In 1989, when I moved to Japan, my friends in Sweden probably thought I was a bit off-kilter. Even the Japanese find this peculiar. There's a long backstory to why Japan piqued my interest; I'll try to condense it into half an hour here in the hopes that you, or perhaps your children, will be inspired to experience life in a foreign country. This doesn't have to be Japan; a good culture shock can open one's eyes to new places and new perspectives everywhere.

Hello!

My name is Hans Karlsson and I am a native Swede who landed in Japan for the first time 1986 and came back to settle down here in 1989. It has been a long journey with up and downs, many strange events, weird and wonderful encounters, good and hard lessons learned. I am on my second marriage to a Japanese woman, have moved a dozen times, and now live in the small town of Tajimi in Gifu Prefecture, near the big city Nagoya on the Pacific coast. I worked in public radio for seventeen years, then for five years as a radio researcher at Meiji University, Tokyo, after which I moved to Tajimi where I now run a virtual reality creative agency called Mimir LLC. 

All the way I have tried to convey to people around the world what is like to live and work in this country, which was isolated from the world for hundreds of years from the 17th to the 19th century. It was punishable by death for citizens to leave the country, and a few foreigners were allowed to stay on a small island called Dejima, but nobody could enter the country. This is one of the reasons why so few Japanese speak a foreign language even today, and they are still having problems communicating with the surrounding world. It is also one reason why Japan is different in many ways. 

I have the deepest respect and admiration for the Japanese culture, which has no lack of flaws but can teach us westerners so many things. You will find the country to be one of the most pleasant, safe and friendly to travel in, and it is full of beauty in many senses. Food is simply wonderful, and now is a particularly good time to come here since the yen is very weak and the country has finally opened up to individual tourists after the Covid restriction were lifted.

Listen to this podcast if you want tips and inspiration, are looking for adventure, or simply a friendly voice to tell you stories from one of the most exotic lands on earth.