Welcome to the Fun Friday edition of the Learn Japanese Pod podcast — the show where we sit down with cool people doing cool things in Japan. In this episode, I talk with Wes Lang about the recent rise in bear encounters and attacks across Japan: the latest stats, what’s causing them, and what Japan is doing to prevent future incidents.

We also dive into Wes’s long experience as a master hiker. He was the first American to complete the Hyakumeizan, and he shares practical advice on how to prepare for the unlikely event of meeting a bear on the trail — including what to do, what not to do, and some useful bear-related vocabulary in Japanese.

I learned a lot from this interview with Wes, and I now feel slightly more prepared to go hiking — and hopefully avoid any battles with bears!

Wes is the creator of hikinginjapan.com, an authoritative resource with detailed information on hundreds of hikes and mountains across Japan. If you love hiking, Japanese nature, or just a good story, you won’t want to miss this one.

Podcast Guest: Timothy Reid – From English Teacher to Award-Winning Musician and Game Industry Pro in Japan

This week on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome Timothy Reid, a multi-talented artist and creator whose journey to success in Japan is nothing short of inspiring.

Originally from North Yorkshire in the UK, Timothy moved to Japan in 2011 after graduating from the University of Leeds. Like many foreigners, he started out teaching English just to get by — but everything changed in 2014 when he won a national guitar contest. That moment launched him straight into the Japanese music industry.

Since then, he’s done it all: from touring and recording as a professional guitarist, to demoing gear in-store, teaching at music schools, and more recently, breaking into Japan’s video game industry, contributing to both big-name AAA titles and indie games.

In this episode, we talk about learning Japanese, breaking into the music and gaming industries, and what it really takes to build a life and career in Japan. If you’re interested in living in Japan, pursuing a creative career here, or just want to hear an honest, fascinating story about surviving and thriving abroad, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

If you’ve ever dreamed of building a successful creative career in Japan, this is an unmissable episode packed with insight, inspiration, and hard-won lessons.

Click on the links below for Timothy’s home page and social media account:

Timothy Reid Official Website

Timothy Reid Instagram

For more Japanese language learning podcasts and interviews with people doing cool stuff in Japan, visit: Learn Japanese Pod