45 The Fascinating Life of Stand-Up Comedian Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast, stand-up comedian Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami stops by to talk about how he went from almost dropping out of high school to performing stand-up comedy in English in Canada and the U.S.

About Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami

Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami is a stand-up comedian and actor from Tokyo. Currently Murakami is based in Toronto, Canada but he has also performed stand-up comedy in New York and Japan.

Topics Discussed

• How Shoe struggled academically in high school
• How listening to and performing English-language music by bands like the Beatles helped Shoee learn English
• Studying English literature in a Japanese university
• Traveling in Southeast Asia after graduating from college
• How Shoe lost all his money due to a blackjack scam in Cambodia
• How Shoe made a life for himself in Cambodia after getting scammed out of his money
• Managing Sharky Bar in Cambodia and learning how to deal with the clientele
• The challenges of running a bar in Cambodia as a young Japanese man
• Starting his own bar
• The difficulties Shoe faced when trying to find a job in Japan
• How Shoe discovered stand-up comedy while in Japan
• Why Shoe decided to move to Canada
• Shoe's realization that he needed to become more comfortable on stage
• Performing stand-up comedy in Canada and New York
• Getting work as an actor in Canada
• Getting to perform on the Asian Comedy All-Stars show in Toronto
• And much more!

Support on Patreon

If you enjoy Japan Station and want to ensure that we're able to produce more episodes, then please consider becoming a patron on Patreon.com. For a minimum pledge of $1 a month you'll get access to extra blog posts and additional input on future content. You'd also receive Tony's eternal, profound, and undrying gratitude.

• Support Japan Station on Patreon

Links, Videos, Etc.

You can find Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami on the following platforms.

• Standup Comedian Shoe Murakami YouTube Channel
• Shoe Murakami on Instagram
• Shoe Murakami on Facebook

To learn more about Shoe's time in Cambodia and the scam that resulted in him losing his money, check out the article below.

• Bad Times to Good (The Cambodia Daily)

Use the link below to check out the latest episode of Ichimon Japan.

• How do you create fake kanji? (From Ghost Kanji to Kokuji) | Ichimon Japan 22

Special Thanks

Opening/Closing song: Oedo Controller (大江戸コントローラー) by Yunomi featuring Toriena (Used with permission from Yunomi)
To listen to more of Yunomi's music, check out his Soundcloud page or YouTube channel.

Japan Station cover art: Provided by Erik R.

Featured image: Courtesy of Shuhei "Shoe" Murakami

Follow Japankyo on Social Media

• Facebook (@JapankyoNews)
• Twitter (@JapankyoNews)

Full Show Notes

• Get full show notes at www.japanstationpodcast.com