13 What's life like in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic? (Uncovering the cute sneeze conspiracy)

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What's life like in Japan during the coronavirus pandemic? We also investigate the cute sneeze conspiracy that is going on in Japan. This episodes features special guest Kyle Broyles of the Tokyo Splosion podcast and Hard Officers YouTube channel.

Topics Discussed

• What it's like living in central Tokyo during the coronavirus pandemic
• What it's like living in Ishikawa Prefecture during the coronavirus pandemic
• Precautions supermarkets in Japan have taken during the coronavirus pandemic
• Whether there are have been any noticeable food shortages
• Making the switch to working from home
• The state of emergency declared by the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture
• Restrictions on bars/izakaya in Tokyo and whether they are being followed
• What the past few weeks have been like in Hawaii during the coronavirus pandemic
• How a robot cabal is promoting "cute sneezing" in order to further spread the coronavirus in Japan
• How to sneeze like a cute Japanese girl
• Fuku's dinosaur museum
• Ishikawa's famous carrots
• The solution to the "cute sneezing" problem
• The dirty handholds on Japanese trains
• And more!

Note: This episode was recorded on April 19, 2020 (JST)/April 18 (HST). On April 20 (JST) Ryan found out that the movie theater he mentions in the episode had closed on April 18 (one day before this episode was recorded).

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• Support on Patreon

Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

This episode features Kyle Broyles as a special guest. If you would like to follow him on Twitter, please use the link below.

• Kyle Broyles on Twitter

Kyle is one of the hosts of the Tokyo Splosion podcast. If you would like to check his podcast out, you can look it up wherever you get your podcasts or use the links below.

• Tokyo Splosion on Libsyn
• Tokyo Splosion on Apple Podcasts
• Tokyo Splosion on Twitter

The episode of Tokyo Splosion involving the "stinky buddies" that was mentioned at the beginning of this episode can be accessed via the link below.

• Tokyo Splosion - Stinky Buddies

Kyle also produces the YouTube series Hard Officers. Check out the channel via the link below.

• Hard Officers YouTube Channel

Japanese Vocabulary List

Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here's some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC.

• Kushami
  
  • くしゃみ (n) sneeze
• Seki
  • 咳 【せき】 (n) cough; coughing; tussis
• Yarikata
  • やり方 【やりかた】 (n) manner of doing; way; method; means

We Want Your Questions

Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com.

Special Thanks

Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)

Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.

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Full Show Notes

• https:///www.japankyo.com/ichimonjapan