencil in diaries
• The correct pronunciation of the word 'gaseous'🤯
• Why we should make a list of things we do for ten minutes every day
• The joy of Japanese stationary & best writing notebook tips

Thank you so much for listening! To read the podcast transcript, click here.

Get to know Beth's work better:

• bethkempton.com
•  dowhatyouloveforlife.com (for all her courses)
• Instagram @bethkempton for regular writing inspiration and community challenges
• Autumn Light Writing Course -  Before October 6, listeners can get free access to a writing course called Autumn Light (a deep dive into the topic of impermanence) when you pre-order 'The Way of the Fearless Writer' book in any format (hardback/ebook/audiobook)

If the Way to Japan mission to explore the art of Japan-inspired living to be found in the UK resonates with you, click here to subscribe to the newsletter. You'll be notified of the latest podcast episodes & blogs, as well as receiving our encouraging edit of juicy, Japan-inspired recommendations.

Let's connect on Instagram! @thewaytojapan

Korekara yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡ Vanessa

WELCOME back to the Way to Japan Autumn 2022 interview series! 

I hugely enjoyed talking to my inspirational friend Anna, who is a Devon-based nutritionist and a mum in a busy Japanese British family day-to-day. I met Anna through an online course have since been relishing her Japan-inspired approach to food over on Instagram. 

Anna has gained much first-hand insight into the Japanese ways of approaching food through her varied experiences of living in Japan, first teaching in rural Akita, then returning with her Japanese husband and children to live and work managing a guesthouse in rural Kyoto. When she returned to the UK, she used her unique perspective to set up a social enterprise, Nourishing Families, which supports parents, children and young people to build a lifelong positive relationship with food to nurture wellbeing. 

Anna is the Nutrition for Wellbeing Lead at the National Center for Integrated Medicine. She was shortlisted for a Wellbeing Award in the Complementary Therapy Awards 2022. 

In this episode, we chat about:

• Why likes and dislikes are not allowed 🙅‍♀️
• The way school lunches are served in Japan 
• Why 'mottainai' can mean a wasted opportunity
• A GREAT excuse to buy a dinner gong! 
• Why we couldn't live without our rice cookers

Thank you so much for listening! To read the podcast transcript, click here.

Get to know Anna's work better:

• Instagram @kandojournalandkitchen
• Instagram @NourishingFamiliesCIC
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kandonutrition
• Website https://www.nourishingfamilies.co.uk
• Eat, Talk, Thrive course info 

If the Way to Japan mission to explore the art of Japan-inspired living to be found in the Uk resonates with you, click here to subscribe to the newsletter. You'll be notified of the latest podcast episodes & blogs, as well as receiving our encouraging edit of juicy, Japan-inspired recommendations.

Let's connect on Instagram! @thewaytojapan

Korekara yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡ Vanessa

WELCOME to the Way to Japan Autumn 2022 interview series! 

I'm delighted to kick off with my wonderful friend Masa, a London-based 'Zen POP' singer/songwriter & artist from Yokohama, Japan. I first met Masa about 12 years ago, and shortly after that, O-ARC played their ambient 'Zen Pop' at the JapaneseLondon.com launch party!

Some of O-ARC's other highlights have been playing at Tate Gallery, Whitechapel Art Gallery, ICA, Le Pop in Paris and Myosaiji Temple in Tokyo. 4 songs from EN album were used for Channel 4’s Hollyoaks! Masa's art has been exhibited at Cass Art Hampstead, London, Chrom Art Gallery, London, Toukou Gallery in Tokyo, and is now at gallery L'embrasser in Paris.

The Paris exhibition at gallery L'embrasser runs from Thursday 25th August - Wednesday 7th September 2022.

In this episode, we chat about:

• Gobsmacking advice he got about his 'fake English' that changed everything 
• My fave kanji MA 間 
• Spaciousness & the art of subtraction
• Masa's 'healthy addiction' tips for staying motivated

Thank you so much for listening! To read the podcast transcript, click here.

Masa's Social:

Instagram @masaiidaart
Facebook /masaiidaart
Twitter /masaiidaart
Linked In /in/masa-iida-1b748423/
Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/o-arc

2022 Paris exhibition at the gallery L'embrasser

彩心 IROHA (couleur, coeur, & esprit) exhibition
L'embrasser, 24 rue Saint-Louis en I'Île ,75004, Paris
Thursday 25th August - Wednesday 7th September.
Special opening : Saturday 3rd September from 6pm (Masa will be present).

https://www.facebook.com/lembrasser
https://www.instagram.com/lembrasser_paris

If the Way to Japan mission to explore the art of Japan-inspired living to be found in the Uk resonates with you, click here to subscribe to the newsletter. You'll be notified of the latest podcast episodes & blogs, as well as receiving our encouraging edit of juicy, Japan-inspired recommendations.

Let's connect on Instagram! @thewaytojapan

Korekara yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡ Vanessa

My 7-year-old's middle name is Zen.

No, really, it is.

We gave him the name hoping naively that it might, I don't know... infuse qualities of calm into his nature?

He is, ermm, not calm. He is like a tightly coiled spring, ready to bounce off unpredictably in any direction. His spirit animal is, I think, Tigger.

2020’s adventure in ‘home schooling’ rapidly led to clenched fists, hyperventilating, hiding under the desk, shouting ‘NO!’. And that was just me!

All the lessons in the meaning of Zen are for mummy.

Something I had to quickly understand is to follow the path of least resistance. Make it easy. Make it fun. Make it interesting. This inspired me to think more deeply about learning Japanese, and how it can be Omoshiroi.

Really, this applies to all learning, doesn't it? EVERYTHING we do in life. It's just got to be compelling and enjoyable, or else we resist doing it.

In episode 6, I will talk about The Real Reason You May Fail to Learn Japanese, including 3 steps to take to smash it to smithereens:

Step 1: How to Break Your Learning Up into Small Chunks
Step 2: How to Get the Habit of Learning Japanese
Step 3: How to Create Your Japanese Language Community

Thank you so much for listening! I have been so touched and overwhelmed by your kind support. It makes it all worthwhile.

I’ll be back in January 2021 with my next Japanese London Living series of podcasts. So you can be first to know about, please do sign up to my newsletter. 

I have defined 6 simple steps to OMOSHIROI learning, which I can’t wait to share with you in this series of podcasts!

Start uncovering your UNIQUE visions, goals and tactics to learn the Japanese that YOU WANT!

To grab a copy of the playbook that accompanies this series, click here:

The OMOSHIROI Method Fill-in-the-Blanks Playbook

Visit JapaneseLondon.com to get more info about learning Japanese, and enjoying a Japan-full life in London.

Vanessa connects learners with 1-1 native speaking Japanese tutors for private lessons and runs the Japanese London Conversation Club.

She also blogs about Japanese living in London, and can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡

Have you ever been to a kaiten-zushi restaurant? I love the weirdly futuristic simplicity of the conveyor belt concept. Tantalising morsels of white, red and orange fish, laid like glistening gems on their thrones of rice glide regally past.

We grab what delights us most, and devour it. Actually, the kaiten zushi experience is such an apt metaphor for Japanese study – in fact, for life in general.

The choice can seem overwhelming, and we aren’t sure what to pick. Sometimes we get put off by accidentally picking something that’s not to our taste. Raw squid? Salmon Roe? Octopus balls? We get it wrong sometimes. Other times a new flavour surprises us and we acquire a taste for it.

We don’t need to gobble up everything that passes us. We need to become more familiar, more discerning. In fact, the likelihood of getting exactly what we want increases every time we try again – we might even summon the courage to ask the sushi chef with the big sharp knives for directly for what we want. Ask, and it is given.

If you’ve been following my series about the ‘OMOSHIROI’ method, you’ll know that I believe learning Japanese should be just to your taste – that is, both fun and interesting TO YOU. And the way to make things fun and interesting is YOUR WAY - to really consider what it is you enjoy, and grab it / do it / read it / learn it / watch it / listen to it / eat it! More! Little and often.

In this episode, I will talk about my top picks for ‘How to Teach Yourself Japanese’, including:

• Japanese Language Learning Books (textbooks and cultural guide books)
• Japanese Mind-set Learning Resources (etiqutte & philosophy books, podcasts)
• Japanese Lifestyle Recommendations (I bite off more than I can chew with this - but pick 'food' and 'karaoke' as the  as areas of the daily lifestyle in Japan that you will be hard pressed to escape!)
• My mum's assessment of red bean paste
• Frank Sinatra lyrics

Hope you find this episode helpful! 

I have defined 6 simple steps to OMOSHIROI learning, which I can’t wait to share with you in this series of podcasts!

Start uncovering your UNIQUE visions, goals and tactics to learn the Japanese that YOU WANT!

To grab a copy of the playbook that accompanies this series, click here:

The OMOSHIROI Method Fill-in-the-Blanks Playbook

Visit JapaneseLondon.com to get more info about learning Japanese, and enjoying a Japan-full life in London.

Vanessa connects learners with 1-1 native speaking Japanese tutors for private lessons and runs the Japanese London Conversation Club.

She also blogs about Japanese living in London, and can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡

When I lived in Japan, it was before the smart phone-era. 

I had a large map of Tochigi city and the whole surrounding area pinned to the wall in my apartment, and I studied the routes to the many elementary and middle schools I needed to visit. Some of them were quite far away by bicycle.

I’d be on my way to school in the morning, zig-zagging gingerly along narrow paths between the rice fields, perched on my mama-chari bicycle, and clutching in my fist a small, damp note for security. On the note had been written neatly, in Japanese (not by me!): ‘Excuse me, I’ve lost my way, where is Chizuka Shogako?’.

If my spoken Japanese was not immediately successful, which was often the case, I could show the innocent victim the note. I’d be pointed in the right direction and off I'd trundle again. I would breathe a deep sigh of relief when the school I’d been sent to as a visiting English teacher finally materialised, hazily, in the shadow of the mountains.

If I’d had a smartphone back then, it would have been SO MUCH easier. I wouldn’t have had to attempt to memorise my route from a map. I wouldn’t have even needed to ask directions. Or, if I did, I could have had the phone speak the words, instead of me, slowly dying inside of acute embarrassment.

That would have been AMAZING! So, no, I’m not really serious about deleting our incredibly handy Japanese learning and translating apps. We do have the technology, and we should make good use of it. 

BUT, what I am concerned about is the PASSIVITY that the comfort of APPS can create. 

In this episode I will talk about:

•  Setting your own goals (one that don’t make you bored stiff) 
• The difference between goals and systems
• Mark Manson's 'Shit sandwich' analogy
• Deciding whether you actually want to speak and write in Japanese (spoiler alert: you don’t have to)
• And a little about the sound of one hand clapping

Hope you find this episode helpful! 

I have defined 6 simple steps to OMOSHIROI learning, which I can’t wait to share with you in this series of podcasts!

Start uncovering your UNIQUE visions, goals and tactics to learn the Japanese that YOU WANT!

To grab a copy of the playbook that accompanies this series, click here:

The OMOSHIROI Method Fill-in-the-Blanks Playbook

Visit JapaneseLondon.com to get more info about learning Japanese, and enjoying a Japan-full life in London.

Vanessa connects learners with 1-1 native speaking Japanese tutors for private lessons and runs the Japanese London Conversation Club.

She also blogs about Japanese living in London, and can be found on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. ♡